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Schilf (2009)

by Juli Zeh(Favorite Author)

3.71 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

3442738067 (ISBN13: 9783442738069)

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

btb

review 1: If you are looking for an absorbing and fast moving crime thriller, you will be disappointed in Juli Zeh's "In Free Fall" ("Schilf" in the original German). In this novel the crime and its perpetrator are known pretty much from the beginning; the perpetrator even tells us about it in detail. There is some doubt about the state of mind of the killer at the time of his action and his rationale for it. His claim that he was commandeered by phone by the "kidnappers" of his son falls apart very quickly: the son is exactly where he is supposed to be... The only issue to investigate and that puzzles chief police inspector Schilf is the WHY? Why would a 'nice guy', a well-respected physicist and academic teacher, with a lovely wife and an adorable son, commit murder?Award winning ... moreGerman author, lawyer and political activist Juli Zeh presents us with an unusual and inventive psychological drama. At the centre of it we find two friends, Sebastian and Oskar, whose close relationship dates back to their student days. Their depiction and surroundings reminded me somehow of scenes from Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. Both qualified as physicists but their friendship suffered from increasing disagreement over the scientific theory on 'multiple universes' – and the ensuing philosophical debate on time and existence … and, at the personal level, one choosing family life over their continued intensely lived twosome."Oskar is the type of person who understands life as a game that one has to win…" explains Sebastian to Schilf who is intrigued by the theory and the falling out (or not?) of the friends. He has his own existential questions about time and reality to deal with and uses the debates with the friends to find answers to his own doubts. Sebastian's "good" and lovely wife and the smart child are additional characters but don’t add much to the core of the story. To add more complexity to the "crime" aspect of the novel, Zeh has added a rather unusual female inspector into the mix. The strength of Schilf's investigative reasoning to come to a conclusion on the two characters and the case as a whole is what kept my mind reasonably engaged.What stands out in this novel overall is Zeh's exquisite use of words and phrases. Her images can be as unexpected as they hit the mark totally. Her language is precise and effective. I have read the book in German and cannot judge whether this, for a German reader most interesting aspect of the novel, can be adequately or even better transposed. [Friederike Knabe]
review 2: I have to admit I couldn't able to get the rhythm of the novel at first 150 pages. Once Schilf enters, I found its very interesting and easy. But the end - with full of magical realism(A bird soars into the air), made it difficult once again. One thing is pretty clear, It needs a lot of work from the reader side. One need to know about qunatum physics, Schrodinger's cat paradox, George orwell's writings and more and more about the 4th dimension. The design of Maike, Rita and Julia are too good. Overall, thought provoking, entertaining, mystic and archetypal intelligent novel. less

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