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rhodamack09 's review for:
Fear
by Dirk Kurbjuweit
This review was originally posted on StrupagFEAR is the story of Randolph Tiefenhaler, a married father of two who works as an architect in Berlin. He and his family live in an upper ground floor flat in the city. It's upon purchasing this flat that the family find themselves under the scrutiny of their downstairs neighbour, Dieter Tiberius, a man who lives alone and rarely leaves his home. Dieter Tiberius' notes to the family start off fairly innocuous, but it isn't long before he is accusing Randolph and his wife of abusing their children. When Randolph seeks help from the police on this slanderous matter he is turned away - they can do nothing to help him. With everything in his life hanging on the words of his downstairs neighbour, Randolph is desperate to find a solution to his Dieter Tiberius problem.
The story is told by Randolph as he looks back on the events of his aforesaid problem. But as readers we spend a lot of time looking at Randolph's own personal life, his upbringing and marriage in order to understand the man whose family are being stalked.
Originally written in German, the FEAR is the first of Dirk Kurbjuweit's work to be translated into English. It's a very interesting concept for a novel, not least because the author is drawing upon his own personal experiences. I think knowing this adds additional weight to the story and, as readers, we begin to wonder what we would do in Randolph's position?
This was somewhat of a strange book for me in that I found it easy to read and thought-provoking but I really didn't like Randolph! I grew weary of his selfishness, talk of his father's guns and his constant reference to class. I don't know if this is perhaps something in the translation that just didn't sit with me, but I really disliked the man. Yet I was intrigued, I wanted to know how this Dieter Tiberius had forced a family to such lengths. I would actually have loved to have read some chapters from Tiberius' perspective!
While I can't say I was blown away by this book, I certainly found the concept interesting. I suspect that in not caring about the protagonist I probably missed out on much this book has to offer.
The story is told by Randolph as he looks back on the events of his aforesaid problem. But as readers we spend a lot of time looking at Randolph's own personal life, his upbringing and marriage in order to understand the man whose family are being stalked.
Originally written in German, the FEAR is the first of Dirk Kurbjuweit's work to be translated into English. It's a very interesting concept for a novel, not least because the author is drawing upon his own personal experiences. I think knowing this adds additional weight to the story and, as readers, we begin to wonder what we would do in Randolph's position?
This was somewhat of a strange book for me in that I found it easy to read and thought-provoking but I really didn't like Randolph! I grew weary of his selfishness, talk of his father's guns and his constant reference to class. I don't know if this is perhaps something in the translation that just didn't sit with me, but I really disliked the man. Yet I was intrigued, I wanted to know how this Dieter Tiberius had forced a family to such lengths. I would actually have loved to have read some chapters from Tiberius' perspective!
While I can't say I was blown away by this book, I certainly found the concept interesting. I suspect that in not caring about the protagonist I probably missed out on much this book has to offer.