Sommerhaus mit Swimmingpool (Gekürzte Fassung)

The blurb of this book made it sound like it would be a psychological thriller. In reality, it was very slow-paced, which lessened the intensity of the story, rather than build suspense. Something dark and violent was supposed to happen at the summer home where two families had come together, but that incident was a minor, forgettable portion of the book, and was never really resolved. That being said, I did read the whole thing and though it was slow, I stayed interested in it. It just wasn't what I expected based on the summary.

A family meets up with another family and another couple for summer vacation which causes tension between the husband and wife. The tween children get along great with the other couples children. At the end of the vacation, their is a crisis that changes the course of their lives.

Summer House With Swimming Pool by Herman Koch

My sincere thanks to Hogarth Publishing & Netgalley for providing the e-galley of this book.

My book club had recommended Koch's earlier work, The Dinner, but as with most intentions, time passes and your life moves on to something else. When I was given an advance copy of Summer House I decided to see what Herman Koch was all about.

I started the book and immediately knew that this was going to be dark. The Hippocratic Oath, obviously was the Hypocritic Oath for our narrator, Dr. Marc Schlosser. About halfway through the book, about the time the family ended up at the dung infested campground, I felt required to kick back a few antacid chews.

The further I got into the book the more I detested the characters. I began to wonder who has an imagination that creates such vile, misogynistic and narcissistic people? The sad part is that I have met a few of these self-centered and slimy people so I know they exist.

I don't know what else to say! If you enjoy heartburn and reading about the basest qualities of humanity pick up this book.

In conclusion, and perhaps to inspire the reader to pick up a copy to see what got my dander up, let me tell you an anecdote that was inspired by the book. I startled by husband with the question, "When you get your prostate checked, do you still have your shoes and socks on with your boxers draped around your knees?" His reply will remain private but his expression was WHAT? I know I will never go to the doctor's office without wondering…..

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.

I gave this book 4 stars but I could easily be convinced to delete two of them. I go back and forth. I think it is a good book, well written and I just did not like any of the characters. The main character is a doctor who really has none - character, that is. They story is about a traumatic vacation he and his family takes and what happens after. I think mainly I'm just glad it (the book) is over. Weird.

I have never read a novel by Herman Kotch before. And now I'm wondering what the hell all the fuss is....? Now, I'm repulsed and astonished. But the writing style in the second half of the book, after the 'unspeakable act' happened, made me keep reading until I had finished it, all tonight, until 2:32 a.m.

This book made me so angry. Mostly at myself for believing hype in choosing to read this book. It was billed as this year's Greatest Novel. Well the only thing this book has in common with Other books in this genre is that the characters are all unlikable. The difference here is that this book has no suspense. It had an uninteresting plot. It's the kind of book that sends me back to reading P. g. Wodehouse. If literary means dysfunctional characters without any moral compass, then I agree. Argh!

The first half of the book is a character study of all the characters and their empty lives: a womanizing actor, a womanizing director, an empty headed young model, a misanthropic doctor, their wives and their teenage children.The only thing that kept me reading was the hype. And HOPE. Hope that something interesting would happen...
What was the shocking event? About half of the way through, the shock happens and then...... nothing. Literally nothing is done about it except ignore that it happened. Maybe if the event had been presented at the beginning and then we got to know the characters, it would have been more interesting. I suspect I am showing my American preference for action? This book is very European: trying to show ugly truths about people by drawing a character sketch and we conclude what we wish about what that says about society. The characters weren't unique enough to make any profound comments.

This main character, Marc, definitely intrigued me. I also couldn't get over how graphic Marc was about the human body. Yes he's a doctor, and I understand he would see things objectively, but he seemed so negative about it. The people I know in the healthcare field have an APPRECIATION for the human body, not contempt. So WHY? Why was he a doctor and why was he so grossed out by stuff? His thought processes (in the novel) bordered on obsession, with a lot of O.C.D. mixed in there. Why the hell was he even a doctor if he had these delusions? HE disgusted me, the way he kept obsessing about people's bodies.

