Daniel Glattauer

After having read the earlier Glattauer's novel I had been anxiously waiting for its sequel.
I got it only yesterday, late in the evening.
I finished it today.
Beware, because once you enter Emmi and Leo's world you'll be completely hooked, you won't be able to put the book down.
This might be seen and even reviewed as a trivial, page-turner, modern epistolary love story. Only another of those fresh-and-easy-reading books to take away with you for a short holiday. Don't be fooled.
If you read show more between the lines, if you bother to look deeper, it can almost reach the level of pure philosophy. This story is about all of us. It COULD be any of us.
Emmi and Leo are two lost people who think they are contented with their lives until they "meet virtually" by accident. A silly mistake. The connection begins. Game is on.
Only through their mails we witness the full development of an intimate and complex relationship, we spy on two bare souls exposed to each other, their hidden wishes, their fears, their regrets, their dreams are shown to us without restraint. And I felt so identified with so many of their longings (...)
I'm still surfing on the seventh wave, in a sea full of illusion, ideals and "it's-not-impossible-to-have-it-alls".

Some great quotations from the book:

" Each syllable has your eyes in it"

"If you are sober, drink.
If you feel quiet, speak.
If you are bewildered, ask me.
That's why you've got your diary"

" Why I never let go of you? Because I can't lose and I don't want to. Because I don't want to lose you".

" There's some who live the lack of wind as an inner peace. There's some who live it as a perpetual paralysis".

"Until now, only with words, we have reached everywhere".

"Write to me, Emmi. Writing is like kissing, but without lips. Writing is giving kisses of thoughts".

A sequel that didn't deceive. Don't miss it.
I still believe in magic !!! show less

Puh, was für ein Ende! Nein, ich will hier keine Einzelheiten ausplaudern, nur so viel: Es ist höchst überraschend, aber auch irgendwie erleichternd, dass doch alles seine Richtigkeit hat :-)
Judith, glücklich und zufrieden in ihrem Singledasein, trifft Hannes, nur wenige Jahre älter als sie, sympathisch, aufmerksam und Hals über Kopf komplett vernarrt in sie. Etwas zu viel Begeisterung für Judith, die sich ihrer Gefühle für Hannes bei weitem nicht so sicher ist wie er sich seiner. show more So fühlt sie sich bald erdrückt, regelrecht verfolgt und beschließt, dem Ganzen ein Ende zu machen. Doch der Abschied verläuft bei weitem nicht so, wie sie es sich vorgestellt hat...
Es ist beeindruckend, wie man über weite Strecken des Romans sich einer Sache sicher zu sein scheint, um bald darauf wieder eines Besseren belehrt zu werden. Ich dachte, ich wüsste was gespielt wird, haderte schon mit dem Buch ('Wie kann man sich nur so anstellen!?', 'Ziemlich unglaubwürdig') und wurde schlussendlich doch richtig überrascht. Die Geschichte ist vollständig und höchst überzeugend aus Judiths Sichtweise erzählt, so dass man all ihre Empfindungen mühelos mitfühlen kann - was vielleicht meinen zeitweiligen Unmut erklären mag.
Ein Psychodrama der anderen Art und spannend bis zur letzten Seite. show less

This review and others posted over at my blog

From the back of the book: Leo receives emails in error from an unknown woman called Emmi. Being polite, he replies and Emmi writes back. A few brief exchanges are all it takes to spark a mutual interest, and soon Emmi and Leo are sharing their innermost secrets and desires. The erotic tension simmers, and it seems only a matter of time before they will meet in person. But they keep putting off the moment - the prospect both excites and unsettles show more them. And after all, Emmi is happily married. Will their feelings for each other survive the test of a real-life encounter?

I randomly requested this book from my swap site, Paperback Swap, and months later someone on Instagram recommended it to me. I actually forgot I owned this book (can you believe it) and was just recently asked again by the same IG user if I'd read it yet. When I thought about it, the title sounded familiar, and sure enough, it was sitting neglected on my shelf! I'm glad I picked up this book - it was a quick read and very engrossing.

Leo and Emmi are childish, stubborn, hypocritical and fantastically imperfect - they felt so real! Their correspondence started on accident and continued due to mutual curiosity, then deepened into something semi-inappropriate, due to Emmi's marriage. Emmi constantly mentions her happy marriage, yet expects Leo to dote on her. They will rapidly send one sentence emails to each other seconds after the latest response, then ignore each other for days. The whole situation felt very human and it posed a question (at least for me) about what is really considered cheating. Emmi and Leo plot ways to try to meet, though they always shy away - Emmi constantly talks about her marriage, but also seems to think of Leo daily. It's a mental relationship, but could it be harmful to her marriage? Glattauer made me feel for these characters - sometimes I was thinking about how frustrating they both were, other times I could really appreciate the connection they seemed to have. I was also desperate for them to meet, and yet, as Leo pointed out, it would completely change their relationship.
The ending of this book is FANTASTIC. I was shocked and couldn't be happier! I will say however, that years later Glattauer put out a sequel, Every Seventh Wave and right after I finished this I went on Amazon to read the synopsis and a couple of reviews. I wish I hadn't. Even just reading the plot of the second book ruined the magic of the first ending - I understand why he put out a sequel, but I think this first book would be stronger if left alone. From what other customer says, the second book isn't as strong as the first, and though it has good reviews, I won't be reading it. I enjoy where this book ended, and nothing against Glattauer's writing at all, I just want things to stay where they left off.

This book is short and well worth your time if you're looking for something contemporary. show less

Mai mi era capitato un thriller più letterario di questo. Un libro strano, inquietante, con un protagonista di cui non si capiscono le motivazioni, un assassino che tutti vogliono scagionare, ma che continua ad accusare se stesso, ripetendo come un mantra una serie di numeri che sono forse una data e forse un codice, e che, nonostante tutti i suoi tentativi, alla fine di un processo che solo lui vorrebbe impietoso, viene rimesso in libertà come se fosse un eroe.
Perché tutto questo? show more Perché un famoso giornalista ha ucciso a sangue freddo, senza alcuna apparente ragione, uno sconosciuto? Così, recita il titolo.
Gli indizi sono sparsi in tutto il romanzo, eppure non conducono alla soluzione se non alla fine, quando l'autore stesso decide di fornircela, e gli indizi, come la soluzione, hanno a che fare con il mondo della scrittura.

Noch nie zuvor hatte ich einen literarischen Thriller wie diesen gesehen. Ein seltsames, beunruhigendes Buch mit einem Protagonisten, dessen Motivationen nicht verstanden werden, einem Mörder, den jeder entlasten will, der sich aber weiterhin selbst beschuldigt, indem er wie ein Mantra eine Reihe von Zahlen wiederholt, die vielleicht ein Datum und vielleicht ein Code sind, und der trotz aller Versuche am Ende eines Prozesses, den nur er gnadenlos möchte, freigelassen wird, als wäre er ein Held.
Warum ist das? Warum hat ein berühmter Journalist ein Fremder kaltblütig und ohne erkennbaren Grund getötet? Darum, lautet der Titel.
Die Hinweise sind im ganzen Roman verstreut, führen aber erst dann zur Lösung, wenn der Autor selbst beschließt, sie zu geben, und Hinweise, wie die Lösung, haben mit der Welt des Schreibens zu tun. show less