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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
Story about Dr. Marc Schlosser, his family and the summer vacation they shared with Ralph Meier (an actor) and his family. Ralph was also a patient of Marc's who's wife now is implicating him of wrongdoing. The book starts off slow and then becomes interesting very quickly.
As usual, I loved it. I love everything he writes. I had no idea about this title, though. I was just strolling along the shelf in the library.
The plot was excellent and I have to say, even though I thought I knew the answer, by the last page I was still questioning myself.
Koch is a great first person writer. The protagonist is always a little cold-blooded and clinical and I always wonder what they're capable of. He presents the underside of the person first, maybe that's where it stays, but I really like that. The protagonist was very difficult for me to like because of that, but I did come to like him in spite of himself.
It was a one-nighter for me. I just couldn't put it down.
The plot was excellent and I have to say, even though I thought I knew the answer, by the last page I was still questioning myself.
Koch is a great first person writer. The protagonist is always a little cold-blooded and clinical and I always wonder what they're capable of. He presents the underside of the person first, maybe that's where it stays, but I really like that. The protagonist was very difficult for me to like because of that, but I did come to like him in spite of himself.
It was a one-nighter for me. I just couldn't put it down.
**I received this as an ARC from Read It Forward; based on the number of stars, they clearly didn't pay for this review**
I've read Herman Koch's The Dinner, and I liked it...so I had high hopes for this one: boy, was I disappointed! Kock can write, that much is true. He kept me interested enough, but either I'm really slow or he wasn't being exactly clear about what happened on the damn beach. Honestly, it might be a combination of the two, but still--why must I still not know the roles everyone played in the "incident." I pretty much hated the characters, but it's a Koch novel so I knew what to expect (I also don't mind unlikeable characters in general). I think it's cute that Koch tries to make his main characters somewhat affectionate and protective towards their kids, but in this one, it falls flat. I wanted to slap the piss out of Marc and Caroline over some of the dumb decisions they made. The sexist undertones were to be expected as well; I mean, really, look at the world we live in and it's always there. I didn't get mad about it, it's not use. I probably wouldn't recommend this one, and I most definitely wouldn't re-read or own it.
I've read Herman Koch's The Dinner, and I liked it...so I had high hopes for this one: boy, was I disappointed! Kock can write, that much is true. He kept me interested enough, but either I'm really slow or he wasn't being exactly clear about what happened on the damn beach. Honestly, it might be a combination of the two, but still--why must I still not know the roles everyone played in the "incident." I pretty much hated the characters, but it's a Koch novel so I knew what to expect (I also don't mind unlikeable characters in general). I think it's cute that Koch tries to make his main characters somewhat affectionate and protective towards their kids, but in this one, it falls flat. I wanted to slap the piss out of Marc and Caroline over some of the dumb decisions they made. The sexist undertones were to be expected as well; I mean, really, look at the world we live in and it's always there. I didn't get mad about it, it's not use. I probably wouldn't recommend this one, and I most definitely wouldn't re-read or own it.
I’ve read a lot of reviews of Summer House with Swimming Pool and the general consensus seems to be that those who read the author’s previous book, The Dinner, enjoyed this one less. I am not one of those people. Maybe it’s because I have a penchant for books that tackle difficult topics in a frank manner or because I’m just an oddity, but I enjoyed this book much more than Koch’s previous book (see my review of The Dinner here).
Set in the Netherlands, Summer House With Swimming Pool is about a doctor (Marc) who befriends a famous stage actor (Ralph) and the complicated relationship that ensues, namely the fateful summer at the house with a swimming pool. From the get-go, we know that Ralph’s time on this earth is limited and that Marc is somehow involved, but we don’t know how or why and it is the beginning and ending of their friendship that provides the bookends for the real story.
Koch is an author known for his direct way of writing and for delving into delicate issues, as anyone who read The Dinner knows very well. This book is no exception and most of the uncomfortable topics were Lolita’esque in nature. That’s not to say that the plot itself parallels Lolita, but the overt sexualization of characters of all ages and marital statuses is not off limits. That said, some of his insights will leave you both grimacing and realizing that, if we’re being totally honest, probably true for a good number of people. Koch loves to raise taboo topics that no one discusses but everyone is thinking.
The only problem I had with this book was that it talks about former President Bush throwing back a few shots of whiskey in the White House, which is likely false considering that Bush is a recovered alcoholic and probably not drinking with people lacking proper security clearances, if at all. The policy wonk in me was bothered by this and I’m not sure whether this was an insensitivity assumption on the part of the author or that he just didn’t know. Either way, alcoholism is not something to be toyed with when referring to an actual person, even in fiction.
So who should read this book? Anyone who has a stomach for difficult topics and isn’t afraid to be open to lines of thinking that aren’t socially acceptable.
Originally posted at The Book Wheel.
Set in the Netherlands, Summer House With Swimming Pool is about a doctor (Marc) who befriends a famous stage actor (Ralph) and the complicated relationship that ensues, namely the fateful summer at the house with a swimming pool. From the get-go, we know that Ralph’s time on this earth is limited and that Marc is somehow involved, but we don’t know how or why and it is the beginning and ending of their friendship that provides the bookends for the real story.
Koch is an author known for his direct way of writing and for delving into delicate issues, as anyone who read The Dinner knows very well. This book is no exception and most of the uncomfortable topics were Lolita’esque in nature. That’s not to say that the plot itself parallels Lolita, but the overt sexualization of characters of all ages and marital statuses is not off limits. That said, some of his insights will leave you both grimacing and realizing that, if we’re being totally honest, probably true for a good number of people. Koch loves to raise taboo topics that no one discusses but everyone is thinking.
The only problem I had with this book was that it talks about former President Bush throwing back a few shots of whiskey in the White House, which is likely false considering that Bush is a recovered alcoholic and probably not drinking with people lacking proper security clearances, if at all. The policy wonk in me was bothered by this and I’m not sure whether this was an insensitivity assumption on the part of the author or that he just didn’t know. Either way, alcoholism is not something to be toyed with when referring to an actual person, even in fiction.
So who should read this book? Anyone who has a stomach for difficult topics and isn’t afraid to be open to lines of thinking that aren’t socially acceptable.
Originally posted at The Book Wheel.
This book was: Intense. Graphic. Twisted. I loved it. Unreliable narrator + summer heat + unscrupulous people + grandiose sense of what is "right"...I read this in one day. Get it. Read it. Be thankful you are not like these people.
It‘s probably be my fault, but I found this to be very mediocre. Only the middle piece captivates a bit, because of the thriller-like suspense after the dramatic event with daughter Julia. And, as already indicated in my reviews of earlier work by Koch, this author knows something about human psychology and the ambiguities which we all automatically display. But the longwinding start of this story, the sultry character of just about all male figures (how cliché they are!), the subcutaneous nihilism (both in the old and the young characters), and the silly ending of this book .... No, at most this a good read for on the beach, or ... in a summer house with a swimming pool.