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saro2109 's review for:
Summer House with Swimming Pool
by Herman Koch
Koch's widely acclaimed novel The Dinner is one of my all time favorites, so I had high expectations for Summer House. In tone and theme - the cornerstones of Koch's writing style - it did not disappoint. Like its predecessor, Summer House is simultaneously eerie and mundane, and builds tension so slowly that its climax feels inevitable yet shocking. The dichotomies of this work are the cornerstones of Koch's incredible writing: he has an unmatched ability to create a narrative so gradual that every individual step feels permissible, even necessary, until the final, devastating result of such small decisions is revealed. After following the thrilling path of Dr. Schlosser, readers will be left questioning their own morals and standards of acceptable behavior.
Marc Schlosser himself, the strange, unreliable narrator of Summer House, is also similar to the anti-heroes of Koch's previous works. That is to say, Marc is deeply unlikable. While I appreciate the literary value of having a narrator who is unpleasant to read, I found Marc to be particularly unbearable at times, especially due to his tendency to repeat ideas well past the point of establishing a theme. He's a great character but a bad person, a potent combination that worked well in the context of a suspense novel but perhaps didn't need to torment readers in the first person for over 400 pages.
Additionally, unlike the dramatic reveal of The Dinner, the final result of Summer House is divulged immediately, and the mystery lies instead in the murderer's intent. But this doesn't take very long to figure out, either, so the mystery shifts again to revolve around a rape. However, the question of who the rapist is ultimately turns out to be inconsequential. When the dying Ralph reveals the perpetrator at the end of the novel, it changes neither Marc's actions nor affect, and was barely a revelation since the rape itself had already been exposed. It was presented as a twist ending but read as an irrelevant afterthought. Overall, the central mystery was muddled. At times it was unclear what my goal was supposed to be as a reader, and the payoff of the drawn out build up is minimal at best.
Read the rest of this review at https://www.goldilocksreviews.com
Marc Schlosser himself, the strange, unreliable narrator of Summer House, is also similar to the anti-heroes of Koch's previous works. That is to say, Marc is deeply unlikable. While I appreciate the literary value of having a narrator who is unpleasant to read, I found Marc to be particularly unbearable at times, especially due to his tendency to repeat ideas well past the point of establishing a theme. He's a great character but a bad person, a potent combination that worked well in the context of a suspense novel but perhaps didn't need to torment readers in the first person for over 400 pages.
Additionally, unlike the dramatic reveal of The Dinner, the final result of Summer House is divulged immediately, and the mystery lies instead in the murderer's intent. But this doesn't take very long to figure out, either, so the mystery shifts again to revolve around a rape. However, the question of who the rapist is ultimately turns out to be inconsequential. When the dying Ralph reveals the perpetrator at the end of the novel, it changes neither Marc's actions nor affect, and was barely a revelation since the rape itself had already been exposed. It was presented as a twist ending but read as an irrelevant afterthought. Overall, the central mystery was muddled. At times it was unclear what my goal was supposed to be as a reader, and the payoff of the drawn out build up is minimal at best.
Read the rest of this review at https://www.goldilocksreviews.com