And not only was Marc a little odd, I couldn't for the life of me understand the family dynamics. Any father I know would have choked. the life out of any grown man who laid a hand on his daughter. This guy was like Oh hey, maybe if we don't call the cops about what happened to my daughter, they won't find out about the "accident" me and Good Old Stanley had in my car, while drunk, that same night....? So yeah, let's all just let it be. And the mother went along with it! I don't know. It made me mad.

In any case, this book spilled open some topics that are probably uncomfortable for most people to deal with: the human body, cancer, sexual immorality, the power of patriarchy... Heavy stuff told in a way that turned my stomach, made me question people's motives, and made me wish that our world was nicer than it is.

Overall, these parts of the book I read made my skin crawl and I can't recommend this horror to anyone unless, after reading a book, you like the feeling that you need to take a long, hot shower and rinse off your eyeballs.

4 stars, for making me read through to the end. 2 stars for making me actively HATE the characters. So.....let's say, 3?

I was happy to receive a Digital Review Copy (DRC) of this title to review for Blogging for Books!

Herman Koch's novel to prior to this one really wowed me. The essence of "The Dinner" crept up on me as I read, and by the end I was appalled and mesmerized. I looked forward to such a feeling when I began "Summer House with Swimming Pool," but I regret to say that feeling never arrived.

Summer House is about a physician, Dr. Schlosser, with a less-than-altruistic sense of his medical vows. While his actions are describable, it is his thoughts that are truly vile and I was never able to develop the connection or fascination I would've needed to enjoy any part of this story. I do admire Koch's ability to shock and turn the story into something darker than you suspected it was.

In Summer House with Swimming Pool, Marc Schlosser’s general medical practice is flourishing and lucrative, and maintains him, his wife Caroline, and their two young daughters Lisa and Julia in a comfortable lifestyle. Many of Marc’s patients are celebrities, one of which is the famous actor Ralph Meier. Ralph—loud, pushy, ego-driven, selfish—doesn’t like to take no for an answer, and against his better judgment Marc allows himself to be drawn into a social relationship with Ralph and his alluring wife Judith. The relationship culminates in the Schlosser family staying with the Meiers at the summer house that Ralph has rented for his family (which includes two young sons) somewhere on the Mediterranean. It is in fact Marc who has manipulated circumstances to make this happen, despite Caroline’s expressed aversion to Ralph, because of his attraction to Judith (an attraction that is mutual). The story is narrated by Marc, who reveals much (perhaps too much) about his likes, his dislikes, and his frequently bad and reckless behaviour. Early in the novel we learn that Ralph has died under Marc’s care. It is not a straightforward case and the doctors at the hospital have concerns about Marc’s diagnosis and treatment. A huge portion of the story that follows traces the events and decisions leading up to Ralph’s death, with the major turning point coming on a night of festivities on the beach on the Mediterranean. Julia is out dancing and watching fireworks with the elder of the two Meier sons, but they are separated, and she is sexually assaulted. Because Julia can’t remember much of what happened, Marc’s suspicions fall on every male who was present that night, including Ralph. Portions of Koch’s novel, narrated in unadorned prose, generate great tension and the story is undeniably gripping. It does not seem to matter that none of the characters is particularly likable. Marc is an unappealing misanthrope, but the reader becomes invested in his fate, mostly because he is the cause of his own undoing. However, Koch the novelist does not seem to recognize when enough is enough: it is as though he is smitten by his story and characters and is driven to give the reader as much as he can of both. For this reason, the pacing of Summer House with Swimming Pool occasionally becomes flaccid and the novel, which clocks in at almost 400 pages, seems overlong. Still, a diverting read that is not afraid to explore the seamy underbelly of human motivation.

Marc Schlosser ist Hausarzt und extrem zynisch. Man hat nicht den Eindruck, dass er seinen Patienten irgendeine medizinische Hilfeleistung angedeihen lässt. Seinen Patienten Ralph Meier, einen bekannten Schauspieler, besucht er mit seiner Familie in dessen Sommerhaus. Als Meier kurz darauf an einer tödlichen Krankheit stirbt, wird in der Rückschau offenbar, was damals passierte.Ich fand das Buch gut und spannend, aber im Vergleich zu "Angerichtet" schwächer - dieses Buch hat mich bei weitem nicht so gefesselt und ich dachte bei weitem nicht so viel darüber nach.

