#4: Dear Mr. M // Herman Koch

Fiction | Paperback | 400 pages

I've been on a fiction binge this month, as I tend to do when work gets hectic and the brainpower required for reading non-fiction begins to make it feel like more work. Thus, the my 4th read of 2017 brought me to the Dutch writer Herman Koch's Dear Mr. M, my first read by this author. Here's what I thought.

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First of all, have a look at the blurb:

Fascinating, right? That's what I thought, at first. 

You see that there are a number of questions posed:

• What's the narrator's interest in Mr. M?

• What is the narrator planning?

Based on the interesting book jacket (after all, I'd had good luck with The Watchmaker of Filigree Street) and the blurb which only teases at the plot, I'd really wanted to like this book. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

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Let me save you 400 pages of trouble

Spoiler alert: You're not going to be happy with the answers to the questions above. In fact, you'll be left frustrated because there are so many more unanswered questions raised by the plot, characters you never hear from again despite being central to the story, and a fairly dissatisfying ending.

There's also all the exposition around Mr. M, despite the fact that he's the least interesting or sympathetic character in the book. While the narrator is the one driving the story, I was sorely disappointed to realize as I reached page 400 that Mr. M was the main character after all. 

Leaps through time

Besides the unsatisfactory plot, my major issue with Dear Mr. M was the structure. I'm very glad I didn't listen to it as an audiobook, as the constant change of person was frustrating. One chapter is first person from the perspective of the narrator, and the next it's third person description of one of the numerous characters. Then there are the frequent leaps through time, and the unclear ages of the various characters. If you're someone who is regularly heard saying "Wait, what?" at time or perspective jumps in movies, this book will drive you crazy.

You guessed it:

I cannot recommend this book

Between the fragmented structure, the boring outcome, and the fact that this story was entirely too long, I really cannot suggest this book to anyone unless perhaps it's in the original Dutch. Given the success of Herman Koch, my guess is that there's a reason he has a following, and perhaps that reason has gotten lost in the translation of Dear. Mr. M. Then there's that misleading blurb. 

Based on reviews I've read since finishing this novel, perhaps you can consider looking up some of Koch's earlier works, which numerous reviewers emphasized were much better than this book. As for me, I should probably stop being taken in by interesting cover designs

(PS: The header photo was edited with the PicCollage app, made by a Taiwanese startup!)

What's up next?

• The Obesity Code (Non-Fiction) by Dr. Jason Fung

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• Quiet (Non-Fiction) by Susan Cain

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#3: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street // Natasha Pulley

Fiction / Paperback / 336 pages

This review is spoiler-free, unlike Google

To begin, a warning: DO NOT Google this book or read reviews before buying it, lest the ending be ruined for you. I'm certainly glad I didn't, as popping the title into Google during the writing of this review immediately displayed search suggestions with spoilers. (Come on, Google!) 

With that said, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is easily the best book I've read so far in 2017 (8 in total, if you're curious), and you should definitely read it. Here's my spoiler-free review.

The Basics

A fairly simple premise to start: Thaniel Steepleton is saved from death by a timepiece that mysteriously came into his possession some six months before a terrorist explosion. His search for answers brings him to Filigree Street, where he meets -- you guessed it -- the watchmaker, Mori. I'll leave off there, as any further details might take away from the fun of the story, but let's just say there's far more going on in this novel than meets the eye.

What I liked

As often happens, this book first grabbed my attention with its attractive cover art. As you can see above, it's rather cool-looking. But this is more than just a well-designed paperback: with its complex plot, lively characters, and imaginative technological feats, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street was far better than your typical Victorian-era mystery. The clever writing and well-concealed hints led me to barrel through in just a few days' time.

The imagery in this novel is particularly fantastic, to the point that I'd almost like to see it in a theater just so I can see Mori's octopus -- almost. At the same time, I'm afraid that Hollywood would ruin it, and in any case I rather like the Mori and his gadgets that exist in my imagination, and they'd be vanquished if brought to life in a film.

As for the ending, I was fairly pleased. It was an unexpected but enjoyable outcome, and I think I'd like to read the book again eventually to review the groundwork Pulley laid now that I know what the story is building to. Again, since I promised no spoilers, that's all I'll say. 

What I didn't like

There were only a couple of things I didn't like about this novel, and one of them had more to do with the author than the story itself. You see, the paperback edition I bought placed the "Note on the Author" at the beginning of the book, and I read it before starting the story. This made it hard to get into the book at first, as connections with the author's background kept pulling me back into the real world. 

Second, there were a few minor characters I found a bit tedious, and there were frankly too many minor characters for my taste. It made me feel as though creating characters is the author's favorite pastime, since even the nonessential characters were described in detail.

In short:

I highly recommend this book

If you can't tell already, despite a few minor gripes, I highly recommend this book -- so much so that I gave it to a friend to read immediately after I finished in order to let someone else enjoy it, and so I could have someone else to discuss the ending with. (He also enjoyed it quite a bit, finishing it quickly despite it being something he'd never have picked out for himself. Fine praise, indeed.) In short, read The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. Then talk to me about it so I have someone else to discuss that ending with. :)

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More reviews

What's up next?

• Dear Mr. M (Fiction) by Herman Koch

• The Obesity Code (Non-Fiction) by Dr. Jason Fung

• The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend (Fiction) by Katarina Bivald

Subscribe below to get the latest in your inbox. I'll do my best to keep it interesting!