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Great until the end

Revisado: 07-21-23

Suspenseful, intriguing, and a great mix of gothic noir with modern mystery. I loved the character building and the small clues revealed each chapter. Unfortunately it goes if the rails at the end. I feel like lots of books are doing that recently, wherein they pack in as many twists as possible at the end to shock you with no regard to quality or “did I provide any hints at this in the previous chapters”. Still glad I read though!

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Wow!

Revisado: 10-27-21

Definitely one of the best books I have ever read or listened to. It’s long, but plays out like a mini series. It begins with a story of grief, as the narrator speaks to his wife who died in a horrific active shooting. However, as he grieves, he discovers a side to his wife he did not know existed. As he uncovers the truth about who his wife was, he becomes obsessed with a mystery that plagued his wife before her death. It’s eerie, emotional, and suspenseful as all heck. It gripped me at page (or minute) one and had me until the author’s note at the end. Highly recommend this book.

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esto le resultó útil a 14 personas

Not Worth It

Revisado: 08-05-21

I love Herman Koch. His cynical, yet relatable, unreliable narrators are so intriguing and the provocative rants they go on are entertaining and, though quite “edgy”, equally relatable. You know they are up to no good, and not giving you the full story, but you can’t help but root for them. On that note, this book is no different from his earlier works. And the voice performance just enhances that.

However, this story is just generally a mess. Starting out with suspicions about his wife’s affair, then anxiety about his aging parent’s plans to commit suicide, then his past (or not his past?) catching up to him via an investigative reporter, and a lot of other unfortunate situations plague the narrator of The Ditch, the mayor of Amsterdam. However, where he starts out vague, in order to “protect” his family’s identities, he ends on the same vague note. The end tries to convey how the stories all tie together in some plot, but the lack of information, coupled with confusing motivations by every character involved, and a few characters who would need to be rather stupid to not become weary to the narrator’s crimes (I think?), make for an unimpressive ending.

The book is still entertaining if you like Koch’s other works. The narration is key there. However, while his other books reward you for reading or listening to the first 200 pages of slow burning events, this book doesn’t really have much of a burn at all, and the end does not have any great payoff. You might be better off just skipping this one.

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What A Storyteller

Revisado: 04-27-21

Tiffany wrote her memoir about her experience as an addict, inmate, and recovering addict like a modern day neo-noir novel. The only difference is that instead of a cliche-ridden mystery about a girl who saw something she won’t reveal until the last chapter, the end product is a suspenseful, emotional, and exciting roller coaster of events as we follow her journey of recovery and drug abuse simultaneously. While listening I found myself rooting for to not get caught before remembering that she is telling this story from jail, and that being caught would eventually lead to her recovery. Amazingly written. Amazing story. Amazing woman. Good job Tiffany!

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Not A Light Read

Revisado: 04-23-21

This book was very hard to listen to. At about the halfway point, you begin to think “Will this abuse ever end?” and without answering, let me tell you there is no reprieve until the epilogue, and it is certainly still not the ending I was hoping for. However, it’s a very interesting and captivating story from beginning to end, with moments of very slight levity and sympathetic, well-rounded depictions of David himself, and all the people he knew in his life. Highly recommend, but please do know this is a true tale about abuse, more abuse, and nothing but abuse.

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