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Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, Canada
My virtue is that I say what I think, my vice that what I think doesn't amount to much.

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Summer House With Swimming Pool


Herman Koch's novel is about Doctor Marc Schlosser who dislikes interacting with patients, either verbally or physically. Despite this debilitating flaw he has a flourishing practice and his patients seem to like him, primarily because he schedules longer appointments and appears to listen to them although he mostly tunes them out. He is disgusted by descriptions of their sex lives, is homophobic and misogynistic yet does his best to initiate a relationship with a patient's wife. The characters are despicable and when a nasty incident with Marc's 13 year old daughter occurs while the family is on vacation it is not possible to decide who might be the perpetrator. Marc is a sociopath; he enjoys making people suffer so it comes as no surprise when he inflicts grievous harm on a patient. The story flips back and forth and ultimately takes us nowhere but is well written and if you liked The Dinner you should give it a try.

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