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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
Not quite a case of sophomore slump, more like a case of going from A (The Dinner, which I've successfully convinced several book clubs to read/discuss) to an A- (this book).
Once again we have an outrageous act, only in this instance it's not quite clear until late in the book exactly what the act was - from the start we know that Dr. Marc Schlosser has been, in some way, negligent in his treatment of Ralph Meier, a famous actor. And for some reason, Ralph's wife, Judith is more than upset, she's spit-in-the-face-at-the-funeral, pay-an-angry-office-visit upset. As with The Dinner, the why of all of this unfolds slowly throughout the book. There's a twist at the end, one that surprised me (as you know, never a bad thing in a book!) and surprises the good doctor as he realizes his assumptions have all been wrong.
As with the earlier book, none of the characters are particularly likeable. Marc's attitudes towards his patients and family are a little difficult to deal with at times, but he's able to articulate those attitudes in ways that make them almost understandable. With the exception of Julia, his elder daughter, post-rape, I found it hard to sympathize or enjoy any of the people we meet. We only have Marc's POV here, which also colors our opinions of the others. Having said that, they all felt as though they were drawn from real life, and that the author's other job is as a television producer probably helped with that. Unlike other books written by tv or movie writers/producers, this doesn't seem to have been written with eventual filming in mind: there's too much going on that's inside the characters that just won't translate well.
Can't wait to see what Koch comes up with next.
ARC provided by publisher.
Once again we have an outrageous act, only in this instance it's not quite clear until late in the book exactly what the act was - from the start we know that Dr. Marc Schlosser has been, in some way, negligent in his treatment of Ralph Meier, a famous actor. And for some reason, Ralph's wife, Judith is more than upset, she's spit-in-the-face-at-the-funeral, pay-an-angry-office-visit upset. As with The Dinner, the why of all of this unfolds slowly throughout the book. There's a twist at the end, one that surprised me (as you know, never a bad thing in a book!) and surprises the good doctor as he realizes his assumptions have all been wrong.
As with the earlier book, none of the characters are particularly likeable. Marc's attitudes towards his patients and family are a little difficult to deal with at times, but he's able to articulate those attitudes in ways that make them almost understandable. With the exception of Julia, his elder daughter, post-rape, I found it hard to sympathize or enjoy any of the people we meet. We only have Marc's POV here, which also colors our opinions of the others. Having said that, they all felt as though they were drawn from real life, and that the author's other job is as a television producer probably helped with that. Unlike other books written by tv or movie writers/producers, this doesn't seem to have been written with eventual filming in mind: there's too much going on that's inside the characters that just won't translate well.
Can't wait to see what Koch comes up with next.
ARC provided by publisher.
Why have so many people liked this book? First of all, I dont like books where the back cover text is totally misleading. I think the people who write these short descriptions havent actually read the book themselves - a ridiculous idea! Anyway, I thought I was reading a book with a moral dilemma: is it right to take justice in your own hands? But the book was not about a moral dilemma. It was just about one asshole killing off another asshole. And a lot of immoral behavior. Boozing, adultery, you name it. If these are normal people in todays society then I dont think we even have the right to ask if its morally right to kill another human being. People like this dont have any morale. I do realize the book is satirical and meant to raise questions about moral issues in an immoral society. but I was just totally overwhelmed by the lack of even one single upright -good - person in this story. Not even the kids were innocent - the ones we re supposed to protect.
It started out super slow. But then it picked up and I got to the point where I cld not put it down. This book is different than most books I have read lately. This is not a fluff book at all. The writing is intense, but oh so good! This is not a summer beach read either.
I am interested in reading another book by this author.
I was a bit disappointed in the ending tho.
I am interested in reading another book by this author.
I was a bit disappointed in the ending tho.
Sería un 3,5 porque la historia en algunos momentos flojea un poco y se pierde en algunos detalles que no aportan gran cosa. Pero la resolución final, aparentemente abierta pero terriblemente clara y realista, le suben a 4 sin duda.
A strange story with strange pacing, but that's the reason I loved it. Ended up being a book full of twists and turns, with a main character that was hard to like at times, which is different.
Set – somewhere in the South of France
Dr Marc Schlosser, the very unreliable narrator of this tale, is a Dutch physician who specializes in treating people in the arts. The Netherlands is mentioned frequently and its atmosphere and politics described to create atmosphere.
