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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
I'm sensing a "logical and relatable sociopath" theme among Herman Koch's books.
I honestly don't know what to think of this book. The writing was good - I like the way the story was told. Almost in a very clinical way. Everything was - literally - just a matter of fact. This is how one feels when they look at this, examine that. Kind of devoid of emotion. Even the way the good doctor exacted his brand of revenge was cold. Calculated. The way a serial killer would behave. Every move thought out. Would definitely put some other literary villains to shame.
This is a book with much ado about nothing. Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration. It just felt like that. Fifty two chapters, and it took thirty chapters for anything interesting to happen. I had to force myself to read this book. I am happy to report the last twenty chapters were pretty good. It just took too long for my taste.
Some people appreciate a ton a back-story and leading up to a good story. I would rather have a bit of action and discover the characters as we go. I really disliked the lead characters in this book. Marc is a doctor and he has a bad attitude about his job. Doctor to patient takes such trust. You literally put your life in the doctor's hands. What if the doctor was a cynical ass who down played everything in his head? Marc made me feel sad about the whole profession. This story is about a summer vacation Marc takes with his family. Marc has a wife and 2 teenage girls. Marc's real objective for this vacation is to get close to Ralph's wife. Ralph is his friend and the whole situation was really sad. The good news is that this is not another love story. Marc and Ralph's wife Cynthia end up hating each other.
Marc picks a location close to where his buddy and his family are vacationing. Despite the fact that Marc's own wife, Judith, thinks Ralph is a creeper, he drags his family into a situation where they will run into each other. It is so hard to get into a story when you dislike the lead character. I forced myself to finish this story because something about the synopsis told me to keep going. This story was set in the Netherlands, which means it might not have even been in english in it's first printing. That would explain a lot since it felt like something was lost in translation.
You get a stain on your pants. Your favorite pair of pants. You wash them ten times in a row at 160 degrees. You scrub and scour and rub. You bring in the heavy artillary. Bleaches. Abrasive cleaners. But the spot doesn't go away. If you scrub and scour too long, it will only be replaced by something else. By a stretch of fabric that is thinner and paler. the paler cloth is the memory. The memory of the spot. Now there are two things you can do. You can throw the pants away, or you can walk around for the rest of your life with the memory of the stain. It also reminds you of when the pants were still clean.
If you run things back far enough, the clean pants finally show up. y then, you know that they're not going to stay clean. I know that I will keep running things back for the rest of my life. Was this where it was? I'll ask myself again and again. Or was it further back?. . . There? I hit pause.
Here it is clean.
And here, not anymore.
That little gem happened around chapter twenty five. Things were just starting to get interesting. I was convinced by this time that we were leading up to something. I didn't like how Marc kept retreating back into his thoughts. Honestly some scenes didn't get finished due to a flashback. There were quite a few flashbacks that didn't need to happen. This story didn't need all of that. Something happens to Marc's daughter and his reaction is so crazy. I know there is a huge disconnect between me and these people. It could be cultural, professional, financial, or just a matter of gender. I found these people and their reactions to what happened completely off. Not normal. Maybe everyone reacts in their own way when something this big occurs, but I kind of think there is a standard reaction. This book didn't cover it. Maybe it was because it was written by a man and had a male lead that I had a hard time getting into this book? I had such a hard time even liking the characters enough to care what kind of drama the got into. When the things finally did happen, it was treated so oddly. I just didn't really enjoy this story.
Some people appreciate a ton a back-story and leading up to a good story. I would rather have a bit of action and discover the characters as we go. I really disliked the lead characters in this book. Marc is a doctor and he has a bad attitude about his job. Doctor to patient takes such trust. You literally put your life in the doctor's hands. What if the doctor was a cynical ass who down played everything in his head? Marc made me feel sad about the whole profession. This story is about a summer vacation Marc takes with his family. Marc has a wife and 2 teenage girls. Marc's real objective for this vacation is to get close to Ralph's wife. Ralph is his friend and the whole situation was really sad. The good news is that this is not another love story. Marc and Ralph's wife Cynthia end up hating each other.
Marc picks a location close to where his buddy and his family are vacationing. Despite the fact that Marc's own wife, Judith, thinks Ralph is a creeper, he drags his family into a situation where they will run into each other. It is so hard to get into a story when you dislike the lead character. I forced myself to finish this story because something about the synopsis told me to keep going. This story was set in the Netherlands, which means it might not have even been in english in it's first printing. That would explain a lot since it felt like something was lost in translation.
You get a stain on your pants. Your favorite pair of pants. You wash them ten times in a row at 160 degrees. You scrub and scour and rub. You bring in the heavy artillary. Bleaches. Abrasive cleaners. But the spot doesn't go away. If you scrub and scour too long, it will only be replaced by something else. By a stretch of fabric that is thinner and paler. the paler cloth is the memory. The memory of the spot. Now there are two things you can do. You can throw the pants away, or you can walk around for the rest of your life with the memory of the stain. It also reminds you of when the pants were still clean.
If you run things back far enough, the clean pants finally show up. y then, you know that they're not going to stay clean. I know that I will keep running things back for the rest of my life. Was this where it was? I'll ask myself again and again. Or was it further back?. . . There? I hit pause.
Here it is clean.
And here, not anymore.
That little gem happened around chapter twenty five. Things were just starting to get interesting. I was convinced by this time that we were leading up to something. I didn't like how Marc kept retreating back into his thoughts. Honestly some scenes didn't get finished due to a flashback. There were quite a few flashbacks that didn't need to happen. This story didn't need all of that. Something happens to Marc's daughter and his reaction is so crazy. I know there is a huge disconnect between me and these people. It could be cultural, professional, financial, or just a matter of gender. I found these people and their reactions to what happened completely off. Not normal. Maybe everyone reacts in their own way when something this big occurs, but I kind of think there is a standard reaction. This book didn't cover it. Maybe it was because it was written by a man and had a male lead that I had a hard time getting into this book? I had such a hard time even liking the characters enough to care what kind of drama the got into. When the things finally did happen, it was treated so oddly. I just didn't really enjoy this story.
Да, по-добра е от "Вечерята". Да, прави точни разрези. Но не - Кох не е съвсем моят тип. Все пак някои провокации към мисълта и етиката заслужават внимание.
this book was disturbing and disgusting and i disliked all the characters. For some reason though, i just had to finish it to know what happened!
Was expecting an /actual/ murder mystery book, ya know, with figuring out who the killer was with the characters sort of narrative; instead was more of a tale of a summer vacation gone wrong with a murder in the background. Still a good read (ha ha) though, even if it wasn't what I anticipated.
لا يمكن لأحد إنكار أنها رواية ممتعة، وهيرمان كوخ روائي متميز برواياته المملة في البداية وشديدة الإثارة والغموض في نهايتها.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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!
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.