Reviews

Detective Story by Imre Kertész

lareske's review

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

agonzmedina82's review against another edition

3.0

"Un relato policiaco" es una reflexión sobre los mecanismos de opresión en los regímenes totalitarios que, aunque contiene algunas tesis interesantes por parte de víctimas y verdugos, me ha decepcionado bastante debido a la escasa originalidad de sus ideas. Kertész no termina de alejarse de los lugares comunes concernientes a las dictaduras y sus brazos ejecutores, y no aporta nada nuevo en cuanto a sus personajes, situaciones o ideas.

Un punto fuerte, digno de agradecimiento, es que el autor no haya sucumbido a la tentación de lo melodramático ni de lo truculento. Escritores con menos oficio que Kertész trufarían este "relato" de descripciones morbosas sobre la tortura o el sufrimiento de los reos con el fin de captar la atención del lector. A Kertész le sobra con la presencia de un pequeño muñeco (el columpio de Boger) y la sed de destrucción fanática de Rodríguez para insinuar una atmósfera corrupta y viciada en torno a los interrogados.

También resulta muy acertado el recurso de una narración aparentemente caótica en la que el lector debe unir las piezas para componer un retrato cuya imagen final intuye desde las primeras páginas. El discurso de Rojas Martens está plagado de disgresiones, saltos temporales, declaraciones de otros implicados, fragmentos de diario de uno de los acusados... Tal diversidad de narraciones dentro de la narración principal, aunque tamizada por la perspectiva de Rojas, aporta una riqueza narratológica de primer orden y mantiene el interés del lector en una historia, por otra parte, bastante lineal.

No me parece un mal libro, a mí me ha gustado, pero quizá esperaba algo más de este autor.

sarahvw's review against another edition

2.0

Dull, unpleasant, a few vivid passages but mostly just not engaging...

snoopdoggescu's review against another edition

4.0

Absorbente.

tfitoby's review against another edition

3.0

I think the synopsis oversells this interesting experiment in perspective, sure we’re riding in the mind of a member of some fascist police group or other from some South American banana republic but i’m not entirely sure Kertesz is asking us to sympathise with the guy or anything so confronting. If anything it’s far more subtle yet completely in keeping with many of the stories that came out of Germany after WWII or perhaps come from any lunatic cop in America in 2018 - I was just riding the wave to get ahead, doing as I was told only before I knew it things were so far out of my control etc. - than the hyperbole of a selling tool such as a synopsis can allow for. And even then i’m not sure it did a good enough job based on the condition of the ten year old library book I read - it literally looked and felt like it had never been opened. And whilst I enjoyed what little there was of this novella it really didn’t offer me, as a seasoned literary noir reader, much to ponder, digest, cling to, beyond the basic narrative confession from somebody unreliable, a confession lacking depth, that explores little beyond softly asking the reader to confront their own prejudices and preconceived notions.

torijanereads's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Paperback - Full RTC.

governoon's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

sarahmaeborah's review

challenging dark medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

3.5

This book is written from the viewpoint a low-ranking secret police officer in an unnamed south American dictatorship as he awaits punishment for his capture and torture of a wealthy father and son who got caught up in the resistance. We see the fruitlessness of the son's actions which although well intentioned and beautifully thought through result in nothing more than the suffering of his family. However the true horror of this book is the banality of the officer's evil actions - he is simply following orders and doesn't have any political thoughts. As explained in the intro, he is a man "living outside morality." 

dsdmona's review against another edition

2.0

http://dsdmona1.blogspot.com.es/2014/04/un-relato-policiaco.html

matthewrob's review

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0