Done reading.
By Wolf Haas. Austrian Writer. First in a series available in English.
That’s some droll book. Unconventional crime fiction, somewhat noirish, with a likable protagonist and a postmodern narrator who chimes in periodically with warnings to pay attention or to be careful, and with comments dripping with sarcasm. Some wicked, twisted humor included as well.
Notable are the often short and fragmented sentences that go straight to the point without wasting line space on convoluted syntactic structures (e.g. “Because: emergency,” “Adrenalin surge: understatement.”). This does speed things up and frequently gives the book an offbeat, slangy tone. Time and place are often messed with leaving this reader occasionally borderline confused. Plot lines tend to intersect at odd and obtuse angles.
Some may be put off by this, but as long as one willingly submits to the curiously intrusive narrator as well as the serpentine plot and just goes along for the ride, it’s actually very enjoyable reading. It just takes bit getting used to.
There are many other endearing oddities in the book:
- The intermittent meditation on the “Zone of Transparency” is an interesting, and in this book topical, narrative device. This refers to “the glassy membrane of the ovum, into which the sperm implants itself.”
- There are several very unique and graphic scenes that require low-tech special effects imagination.
- The Jimi Hendrix ring tone “Castles Made of Sand” is a gem.
- Several times the expression My dear swan is used to indicate bewilderment. It sounds strange in English and is probably lost in translation for most. Yet, German is full of funky expressions like this: Mein lieber Scholli, Mein lieber Herr Gesangsverein, etc. The origin of My dear swan is evidently in Wagner’s romantic opera Lohengrin. Had no idea.
- A nice section:
There’s nothing that doesn’t exist in the world. I’d even say that the biggest mistake in our world is that there aren’t at least a few things that don’t exist. Because more often than not, non-things and non-people are far more likable than those who’ve pushed themselves elbows first into the world. Or have a look for yourself: non-ideas! Then non-opinions, non-feelings, non-loves, non-conversations, non-thoughts! I’ll say it up front to all of them, walk right in, my door is wide open for you!