Book opens smoothly, then by Page 3, I realize that the words are totally not what I'm expecting to read.Plot continues scary, funny, and inviting. Coverage of the "Play" is astonishing and gives hope that all will sustain until the conclusion for this cynical reclusive thinker.Unfortunately, the book dissolves into an endless litany of amnesia mini-episodes,with a mostly predictable resolution.Creative Cover!

Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch was a difficult book to read. It was sheer drudgery to finish it. I started & stopped reading over a period of several weeks & it was torturous. I gave it one star.The characters, while articulately drawn, were disgusting, repulsive & throughly unlikable. I couldn’t decide which man repelled me more, Marc the doctor, or Ralph the actor. They both were reprehensible beings. The women were insipid, whining, immature manipulators.The subject matter was unpleasant to say the least. I do not recommend this book.I received a complimentary copy from Crown Publishing & NetGalley. That did not change my opinion for this review.

If you've read The Dinner by Herman Koch, you'll find Summer House With Swimming Pool to be similar--an unreliable narrator and basically unlikeable characters. This novel is narrated by Dr. Marc Schlosser, who takes a very jaundiced view of his patients, many of whom are rich and famous. One of his patients, Ralph Meier, has recently died, and questions arise as to whether Marc committed medical malpractice in connection with the death. Further, if there has been medical malpractice, is it possible that Ralph Meir was murdered? Koch has stated that the inspiration for this novel was the idea of a "passive murder." In addition, like The Dinner, the novel raises questions of how far a parent can, or should, go to protect their teenage children.I enjoyed this book, though not quite as much as The Dinner.3 stars

Having greatly admired Dutch writer Herman Koch’s European best-seller The Dinner, I was delighted to find this more recent novel. The two have much in common: a first-person narration by men who turn out to be not entirely reliable, an unfolding tragic event whose full scope is only gradually revealed; and the grounding of the story in the hyper-intense relationships of a nuclear family, where every secret evokes the possibility of catastrophe.The narrator of The Dinner was quite likeable, at least at first, his chameleon colors revealed only bit by bit. In this novel, Koch’s narrator, Dutch general physician Marc Schlosser, shows his disgruntlement cards early on. Married with two preteen/early teen daughters, his feelings about women are entirely retrograde: “I looked at her (a just-met woman) the way every man looks at a woman who enters his field of vision for the first time. Could you do it with her? I asked myself, looking her deep in the eyes. Yes, was the response.” Or, “Any father would rather have a son than a daughter.” Or, “I laughed . . . the sooner you laugh during a conversation with a woman, the better. They’re not used to it, women, to making people laugh. They think they’re not funny. They’re right, usually.”Ouch, ouch, and ouch.Yet, Marc is not more charitable toward the men he encounters, truth be told, or toward any of his patients, whom he even fantasizes about killing. Why Marc is so dissatisfied is never quite clear. Is he just a curmudgeon in the wrong profession? Did he take too seriously the lectures of his amoral medical school professor?A luckless new patient is the famous actor Ralph Meier, a past-middle-age womanizer attracted to Marc’s wife Caroline. Marc, in turn, is attracted to Ralph’s younger wife Judith, and his attention seems to be reciprocated. Entangling the families further are Marc’s daughters’ growing relationships with Ralph’s slightly older sons.At a minor early summer social event the four members of each family come together in a powerful way, which leads to an invitation to visit the Meier family at their summer house in some unspecified seaside destination. Marc, his eye on Judith, shamelessly manipulates his family’s vacation itinerary, while denying his intent, to ensure the encounter happens. The conflicting personalities, the muddled motives of Marc, and the ingestion of too much alcohol create a decidedly unhappy holiday from which hardly anyone will emerge unscathed.The novel contains a couple of critically weak plot points (which I won’t divulge) that mar its believability. I’m not the only reader to find that Summer House suffers by comparison with the diabolical genius of The Dinner, with New York Times reviewer Lionel Shriver calling this follow-up “inexplicably careless.” Read The Dinner instead.

