Wow ! I'm still reeling from this book. From page one, I disliked the narrator of this story. Dr. Marc Schlosser. Early in the novel he meets and "befriends" Ralph, who is even more unlikable. The way he treats all people but especially woman is repulsive. These two get to know each other and wind up spending their vacation together with their respective families. The more I observed their behavior towards woman the more repulsive they became. But the novel turned dark, really dark when a little 13 year old girl became involved in the depravity. Grown woman have to lie in the beds they make but 13 years old girls are off limits. Period. End of discussion. Ralph went so far as to state that Julie had it coming to her. The author Herman Koch makes a strong argument about how these depraved, despicable, perverts deserve absolutely no sympathy, and should be dealt with as severely as possible. Can't say I disagree. ( )

This book was: Intense. Graphic. Twisted. I loved it. Unreliable narrator summer heat unscrupulous people grandiose sense of what is "right"...I read this in one day. Get it. Read it. Be thankful you are not like these people. ( )

Quite the interesting read. Initially, I wasn’t sure where the story was headed. It begins in the present, where Dr. Marc is introduced as a general practitioner to celebrities. He is faced with accusations of malpractice when a famous actor/patient, Ralph, dies. Next, the story picks up in pace and interest for me as time reverses to one year ago when Marc and his family take a summer vacation and end up staying with Ralph and his family at a summer house with a swimming pool. There is lots of drama with family dynamics and character personalities. Then, a tragic event occurs that completely shifts the story and changes the dynamics of the relationships that have been developing. As the story nears conclusion, my mind was busy keeping up with the unraveling of the truth. This is a good book that I’m happy to have read. ( )

Próspero médico de cabecera en Ámsterdam, Marc Schlosser ejerce su profesión con cierta dosis de cinismo. Su nutrida clientela valora especialmente el tiempo que dedica a las consultas, pero esta aparente generosidad esconde unas intenciones menos nobles, que Marc disimula con habilidad. Cuando uno de sus pacientes, el famoso actor Ralph Meier, lo invita a pasar unos días de verano junto a su familia, Marc acepta pese a las reticencias de Caroline, su esposa, molesta por la arrogante vulgaridad de Ralph y su actitud de seductor irresistible. Así, los Schlosser y los Meier, con sus respectivos hijos adolescentes, compartirán con un maduro director de Hollywood y su novia, cuarenta años más joven, una casa con piscina a pocos kilómetros de una playa mediterránea. Los días transcurren con apacible monotonía, entre comidas, paseos, largas conversaciones de sobremesa, excesos con el alcohol y flirteos más o menos inocentes, hasta que una noche se produce un grave incidente que interrumpirá las vacaciones y cambiará para siempre la relación entre las dos familias.

A man jealous of his wife but wanting to start an affair with another woman himself - and told from his point of view - I can do without this sort of offering. ( )