Secrets in the Cellar

In 1984 in Austria, Josef Fritzl (who had already been raping his middle daughter, Elisabeth, since she was 11-years old), imprisoned her (now 18) in a dungeon under his house that no one knew existed. He had spent six years building it. He kept her there for 24 years, and fathered seven children with her (he already had seven with his wife – Elisabeth being the middle/4th one).

This book does look at all the abuses toward his daughter that just went on and on. Not only that, but previous to all this, he had a history of sexual crimes, only one of which he was convicted and went to jail for. His wife knew nothing about what had happened to Elisabeth – he told everyone she had run away (which would have been no surprise, as she had show more run away a couple of times previous) to join a religious cult. He took three of the children upstairs to raise them with his wife as adopted/foster children, so he could get the money for them. So, three of the children were raised in the “real world” upstairs, while three others in the dungeon, never seeing sunlight, and rife with all kinds of health issues (the 7th child only lived a few days before dying when Josef refused to get him medical help).

What a monster! Omg, don’t read this if you are at all queasy. I don’t know if I remember this case. She got out with her kids in 2008, only a couple of years after Natasha Kampusch (and I do remember that one). Maybe I don’t remember as much because the entire family ended up changing their names/identities so they could try to get some peace and try to heal. Elisabeth and her children got out of the dungeon in 2008 and the book was published in 2009. The book still managed to get in much of the aftermath, though I did look up more (the trial and to see how Elisabeth and her kids were doing after the end of the book). There is some repetition in the book, but it was well-researched. show less

I read this book in practically one sitting. I could not put it down. The story of Josef Fritzl imprisoning his daughter Elisabeth in his celler, unknown to everyone but himself, was horrifying. When this news story broke I was appalled and fascinated.

I saw this at the library and picked it up. I remember I had read stories on the Internet but didn't get the big picture. As awful as this subject matter is, I was drawn into this book and this horrific crime.

It's not always well written. At times the author repeated himself a few times. It seemed to be well researched, though. The 4 stars does not represent writing syle, it represents the fact that I couldn't put the book down.

It amazes me that people have children and can do such horrid things to them. And I am humbled when I read of the children's courage and hope when faced with the lives they are forced to live. This book is a very gripping look at a child who endured so much pain and sorrow that I'm not sure I can even wrap my thoughts around how she didn't give up on life. While I agree with other reviews, there were many parts that were stale and repetitive it was still worth the read.

Synopsis
Josef Fritzl was a 73-year-old retired engineer in Austria. He seemed to be living a normal life withhis wife, Rosemarie, and their family—though one daughter, Elisabeth, had decades earlier been “lost” to a religious cult. Throughout the years, three of Elisabeth’s children mysteriously appeared on the Fritzls’ doorstep; Josef and Rosemarie raised them as their own. But only Josef knew the truth about Elisabeth’s disappearance…

For twenty-seven years, Josef had imprisoned and molested Elisabeth in his man-made basement dungeon, complete with sound-proof paneling and code-protected electric locks. There, she would eventually give birth to a total of seven of Josef’s children. One died in infancy—and the other show more three were raised alongside Elisabeth, never to see the light of day.

Then, in 2008, one of Elisabeth’s children became seriously ill, and was taken to the hospital. It was the first time the nineteen-year-old girl had ever gone outside—and soon, the truth about her background, her family’s captivity, and Josef’s unspeakable crimes would come to light.

Review
I can across this book and couldn’t resist it. Most of us like to dive into the word of the criminals out there, I am one included in that, just to see what has caused them to make the decisions they have.

This is not a story for the faint of heart, there is much violent sexual abuse of Elisabeth from a young child until she bore her fathers 7th child in his dungeon, in his cellar. It really is hard to imagine everything that went on.

I was most intrigued with the story after Elisabeth is free and she is reunited with her other children, mother. Learning to live life again with being able to see the sun, moon and stars. It really sent chills down my spine recounting the three children who grew up in the cellar, never seeing sunlight or breathing fresh air and how they reacted the first time they did!

Such an amazing story of lies, deceit, horrible violent sexual rages and how Josef could live with himself and how he can just explain it all away. I wish there was more to be known about how Elisabeth and her family are doing now but I know they have new identities to protect them so they can live freely.

I highly recommend this book if you are a reader of True Crime, it was superbly written by John Glatt. It does tell of Josef’s sexual escapades with his daughter and other women and so if that bothers you, I would not read it. show less

This book isn't for the faint of heart. Josef Friztl grew up with a domineering single mother during WW II in Austria - not far from a death camp and just down the street from a "clinic" that committed war autrocities. Even with this backdrop to his childhood, it is no excuse for the horrors he inflicted on his family and others. Convicted of rape in the late 60s, he served only 18 months before being released and after 15 years, his record was expunged. In public he became a model citizen, but behind closed doors he was a monster. Although his friends knew of his sexual appetite in Thailand, they never looked closer at what may be happening at home. The local prostitutes refused to service him, but never went to authorities about his show more devient behavior - letting this monster imprison his daughter in a cellar dungeon for 24 years and fathering her 7 children.
The book is mortifying to say the least and Glatt is pretty straight forward in his recounting of the story. He doesn't go into detail about the attacks, or Friztl's perversions. I did find that he repeated himself at times - sometimes within pages. I'm not sure why these repetitions weren't taken out during the editting. They weren't necessary to move the story forward nor were they key points. Although the story was horrifying by it's very nature, I, personally wanted more detail - more humaness to make me hate him more. The book went to print before any final conclusion has been reached - I hope that Fritzl gets his just punishment - but this book won't tell you if he does, unless Glatt puts an addendum on it. show less

A fascinating, detailed account of this horrific crime of decades of imprisonment, incest, and rape in Austria. With the vantage of hindsight, the author is able to add in the legal outcomes and transition to open, surface life of the brave mother and her children, including medical and emotional issues.

Very interesting subject matter (albeit horrifying, obviously). However, the book itself felt badly written, in the sense that it kept going back and forth, and being repetitive with the same content. For example, the same descriptions/content (almost verbatim) would appear across various chapters, once as it was happening in the story, once when one of the people involved were giving statements to the police, and again when decribing media reports. This type of repetition happened rather a lot. While it is sometimes useful to convey what information was provided by different sources, it felt like a waste of time to read exactly the same things again and again without any particular additional point.