Marc Schlosser is the doctor to the stars. Famous authors, comedians, and actors alike make him the physician of choice, mainly because of his less-than-personal relationship with patients, and his liberal attitude towards the prescription pad. However, when a famous actor Ralph Meier dies after having a routine procedure done in his office, Marc must come up with answers as to why. However, this is not a simple accident. The answer lies with events that started the previous summer while Schlosser and his family and Meier’s family were on vacation when a horrendous incident occurred. Similar to Herman Koch’s previous novel, The Dinner, the writing in Summer House with Swimming Pool is very detailed, and of course deals with unspeakable actions. The main character, Marc, while certainly very unlikeable, is particularly well drawn and we get a very healthy glimpse into his sociopathic mind. As the story progresses, little by little we see just how unlikeable and unreliable he can be, right up the twist (and twisted!) ending. Full of mystery and suspense, this Summer House with Swimming Pool is a must read. However, if you were too disturbed by The Dinner, you may want to steer clear of this one. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher Crown Publishing through the Blogging for Books program.

I couldn't decide if I even wanted to finish this book but ultimately did, hence the 3 stars. Story line disturbing...rape of a teen. I did find that I really didn't like the characters nor did I care about them. And the ending...really? Not sure if I'll read another by the author, if I do, it will take a bit of time.

So glad to have heard about this book on one of the book podcasts I listen to. I first read The Dinner by this author and was very impressed. Now to turn to this book. I think I was expecting something like the Dinner, but it was different. I really enjoyed this narrator (even if he wasn't a particularly good person). Very impressed and I would recommend this book and this author!

Dr. Marc is a disgruntled physician who doesn’t think much of his patients, or the human race in general, and he finds many of them disgusting. He lets them ramble on and barely pays attention, mentally blaming them for their ailments and repulsed by their bodies. They go to him because they think he empathizes with them and also because he will write them any prescription they want. His ethics are questionable at best.Right from the very first chapter Dr. Marc is a dislikeable character. I don’t have to like a character to enjoy a book, but I need to at least find them interesting or engaging, and Marc’s crudeness put me off from the start. It wasn’t until the end that I could even find anything to empathize with and even then, he was still disgusting. And I suppose that was the point.The book was too slow-moving for me. It wasn’t until the halfway point that the plot even begins to get interesting. And after investing that much time in the book, I needed to know how it ended. Readers that don’t mind a totally unreliable narrator and completely disgusting characters (Marc wasn’t the only repulsive one) might enjoy this more than I did.

I read this book a week ago. I felt a little disappointed when I finished. But with each day thinking about it, I feel more and more disappointed. I keep realizing that important thoughts were started and abandoned. Plot details were introduced for unknown reasons and in the end, all is just ambiguous, unfinished and unsatisfying. This is unfortunate as the first half, or more, of the book is compelling - although in a perverse way. See many of the other reviews for what I mean by perverse. The author is highly observant of human behavior and brutally honest in his portrayal — to the point of being uncomfortable. But that is the good aspect of the book. I started off thinking it was a 3 out of 5 stars being an average of 5 for the keen observations and 1 for the letdowns. But I'm giving it 2 stars before I change my mind and drop it more.

I am giving this 3 stars, but I am not really sure on how I feel about it. Like the "Dinner" I didn't like any of the characters, well the daughters & Caroline, but I definitely felt a distaste for the men characters - totally replused by Ralph and nauseated by Dr Marc who was a total pompous ass. Stanley's total character is in question. ----- Basic jist of the story - Dr Marc and his family are invited to vacation with the actor Ralph Meir and his family who have a rental house with a swimming pool. Marc has a fascination with Ralph's wife, his daughters playmates are the son's of Judith & Ralph. Julia, the 15 year old goes missing and is soon found unconscious on the beach by Marc; the vacation ends abruptly, but they all want to forget what happen to Julia except Marc seeks to revenge his daughters attacker.

I'm really not sure if I liked this novel or not. Lots of the narrative was very engaging but then lots was very irritating. He seemed to wrap things up almost too casually. His reaction to the main event was most unlikely. Himself and his wife never told the police which was a very unusual decision. Later he almost blames Stanley for the incident and then continues the conversation (as does Stanley)as if he never mentioned the accusation. His views on life and women are a bit shocking at times for a contemporary novel. Obviously not suited to the career he has taken up as a doctor, he doesn't really like his patients. Some of those descriptions of the examinations are quite funny and dark.All in all I think I'm a bit disappointed. A bit sloppy. It was a good plot that could have been better written and a better, tighter conclusion.

