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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
A good read if you don't really want to pay attention to anything happening or become invested in any characters. Either something was lost in translation or Koch intentionally wanted the reader to be disinterested in everything that happened in this book.
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read for book club. Spent most of this book trying to decide if I should bother finishing. The end was the best part. Written from the perspective of a narcissistic, self-aggrandising bigot. I found the characters unpleasant, the language offensive and the concepts falsely drawn. I look forward to quickly forgetting this book for the waste of time it was.
This is probably one of the lowest scores I’ve rated a book and I feel bad. But also at the same time it’s just not sitting well with me. The author does a very thorough job describing characters and making the book hard to put down. He goes into detail about hard to talk about events that unfortunately happen too often. And for that I appreciate.
But now that I’ve finished the whole book I can’t help but think it was too negative towards women and put the main male character in an all too egotistical good light above women. I really dislike the male sex sometimes, especially in this book. Could have been parts were hard to digest as I found similar experiences/thoughts playing in my head at times.
But now that I’ve finished the whole book I can’t help but think it was too negative towards women and put the main male character in an all too egotistical good light above women. I really dislike the male sex sometimes, especially in this book. Could have been parts were hard to digest as I found similar experiences/thoughts playing in my head at times.
Mijn grootste probleem met dit boek was dat ik de hoofdpersoon niet kon uitstaan. Hij was raar en heel erg onsympathiek. Zoals veel andere personages eigenlijk.
In het begin gebeurde er niet veel en werd er heel raar heen en weer gesprongen tussen tijden (de ene keer was het Marcs professor die tijdens een college een verhaal vertelde, de andere keer het 'nu', de andere keer het begin van het verhaal), wat verwarrend was.
Gelukkig gebeurde er in het midden van het boek meer en was het makkelijker om het te lezen. Op het einde komen de verschillende situaties die verteld zijn gedurende het verhaal samen, al had ik nog veel vragen toen ik het boek uit had.
In het begin gebeurde er niet veel en werd er heel raar heen en weer gesprongen tussen tijden (de ene keer was het Marcs professor die tijdens een college een verhaal vertelde, de andere keer het 'nu', de andere keer het begin van het verhaal), wat verwarrend was.
Gelukkig gebeurde er in het midden van het boek meer en was het makkelijker om het te lezen. Op het einde komen de verschillende situaties die verteld zijn gedurende het verhaal samen, al had ik nog veel vragen toen ik het boek uit had.
Another reviewer summed this book up perfectly when they said that reading this book was like driving past the scene of a terrible accident. You know that you shouldn't look... You don't want to look... but you can't help yourself. The characters are all despicable, the story is TWISTED, dark and disturbing - but I guarantee that you won't be able to put this book down until you've read the whole thing, you sicko! :) See more at http://www.abeautifullittlelife.com/2014/06/guide-to-summer-reading.html
Quite the interesting read. Initially, I wasn’t sure where the story was headed. It begins in the present, where Dr. Marc is introduced as a general practitioner to celebrities. He is faced with accusations of malpractice when a famous actor/patient, Ralph, dies. Next, the story picks up in pace and interest for me as time reverses to one year ago when Marc and his family take a summer vacation and end up staying with Ralph and his family at a summer house with a swimming pool. There is lots of drama with family dynamics and character personalities. Then, a tragic event occurs that completely shifts the story and changes the dynamics of the relationships that have been developing. As the story nears conclusion, my mind was busy keeping up with the unraveling of the truth. This is a good book that I’m happy to have read.
Herman Koch's main characters are truly sick and twisted but also compassionate. The plot of this book was completely compelling - think train wreck where you can't look away. The story involves celebrity friendship, sexual assault, heavy drinking, medical ethics. Juicy plot. Now I need to go locate the rest of Koch's books.
Fantastisch boek! Meeslepend en spannend tot de laatste pagina.