He’s a funny one that Dr Schlosser – doesn’t exactly seem to like his patients and even several dislikes those he doesn’t hold simple disdain for. But he keeps this hidden from all those around him. When one of Dr. Schlosser’s patients dies questions are asked. It soon becomes clear that this patient was not exactly a friend. So just how did he die? And what does the good doctor know that he is not telling?
As with The Dinner, this has a minimal setting – a gorgeous summer house with swimming pool set somewhere in the south of France, but again the physical location is not the main focus here so although you can’t do a booktrail, it would be the perfect book to read on your sun lounger round the pool as it gives you so many shades of dark, you’ll think you’re not only sitting under a great tree about to fall on your head but buried deep within a great mound of dirt and intrigue.
There is a lot of black humour too to protect you from the sun as well as the satire that covers the whole novel like a big black umbrella. And this brolly? You’re going to need it to shield you from the approaching storm clouds that you know are on the way in the form of a singular episode of violence and horror.
The phrase one thing can often lead to another could be the subtitle of the book as the one horrific event does indeed lead to many more. I was slightly worried about this book – and its unease that I had when discovering the crimes of Dr Shipman. Is this doctor like that or is it all just in his head? You have to wait until the end to find out. I felt uncomfortable doing so although the jibes at the art world and world of celebrity made for good entertainment.
Dr Marc Schlosser, the very unreliable narrator of this tale, is a Dutch physician who specializes in treating people in the arts. The Netherlands is mentioned frequently and its atmosphere and politics described to create atmosphere.
He’s a funny one that Dr Schlosser – doesn’t exactly seem to like his patients and even several dislikes those he doesn’t hold simple disdain for. But he keeps this hidden from all those around him. When one of Dr. Schlosser’s patients dies questions are asked. It soon becomes clear that this patient was not exactly a friend. So just how did he die? And what does the good doctor know that he is not telling?
As with The Dinner, this has a minimal setting – a gorgeous summer house with swimming pool set somewhere in the south of France, but again the physical location is not the main focus here so although you can’t do a booktrail, it would be the perfect book to read on your sun lounger round the pool as it gives you so many shades of dark, you’ll think you’re not only sitting under a great tree about to fall on your head but buried deep within a great mound of dirt and intrigue.
There is a lot of black humour too to protect you from the sun as well as the satire that covers the whole novel like a big black umbrella. And this brolly? You’re going to need it to shield you from the approaching storm clouds that you know are on the way in the form of a singular episode of violence and horror.
The phrase one thing can often lead to another could be the subtitle of the book as the one horrific event does indeed lead to many more. I was slightly worried about this book – and its unease that I had when discovering the crimes of Dr Shipman. Is this doctor like that or is it all just in his head? You have to wait until the end to find out. I felt uncomfortable doing so although the jibes at the art world and world of celebrity made for good entertainment.
Geweldig boek. De hoofdpersoon is een eikel, zeker in het eerste stuk. Het gemak waarmee hij zijn vrouw bedriegt zonder er eigenlijk een seconde over na te denken, is irritant. Hoe hij over zijn patiënten denkt, is ronduit tenenkrommend, maar eigenlijk ook heel begrijpelijk wat hem weer tot een normaal mens maakt. (Je wilt niet dat jouw arts zo denkt.)
Zijn keuzes zijn primitief en je kunt je afvragen of ze wel van hem zelf zijn en niet van zijn leraar aan de universiteit.
Het geeft stof tot nadenken, het ontbreekt geheel vals sentiment (ondanks het onderwerp)en de hoofdpersoon is zowel walgelijk als sympathiek. Je kunt oeverloos debatteren over de keuze die de ouders maken: het welzijn van het kind voor alles. En de acties van de ouders voordat het mis ging en wat hun rol daarin is.
Dit alles en meer, plus dat je het zo uit hebt, maakt het een fantastisch boek.
Zijn keuzes zijn primitief en je kunt je afvragen of ze wel van hem zelf zijn en niet van zijn leraar aan de universiteit.
Het geeft stof tot nadenken, het ontbreekt geheel vals sentiment (ondanks het onderwerp)en de hoofdpersoon is zowel walgelijk als sympathiek. Je kunt oeverloos debatteren over de keuze die de ouders maken: het welzijn van het kind voor alles. En de acties van de ouders voordat het mis ging en wat hun rol daarin is.
Dit alles en meer, plus dat je het zo uit hebt, maakt het een fantastisch boek.
