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Product Description
From Booklist
*Starred Review* This stellar series debut presents former Nazi prosecutor turned private investigator Gerhard Self in an unsettlingly matter-of-fact style. Instead of the brooding and tortured soul readers might expect--or even demand--Gerd (as his many friends call him) comes across as wry and likable as he hustles up cases, flirts with attractive women of all ages, and worries about slipping into old age with only his cat for company. It's the early 1980s, and Self has been hired by a boyhood friend to smoke out a hacker who's playing havoc with the computers at Rhineland Chemical Works. But after Self springs a trap that gets the troublemaker murdered, he gradually faces the guilt he still carries for his youthful embrace of National Socialism. His simple refusal to let himself off the hook and step back into his old public prosecutor's role after the war doesn't seem like penance enough anymore. "I had planned to live at peace with my past," he muses. "Guilt, atonement, enthusiasm and blindness, pride and anger, morality and resignation--I'd brought it all together in an elaborate balance. The past had achieved abstraction." But Self's unwitting participation in the new crime drives him to pursue the path of justice wherever it may lead. A fascinating exploration of how people often manage to carve out normal lives even after being complicit in terrible acts. Frank Sennett
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Review
Praise for the Gerhard Self series:
“Like any fictional detective worth spending time with, Self . . . transmits a strong sense of being comfortable with who he is, imperfections and all.”
—The New York Times
“Darkly Intriguing. . . . Entertaining.”
—O, The Oprah Magazine
“Like any fictional detective worth spending time with, Self . . . transmits a strong sense of being comfortable with who he is, imperfections and all.”
—The New York Times
“Darkly Intriguing. . . . Entertaining.”
—O, The Oprah Magazine
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very complex yet appealing protagonist in a very good mystery,
By
This review is from: Self's Punishment (Paperback)
First Sentence: At the beginning, I envied him.Gerhard self has been a Nazi prosecutor, and is now a private investigator. When a computer hacker creaks into the systems of a chemical plant, Self is hired to find the hacker. When the hacker dies in an accident, Self isn't so certain the verdict of 'accident' is correct and ventures down a road that takes him back to the past. The first difference between this, and most PI novels, is having a protagonist who is 68 years old. However, his age is chronological only. Self can hold his own in a fight, and is quite the ladies' man, though one of his closest relationships is with his cat, Turbo. Another difference is in the details of his daily life from shopping, preparing meals, going on holiday, going to an open-air concert and dancing; even a scene in a men's bathroom. The author's style is compelling. The passage of time is shown as we move through the seasons and changes in weather with Self. There are wonderful descriptions of food and meals paired with wines. His subtle use of humor is effective and allows us to know the personality of the character''No one apart from Frau Schlemihl addresses me as 'Doctor'. Since I stopped being a public prosecutor, I've not used my title. A private detective with a Ph.D. is ridiculous.', and often focus on things with which one can empathize''If there's one thing I hate, it's homemade cigarettes. They are way up there with crocheted modesty covers for toilet paper.' Living in the Bay Area, I personally enjoyed Self travelling to San Francisco only to find a connection to his own past and events which happened during the war. Written in 1987, it shows how quickly technology has evolved to today from the late 80's when it was still quite young. Interesting detail on air quality monitors. The technical and investigative information is offset by the inclusion of details as to his daily life. I enjoyed seeing a bit of his non-working time, cooking, going to an open-air concert, dancing, going on holiday in Greece'excellent transitions indicating the passage of time. Wonderful descriptions of food and meals paired with wines. This was a very good book. I liked the writing and the details. It was not the strongest mystery but it had a shocking and completely unexpected ending about which I'm not certain how I feel, but I haven't stopped thinking about it. I was never tempted to stop reading it and would definitely read another in the series. SELF'S PUNISHMENT (Hist Mys/PI ' Gerhard Self-Germany-Contemp) ' VG Schlink, Bernhard (trans. By Walter Popp) ' 1st in series Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 2005, US trade paperback ' ISBN: 037570907X
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews) 21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Self mysteries! More!,
By Nina - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Self's Punishment (Paperback)
When I first bought this book (under pressure in an airport), I feared it might be rather dry. But a chapter into it, like the previous reviewer, I didn't want the book to end. The mystery itself was pretty routine, which is why I gave the book only four stars, but I loved it for other reasons. It's sparse and unsentimental, and has little description or dialogue, yet somehow I developed a good sense of the characters, and great deal of feeling for some of them. Second, it reveals the side of German culture often overshadowed by Nazi Era images - love of cars, wines, food, music, technology, philosophy - simply by the everyday way in which these things are named or discussed. The people in the book are rather formal and isolated, some are a bit revolting, some are likeable, most are slightly idiosynchratic, and all seem very like people one has met or could meet anywhere. I wanted to keep reading about Self, the cat Turbo, the friend who built edifices with matchsticks while his wife read him stories, and in the closing scene, to be on the balcony on New Year's Eve clinking glasses with Self and his friends. Whether you liked The Reader or not, this book will make you marvel at what a great writer can do with a good character and few words.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Self's Punishment,
By John A. Landers - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Self's Punishment (Paperback)
This book is a great read. The characters are very full and human. No pale characters here. These are comlpex full-blooded ex-Nazi sexual warm yet lonely human beings.A most enjoyable hard to put down novel which I wanted to read and not have finish. I wished it could have been three or four times longer. Vintage Schlink. 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
super German private investigator mystery,
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Self's Murder (Paperback)
After his last major case (see SELF'S DECEPTION), German private investigator Gerhard Self is thinking he is too old for this type of work. As he drives home to Manheim with his girlfriend Brigette during a nasty snow storm, Self notices a car in the ditch and stops to assist a stranded driver, banker Bertram Welker.Upon learning that Self is a sleuth, Welker hires the investigator to uncover the identity of a silent bank partner as he is writing the history of the establishment that he co-owns. Self accepts the easy assignment, which pays extraordinarily well. However the detective has self doubts about his client when the bank's archivist mysteriously dies in a car crash just after giving the sleuth an attaché case loaded with money. He digs a bit into his client's past to learn he became a widower last year when his wife died a hiking accident. Two deadly accidents are two to many so Self investigates Welker. This is a super German private investigator mystery with several super twists that will leave readers and the weary hero guessing as nothing is quite like it first seems including a stranger claiming to be the son of Self. The story line is fast-paced but totally owned by the sleuth as his inquiry into the silent partner leads him to inquire about his client. Fans will enjoy the translation of Bernhard Shlink's entertaining German mystery and seek the previous two thrillers (see SELF'S PUNISHMENT). Harriet Klausner |
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