Have you ever peeled an onion, taking off each of the leaves or whatever they are called, one at a time? That is sort of what this book is like. Everything is slow and deliberate, but there is another layer to peel, and another one after that. Nothing seems to happen, until everything is there and done. I'm not sure how I feel about the book, except I don't care much for the people. What happened to them, and what they did before and after, was rather horrifically bland.I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review."

This is one of those books that, when you finish the last page, you say, "Wow." The emotional pull of the protagonist's journey really is that strong.
I read this as a review copy provided by the publisher (ebook only). I liked it from the first page. Yes, the protagonist is not the most likeable guy in the beginning...but that is a critical element to the plot as it unfolds. And there is enough sarcasm (which I truly enjoy) in what he says and thinks to make the reading enjoyable no matter how much you dislike the guy.
It turns out that his dislike of others creates problems for him as a doctor. It's kind of like that black humor police officers and emergency workers develop because they have to. With a darker twist, yes, and one that is worth reading deeply to understand his view.
The story provides plenty of character development before the tragic event his daughter suffers, all with enough hints at the events to come to keep you moving forward in the narrative. When it finally happens, there is a chaotic reaction on his part and by the people around him. The other characters have also been ramping up the chaos before the event even happens, so when it strikes, the impact is all the more severe.
The true payoff for readers comes when the protagonist responds...in various ways...to the event. He and his wife take one track to help the daughter while the father works on his own in different ways to find justice. In the end, he doesn't truly find justice but he does create his own. The justice he creates makes peace for himself, his family, and others.
This is a well-drawn portrait of a father-daughter relationship. It's a story for today in so many ways. For the reader who understands that not all characters are likeable, Summer House provides a rich payoff.

Marc Schlosser is a Dr. He treats celebritys. He says he gives them a generous twenty minutes of his time. But really he isn't listening to them. Ralph Meier is a celebrity he came to see Marc because he needs pills and had heard Marc prescribes things without much fuss. Much later he comes to see Marc about a lump on his thigh. Now months later Ralph isdead and Marc has to appear before the board of medical examiners who will decide whether it was mismanagement or something deliberate. Between the time of first meeting the actor and his death which Judith Ralphs wife is holding him accountable for something happened. The two couples and their children had spent a lovely summer holiday on the mediterranean at Ralphs summer house. How could the couples spending time together lead to an error that cost Ralph his life? Was it deliberate?

This book reminded me of Koch's previous book "The Dinner." Just about all the characters were unlikable, and the book was steeped in feelings of dread. Because, as the reader, you just know something awful is going to be revealed, and you want to know what it is, but at the same time you don't want to know what it is.Dr. Marc Schlosser, the narrator of the book, is a general practitioner in the Netherlands with no ethics or sense of duty to his patients. He doesn't care about his patients and doesn't even listen to them when they come in for their appointments. He dispenses drugs willy-nilly and doesn't even feel guilty about it. It's a wonder he hasn't lost his license.The book begins by giving the reader a glimpse of what has just happened. One of Marc's patients - a famous actor named Ralph Meier - has died while under Marc's care, and the Medical Board is investigating the death. From that point the book rewinds to slowly bring the reader into the story to explain what has led to this point.There is a twist when the cause of Ralph's death is finally revealed, but by then I hated Marc and Ralph and Ralph's wife Judith and their friends Stanley and Emmanuelle so much that I was hoping they'd all suffer. Just like in "The Dinner," when I hated all the characters so much I didn't care what happened to them in the end.And maybe that's what kept me from liking the book all that much. It was hard for me to separate hating the characters from hating the book. And, boy, did I hate the characters. Koch is certainly a consistent writer in that he really knows how to create hugely flawed main characters who do awful things, don't feel guilty about it, and expect the reader to sympathize with them.

