SUMMER HOUSE WITH SWIMMING POOL BY HERMAN KOCH

I’ve finally gotten a chance to sit down and look over my notes to write a review on this wonderful book. Herman Koch is one of my favorite authors. I will read more by him. Was it better than The Dinner? In some ways, yes and in others no. Both are terrific.

Marc Schlosser, is a Dutch doctor, a General Practitioner who has some high-profile patients. He is a mediocre doctor who simply gives lip service to his patients. The sight of naked bodies repulses him. Marc’s wife is Caroline. He has two daughters, Lisa and Julia.

One of these high-profile patients is Ralph Meier, a well-known stage actor who has been recently tapped for a television series to be shot in California. He has a wife, Judith and two sons. Ralph is overweight and a braggart. Obnoxious to the nth degree.

Marc and Caroline become socially connected to Ralph and Judith. Ralph extends an invitation for them to stay in a summer house that he has rented. He makes sure to let them know it does have a swimming pool. Caroline does not want to go, however Marc without conferring with her, heads out to a place very close to the house Ralph is renting. Caroline is not happy.

Since they did not take Ralph up on his invitation to stay at the summer house, he invited another couple instead, film director Stanley Forbes and his much younger girlfriend, Emmanuelle. Marc, Caroline and the girls end up pitching a tent in Ralph’s yard and staying there.

At this point, things start happening. Not all of them good. The characters, all unlikable to me, play a part in the drama that unfolds.

From this point on, I will not reveal a lot. Let it suffice to say that much transpires over the summer and this book kept me turning pages, laughing during parts of it and horrified during other parts.

The ending was very sad in my eyes. I believe that the attitude expressed in the book is one that is commonplace in America today.

In a nutshell, as in The Dinner, I really disliked all the characters in this book. I did, however, give it five ***** as it well deserves it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Herman Koch is a Dutch writer and actor. He has written short stories, novels, and columns. His best-selling novel The Dinner has been translated into 21 languages. He has acted for radio, television, and film. He co-created the long-running TV series Jiskefet.

EXTRAS

Want to hear a fascinating interview with Mr. Koch about this best-selling book? You can catch it on YouTube?

This is another interesting webpage I found talking about Herman Koch. He is one of my favorite authors, which is pretty strange, in that I really hate all of his characters. Brilliant in my opinion.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

John Boyne never fails to blow me away.  Anything he writes is phenomenal.  This book was no exception.  I doubt that I can come anywhere close to describing how much I enjoyed this book, but I will try. 

Meet Cyril Avery.  He is the illegitimate son born to a teenager in Dublin, Ireland.  She is shamed by the entire village where she resides.  Thrown out of her parents’ house and shunned by the entire community, Cyril is put up for adoption.  Charles, an extremely wealthy good-for-nothing except chasing women, adopts Cyril.  Charles’ wife, Maud is a reclusive novelist whose greatest fear is writing a book that is successful thereby bringing attention is brought to her.  His adoptive father, Charles, basically ignores Cyril except when he is reminding him that he is adopted.  Not a true member of the family. 

Charles has an attorney who has a son that befriends Cyril at the age of seven.  Julian Woodbead is also seven, but is much worldlier than Cyril.  Cyril and Julian are lifetime friends. 

The book follows Cyril from his birth and moves in intervals several years apart through his life.  It was thought provoking for me and reminded me that everyone at one time or the other in their lives pretend to be someone they are not.  Most of the time they do this because of  self-loathing or fear. 

This book brought many emotions for me.  I felt pain, loss religion, and prejudice among several others.   Simply put, John Boyne never fails me.  He is one author that I always look to when I want a good book where the characters are developed and the descriptions are vivid. 

If you have not read The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne, you have missed a great read. I’ve read several really good books in 2019, but this one remains my favorite.

About the Author 

John Boyne was born in Ireland in 1971 and is the author of seven novels for adults and three for children. The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas won two Irish Book Awards, was shortlisted for the British Book Award, reached no.1 on the New York Times Bestseller List and was made into an award-winning Miramax feature film. His novels are published in over 45 languages. He lives in Dublin.