Title: Dear Mr. M
Author: Herman Koch
Publisher: Hogarth
Published: Sept 2016 (orig. May 2014)
Genre(s): mystery, Dutch (translation), thriller, suspense
Recommended for: fans of The Secret History, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
Synopsis*
(via goodreads.com):
Once a celebrated
writer, M's greatest success came with a suspense novel based on a
real-life disappearance. The book was called The Reckoning*, and
it told the story of Jan Landzaat, a history teacher who went missing
one winter after his brief affair with Laura, his stunning pupil. Jan
was last seen at the holiday cottage where Laura was staying with her
new boyfriend. Upon publication, M.'s novel was a bestseller, one that
marked his international breakthrough.
That was years ago, and now M.'s career is almost over as he fades increasingly into obscurity. But not when it comes to his bizarre, seemingly timid neighbour who keeps a close eye on him. Why?
From various perspectives, Herman Koch tells the dark tale of a writer in decline, a teenage couple in love, a missing teacher, and a single book that entwines all of their fates. Thanks to The Reckoning, supposedly a work of fiction, everyone seems to be linked forever, until something unexpected spins the "story" off its rails.
That was years ago, and now M.'s career is almost over as he fades increasingly into obscurity. But not when it comes to his bizarre, seemingly timid neighbour who keeps a close eye on him. Why?
From various perspectives, Herman Koch tells the dark tale of a writer in decline, a teenage couple in love, a missing teacher, and a single book that entwines all of their fates. Thanks to The Reckoning, supposedly a work of fiction, everyone seems to be linked forever, until something unexpected spins the "story" off its rails.
With racing tension,
sardonic wit, and a world-renowned sharp eye for human failings, Herman
Koch once again spares nothing and no one in his gripping new novel, a
barbed tour de force suspending readers in the mysterious literary gray
space between fact and fiction, promising to keep them awake at night,
and justly paranoid in the merciless morning.
---------------------------------------------
Socially Broken Hidden in Plain Sight?
In this review we're going to work backwards without spoilers.
The conclusion of this mystery raised my esteem for this book from 3 to 4 stars.
It's one of those books where you finish reading, you sit and think, and then want to immediately re-read the whole thing to make sense of the final revelation.
