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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
Marc is a sociopathic man who does sociopathic things, but he makes for a good narrator because everything he says is scathingly calculated and bizarrely fascinating.
The first third of the book was the most engaging, but I flipped through the whole thing quickly regardless.
The first third of the book was the most engaging, but I flipped through the whole thing quickly regardless.
Oh well, it is for a greater good
-God this book felt it was building up to something great and then you get this ugh.
-Marc was a complete asshole and weirdo sometimes.
-Most of the time nothing happened
2/5
-God this book felt it was building up to something great and then you get this ugh.
-Marc was a complete asshole and weirdo sometimes.
-Most of the time nothing happened
2/5
Ik was nooit zo'n fan van de Nederlandse literatuur, en snapte de hype rondom de boeken van Koch niet. Maar na het lezen van Zomerhuis met zwembad in één dag, ben in geïntrigeerd door hem. De hoge verwachtingen worden waargemaakt, dit is een boek naar formaat.
Het boek is heel goed geschreven, de spanningsboog bouwt geleidelijk door het boek op en door de verschillende gebeurtenissen in het plot, is het nogal lang de vraag waarom zijn patiënt is overleden. Het plot is sterk en houdt het verhaal het hele boek lang boeiend. Gaandeweg het verhaal wordt de keuze van Marc duidelijk, en ik kon zelfs sympathie voor hem opbrengen, ondanks zijn immorele handelswijzes. Ik durf bijna te zeggen dat ik het begrijp, dat ik hem steun in z'n keuze, ondanks de afloop. Dit getuigd van schrijfvaardig talent want het meeleven met een hoofdpersoon is één, maar hun foute keuzes supporten is iets anders. De schrijfstijl leest heerlijk weg, het is grappig en scherp.
Het enigste wat me een beetje tegenstond is het open einde - ik hou daar gewoonweg niet van.
Al met al is dit boek een aanrader!
Het boek is heel goed geschreven, de spanningsboog bouwt geleidelijk door het boek op en door de verschillende gebeurtenissen in het plot, is het nogal lang de vraag waarom zijn patiënt is overleden. Het plot is sterk en houdt het verhaal het hele boek lang boeiend. Gaandeweg het verhaal wordt de keuze van Marc duidelijk, en ik kon zelfs sympathie voor hem opbrengen, ondanks zijn immorele handelswijzes. Ik durf bijna te zeggen dat ik het begrijp, dat ik hem steun in z'n keuze, ondanks de afloop. Dit getuigd van schrijfvaardig talent want het meeleven met een hoofdpersoon is één, maar hun foute keuzes supporten is iets anders. De schrijfstijl leest heerlijk weg, het is grappig en scherp.
Het enigste wat me een beetje tegenstond is het open einde - ik hou daar gewoonweg niet van.
Al met al is dit boek een aanrader!
This review is going to be me rambling as I'm essentially ranting to myself:
I'm not sure how this author does it. He has his main character say some of the dumbest and most ignorant things about both women and minorities, in fact, I cringed every time I read one. The main character is hardly likable, and yet just like with The Dinner I couldn't put this book down. Having finished it, it's not as if it was some complex story, in fact it's not even a full thriller like The Dinner was, but regardless of all these "issues" I have I really liked this!
You know, I definitely can't say Koch isn't a good writer. Whether he has these horrible characters say and do offensive things because he himself believes any of the things he has these characters saying or not, I have no clue. I start off being putt off and a bit angry when I first come across these things in his books, but then end up really enjoying the story anyways. It's nonsense! So I guess I have to assume he's writing the characters this way on purpose, which means he's actually great at creating and writing characters. Well ok then I guess he is a good writer!
I'm not sure how this author does it. He has his main character say some of the dumbest and most ignorant things about both women and minorities, in fact, I cringed every time I read one. The main character is hardly likable, and yet just like with The Dinner I couldn't put this book down. Having finished it, it's not as if it was some complex story, in fact it's not even a full thriller like The Dinner was, but regardless of all these "issues" I have I really liked this!
You know, I definitely can't say Koch isn't a good writer. Whether he has these horrible characters say and do offensive things because he himself believes any of the things he has these characters saying or not, I have no clue. I start off being putt off and a bit angry when I first come across these things in his books, but then end up really enjoying the story anyways. It's nonsense! So I guess I have to assume he's writing the characters this way on purpose, which means he's actually great at creating and writing characters. Well ok then I guess he is a good writer!
This isn't a story that goes from point A to point B - it sort of meanders around until it finally concludes. While reading the first half of this book I was wondering whether I would finish it. I had a hard time getting into it mostly because the main character Marc seemed like a pretentious whiny twit. Even after finishing it I still thing he is sort of a twit.
Marc is a physician in Holland who cares for a lot of the art world. He gets through his day by spending 20 minutes with each client realizing that most of the time they just want to be heard instead of treated. When Ralph Meier walks into his office Marc becomes enamored by his personality. He accepts an invitation to an opening of one of his plays and despite loathing these events he goes. While there Marc meets and is instantly attracted to Ralph's wife while he gets annoyed by how his Ralph looks at his wife. Confused? Well that's how I felt for a lot of this book. The main characters thoughts wander from the past to the present with very little warning often leaving you trying to figure out why he is examining someone on the beach, or why he is talking about hairy asses, until you realize that its just Marc off in his own head.
