Dear Mr. M
A Novel
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3.5 • 47 Ratings
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
The tour-de-force, hair-raising new novel from Herman Koch, the New York Times bestselling author of The Dinner and Summer House with Swimming Pool
Once a celebrated writer, M had his greatest success with a suspense novel based on a real-life disappearance. It told the story of a history teacher who went missing one winter after having a brief affair with a beautiful student of his. The teacher was never found. Upon publication, M's novel was a runaway bestseller, one that marked his international breakthrough.
That was years ago, and now M's career is fading. But not when it comes to his bizarre, seemingly timid neighbor who keeps a close eye on him and his wife. Why?
From alternating points of view, where no one is to be trusted, Herman Koch weaves together an intricate tale of a writer in decline, a teenage couple in love, a missing teacher, and a single book that entwines all of their fates. Thanks to M's novel, supposedly a work of fiction, everyone seems to be linked forever, until something unexpected spins the "story" off its rails.
With ever increasing tension, his signature sardonic wit and world-renowned sharp eye for human failings, Herman Koch once again spares nothing and no one in his gripping new novel, a barbed performance that suspends readers in the mysterious space between fact and fiction.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
We had a hard time getting anything done because all we wanted to do was rip through this devilishly clever novel. It’s easy to imagine Herman Koch—who hit gold with his unsettling domestic thriller The Dinner—chuckling in delight while writing Dear Mr. M, a story within a story within a story. It starts with an unnamed narrator who holds a serious grudge against the famous writer who lives in the apartment above him. Koch carefully doles out breadcrumbs of information, leading us on a wild and creepy literary treasure hunt.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The Dutch author of The Dinner keeps the reader pleasantly off balance in a tale about a fading novelist and the crime that inspired the book that brought him fame. At first, the aging Mr. M, who lives with his "lovely, young" and "self-effacing" wife and three-year-old daughter, is observed only through the cool eyes of his younger downstairs neighbor, whom M consistently fails to recognize outside of the apartment building. Later, the misanthropic M gets his own chapters in the spotlight as he considers disposing of the middle-aged housewives attending a library book-signing or engages in fisticuffs with a rival at an authors' dinner. Other characters taking their moment in the spotlight include M's wife, Ana, and the two young inspirations for M's novel, Herman and Laura, who may or may not have done away with their high school history teacher. All have motives and feelings that are more twisted than one first suspects. Koch cleverly lays out the pieces of his puzzle, letting first one pattern and then another emerge, and leaving the final piece in reserve until the last few pages. His sardonic sense of humor and dark perspective on human failings give the novel a greater, more satisfying depth than the usual thriller.
Customer Reviews
Good but not great
I enjoyed this book but felt at times it veered off for no reason at all.
Dear Mr. M
This book has a fascinating start, but then the narration begins to shift between various characters and it becomes a tiresome read, especially the chapters that are from Mr. M’s perspective. The book is filled with tedious descriptions and mundane details. The inital mystery is finally solved, but in a most disappointing way! Towards the end, I began skipping pages, which I usually do not do. I would not recommend purchasing it.