Mini Review: Summer House With Swimming Pool, by Herman Koch
Time for a Mini Review!
The story starts in media res where (and this is hardly a spoiler) Dr. Marc Schlosser is being scrutinized for the suspicious malpractice and subsequent death of actor Ralph Meier. Herman Koch then takes you to the very beginning where the two meet and eventually decide that it would be a GREAT IDEA to buddy-up and hang out - guess where - at a Summer House (With Swimming Pool). Obviously (and again, hardly a spoiler,) a BAD IDEA.
Just like "The Dinner", this is one of those books where you hate all the characters because everyone is self-absorbed and the men are especially repugnant. Despite loathing all the characters, the tension and suspense between the Schlossers and the Meiers will make you want to keep reading because of one very strong sentiment: schadenfreude.
Rating? 4/5 stars.
Oh, yeah, I agree with this one. You're right on. I think I still preferred The Dinner because of the kind of suspense it carried, but this one was good, too. "reprehensible" is the right word for the men, for sure. It makes me wonder if this author is perhaps a little one-note, though. The tone and the loathsome characters and the totally unreliable narrators made me feel like I was reading a sequel, not a separate book.
ReplyDeleteI read and enjoyed the dinner, so I think I will try this one too! Although I will probably need to read something with characters I love before this one for balance!
ReplyDeleteYes, prepare yourself by reading something with a lovable cast - you're not going to have any favorites with this one!
ReplyDeleteI prefer The Dinner too, because he achieved the same level of suspense and claustrophobic tension at just one dinner table! It did feel like reading a sequel because I got that same feeling with this set of characters. I'm hoping that Herman Koch shows us something new in his next book.
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