Monday, September 26, 2016

read | Dear Mr. M

If there's one thing Herman Koch's books have in common, it's that they're about terrible people doing horrible things. Dear Mr. M is no exception. It starts out from a stalker's perspective, which reminds me of You by Caroline Kepnes (and if you liked that you'll like this and vice versa). As more bits and pieces of the story are revealed, you learn that the target of the narrator's attention is an author who wrote a fictionalized version of a crime in which the narrator was allegedly involved. The story jumps back and forth between perspectives and has some meta elements, referencing some authors' tendencies to build up to a suspenseful moment only to abruptly change the scene. And then he abruptly changes scene. This novel is full of cynical (and accurate) observations of society. I've also read The Dinner and Summer House with Swimming Pool by this author, and I have to say Dear Mr. M is definitely my favorite. It has a bit of a Secret History (Donna Tartt) / Fates and Furies (Lauren Groff) vibe. Not that those two are really related, but my impressions while reading them were pretty similar to Dear Mr M. It may have something to do with the gradual reveal of information, but whatever it is I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it.

4 out of 5 stars

I received this book through Blogging for Books for this review.