The second half of the book does pick up a bit while you are trying to figure out who may have committed the deplorable act of violence against Marc's daughter and why Marc's clients wife is screaming that he is a murderer. I'm not sure how satisfying the ending is but it is probably more realistic than one with a neatly tied bow.
Marc is a physician in Holland who cares for a lot of the art world. He gets through his day by spending 20 minutes with each client realizing that most of the time they just want to be heard instead of treated. When Ralph Meier walks into his office Marc becomes enamored by his personality. He accepts an invitation to an opening of one of his plays and despite loathing these events he goes. While there Marc meets and is instantly attracted to Ralph's wife while he gets annoyed by how his Ralph looks at his wife. Confused? Well that's how I felt for a lot of this book. The main characters thoughts wander from the past to the present with very little warning often leaving you trying to figure out why he is examining someone on the beach, or why he is talking about hairy asses, until you realize that its just Marc off in his own head.
The second half of the book does pick up a bit while you are trying to figure out who may have committed the deplorable act of violence against Marc's daughter and why Marc's clients wife is screaming that he is a murderer. I'm not sure how satisfying the ending is but it is probably more realistic than one with a neatly tied bow.
Pidin tästä! Isosta sivumäärästä huolimatta ahmin tämän parissa päivässä loppuun. Inhorealistista kerrontaa ja minuun iskevää huumoria, moraaliset pohdiskelut jäivät selvästi päälle vielä lukemisen jälkeen ja ajatteluttivat. Kirjan keskivaiheilla oli jakso, jossa asiat tuntuivat junnaavan paikallaan, mutta alusta ja lopusta tykkäsin. Toivottavasti Kochin kirjoja suomennetaan jatkossakin.
What They Say.....When a medical mistake goes horribly wrong and Ralph Meier, a famous actor, winds up dead, Dr. Marc Schlosser is forced to conceal the error from his patients and family. After all, reputation is everything in this business. But the weight of carrying such a secret lies heavily on his mind, and he can't keep hiding from the truth…or the Board of Medical Examiners.
The problem is that the real truth is a bit worse than a simple slipup. Marc played a role in Ralph's death, and he's not exactly upset that the man is gone. Still haunted by his eldest daughter's rape during their stay at Ralph's extravagant Mediterranean summerhouse-one they shared with Ralph and his enticing wife, Judith, film director Stanley Forbes and his far younger girlfriend, Emmanuelle, and Judith's mother-Marc has had it on his mind that the perpetrator of the rape could be either Ralph or Stanley. Stanley's guilt seems obvious, bearing in mind his uncomfortable fixation on the prospect of Marc's daughter's fashion career, but Marc's reasons for wanting Ralph dead become increasingly compelling as events unravel. There is damning evidence against Marc, but he isn't alone in his loathing of the star-studded director.
What They Say.....Blech, blech, blech. I had previously read Koch's "The Dinner" and was pretty disgusted with those characters, but this book took repulsive to a whole other level.
As a nurse, I hope that people realize that most doctors don't think like this, or practice like this. The amount of disdain that Dr. Schlosser has for his patients is truly off putting.
He doesn't even seem to have any interest in his high profile patients, he's irritated when he is invited to any of their events. He's an equal opportunity hater. But after his daughter's rape, Schlosser finds how far he will go to revenge. But how much did he contribute to his daughter's attack?
This was a disgusting book full of horrific people, but I couldn't stop reading it or thinking about it. So I guess that is the mark of great writing, that you aren't comfortable with all of it.
The problem is that the real truth is a bit worse than a simple slipup. Marc played a role in Ralph's death, and he's not exactly upset that the man is gone. Still haunted by his eldest daughter's rape during their stay at Ralph's extravagant Mediterranean summerhouse-one they shared with Ralph and his enticing wife, Judith, film director Stanley Forbes and his far younger girlfriend, Emmanuelle, and Judith's mother-Marc has had it on his mind that the perpetrator of the rape could be either Ralph or Stanley. Stanley's guilt seems obvious, bearing in mind his uncomfortable fixation on the prospect of Marc's daughter's fashion career, but Marc's reasons for wanting Ralph dead become increasingly compelling as events unravel. There is damning evidence against Marc, but he isn't alone in his loathing of the star-studded director.
What They Say.....Blech, blech, blech. I had previously read Koch's "The Dinner" and was pretty disgusted with those characters, but this book took repulsive to a whole other level.
As a nurse, I hope that people realize that most doctors don't think like this, or practice like this. The amount of disdain that Dr. Schlosser has for his patients is truly off putting.
He doesn't even seem to have any interest in his high profile patients, he's irritated when he is invited to any of their events. He's an equal opportunity hater. But after his daughter's rape, Schlosser finds how far he will go to revenge. But how much did he contribute to his daughter's attack?
This was a disgusting book full of horrific people, but I couldn't stop reading it or thinking about it. So I guess that is the mark of great writing, that you aren't comfortable with all of it.
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
A psychological novel about a family doctor who despises his patients – just the premise is fairly amusing. Maybe a bit too much time is spent by the eponymous pool, so much that it seems the story isn't going anywhere, but fortunately, the ironic ending saves it. Some of the protagonist's notions are repulsive – especially those of his former professor – but it's hard to argue with them.