3.5 stars.
I enjoyed Summer House With Swimming Pool more than The Dinner, which may be an unpopular opinion. I think this was mainly due to the fact that I didn't really have any concrete expectations going into this novel, whereas I had incredibly high expectations for The Dinner which sadly just weren't quite met. What I do love though is a good thriller-type story, with lots of dark unlikeable characters and twists and turns, which is what I got with this book.
Our narrator Marc Schlosser is a general practitioner whose clients tend to be rich and famous. One of his patients, the actor Ralph Meier, invites Marc and his family to spend time with his family at their summer house that has a swimming pool, and Marc feels like he can't say no. However, upon returning from that eventful holiday, several months later Ralph is dead and Marc is being taken to court over implied negligence.
The plot is a great one, and I thought the pacing of the story was perfect - understated, not rushed, and revealing little details here there and everywhere as the story progressed. I felt like I was in the middle of an Agatha Christie guessing game at points, which I really enjoyed, and I definitely didn't see the twist at the end coming. This book deals with some dark subjects, and could potentially be triggering, so maybe keep this in mind before you pick it up. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and although the characters were incredibly detestable for the most part, I needed to know what happened.
Having said all that, I don't think that the characters were particularly well-rounded - Marc was an interesting character, and at times I sympathised with him and at other times I thought he was a complete psychopath. However, it always did feel quite surface-level, and I would have liked a little more depth to him, and particularly to the other female characters in the book such as his wife Caroline and Ralph's wife Judith.
I also was a little unsatisfied with the ending, which didn't really feel resolved or make much sense to me. I wasn't sure how Marc dealt with his situation, and surprisingly for how well the pacing was going through the rest of the book, the ending felt a bit rushed. For that reason, I am now docking my review from 4 stars to 3.5, after a night's sleep and a little more mulling over it.
I still really enjoyed and would recommend this read though, particularly if you like dark fiction with plenty of twists to keep you guessing. This definitely fit the bill, and I'm eager to read Herman Koch's latest book Dear Mr. M.
I enjoyed Summer House With Swimming Pool more than The Dinner, which may be an unpopular opinion. I think this was mainly due to the fact that I didn't really have any concrete expectations going into this novel, whereas I had incredibly high expectations for The Dinner which sadly just weren't quite met. What I do love though is a good thriller-type story, with lots of dark unlikeable characters and twists and turns, which is what I got with this book.
Our narrator Marc Schlosser is a general practitioner whose clients tend to be rich and famous. One of his patients, the actor Ralph Meier, invites Marc and his family to spend time with his family at their summer house that has a swimming pool, and Marc feels like he can't say no. However, upon returning from that eventful holiday, several months later Ralph is dead and Marc is being taken to court over implied negligence.
The plot is a great one, and I thought the pacing of the story was perfect - understated, not rushed, and revealing little details here there and everywhere as the story progressed. I felt like I was in the middle of an Agatha Christie guessing game at points, which I really enjoyed, and I definitely didn't see the twist at the end coming. This book deals with some dark subjects, and could potentially be triggering, so maybe keep this in mind before you pick it up. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and although the characters were incredibly detestable for the most part, I needed to know what happened.
Having said all that, I don't think that the characters were particularly well-rounded - Marc was an interesting character, and at times I sympathised with him and at other times I thought he was a complete psychopath. However, it always did feel quite surface-level, and I would have liked a little more depth to him, and particularly to the other female characters in the book such as his wife Caroline and Ralph's wife Judith.
I also was a little unsatisfied with the ending, which didn't really feel resolved or make much sense to me. I wasn't sure how Marc dealt with his situation, and surprisingly for how well the pacing was going through the rest of the book, the ending felt a bit rushed. For that reason, I am now docking my review from 4 stars to 3.5, after a night's sleep and a little more mulling over it.
I still really enjoyed and would recommend this read though, particularly if you like dark fiction with plenty of twists to keep you guessing. This definitely fit the bill, and I'm eager to read Herman Koch's latest book Dear Mr. M.
In het begin van dit boek kon ik mijn mening over Marc nog niet goed plaatsen. Wat vond ik nou van deze huisarts en welke meningen hij had? Een deel van mij vond hem afschuwelijk, een ander deel was ook gefascineerd. Dit boek las als een trein, vooral vanaf het moment dat Marc en zijn familie bij het zomerhuis arriveerden. Heerlijk om weg te lezen.