Also ich kann nur hoffen, dass mein Hausarzt mit der Hauptfigur dieser Geschichte so gut wie nichts gemeinsam hat. Ansonsten hätte ich schon ein merkwürdiges Gefühl...
Hauptfigur ist Marc Schlosser, ein Hausarzt dessen PatientInnenkreis sich überwiegend aus Menschen mit sogenannten kreativen Berufen zusammensetzt: SchriftstellerInnen, MalerInnen, SchauspielerInnen undundund. Denn es ist bekannt, dass der Arzt sich der Verschreibung bestimmter aktivierender Medikamente gegenüber aufgeschlossen zeigt, deren Unterstützung gerade in schöpferischen Kreisen gerne willkommen geheissen wird. So findet auch der berühmte Schauspieler Ralph Meier seinen Weg in Marcs Praxis und schon nach kurzer Zeit sind die Familien der Beiden miteinander bekannt. Und wie der 'Zufall' es so will, verbringen sie gemeinsam einen Teil ihrer Ferien in einem Sommerhaus mit Swimmingpool. Doch Ralph hat so seine dunklen Seiten, die sich nicht zuletzt auch auf Marcs Familienleben auswirken...
Eigentlich ist die Sache von Beginn an klar: Dort der gute Hausarzt, da die chaotische, komplizierte und heuchlerische Künstlerschar - keine Frage, wem die Sympathien gehören. Doch das Bild wandelt sich und immer öfter stellt man sich die Frage, wer hier eigentlich wem etwas vormacht. Selbst als man sich sicher zu sein scheint wer wohin gehört, muss man feststellen, wieder völlig daneben gelegen zu haben.
Wie der Autor so gut wie jeden Mitwirkenden fast bis auf die Haut entlarvt und bloßstellt, ließ mich häufig erst laut lachen, das dann aber immer wieder in betroffenem Schlucken unterging. Denn es ist böseböseböse - aber gut ;-) Es ist eine toll erzählte Geschichte, die wirklich genial mit den Erwartungen der Zuhörenden spielt - ok, auf jeden Fall mit meinen. Und dazu noch kongenial vorgetragen von Johannes Steck, dem es richtig gut gelingt, den einzelnen Personen eine charakteristische Tonlage zu verleihen. Insbesondere Ralph fand ich äusserst überzeugend verkörpert.

The narrator and protagonist of this interesting novel is Dr. Marc Schlosser. Koch has created a complex but intriguing personality in Marc. He is a competent clinician but completely bored with his practice and patients. He has been faking a caring attitude toward his patients for years but, before the novel ends, he even loses interest in that con to the detriment of his practice. He finds his patients’ bodies distasteful, commenting extensively on their flaws. He treats most of his examinations like Kabuki Theater. Despite this, he is clearly proud of his place in society—the first sentence in the book is: “I am a doctor.” Indeed, we are repeatedly reminded of that fact in his narrative. His view is hierarchical with general practitioners above patients but below medical specialists, whom he loathes. Eventually, Marc crosses a line when he ignores the first tenet of the Hippocratic Oath—“First do no harm”—by participating in the death of one of his patients after an unfortunate incident involving his teenage daughter. He determines guilt on the slimmest of evidence, but feels justified in this and is even validated by a former professor, who introduced him to a view of human relations that rejects all but the most basic biological needs. Koch treats Marc’s actions ironically, even leaving us wondering if Marc actually got the right man. Of course, Marc’s narcissistic personality does not permit him to recognize this or feel any remorse or doubt. Moreover, he suffers few consequences, except possibly moving to Los Angeles.Most of the characters in the novel are distasteful primarily because of their self-absorption and superficiality. Many readers might find that spending time with this group of people too much to bear and abandon the book. However, Koch manages a compelling read through his meditation on the theme of sexual attraction and the limits of how one should act on this normal biological attribute.

I listened to the audio and never got beyond my first impression -- "I do not like or trust this fellow telling the story." Really not worth the listening experience. I did not like ANY of the characters---just a completely odd bunch. Yes, it made for a very different novel, unfortunately.

The writing is clear and the characters are usually interesting, but the pacing was a little too slow. Not much really happened when it comes down to it, and the "twist" (if it could be called that) at the end was unimpressive.

He writes very strange and unusual books. He presents children in such a different light. His books are creepy without being scary. I am not sure "biology medicine" was translated correctly.