- Paperback: 160 pages
- Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux (June 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0374529167
- ISBN-13: 978-0374529161
- Product Dimensions: 2.2 x 1.4 x 0.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 222 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,372,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Krabb , a Dutch writer living in Amsterdam, published a sophisticated horror novel, The Golden Egg, seven years ago, which was made into a movie, The Vanishing. His second novel is likewise a cleverly wrought tale of death and suspense, but it's one that falls outside the ordinary formulas of horror or suspense fiction. It tells the psychologically fraught story of three individuals who meet as adolescents and whose lives intertwine in various ways. The linchpin of the tale is Axel van de Graaf, who from childhood is the kind of unpleasantly charismatic figure who attracts people against their will and better judgment. As a child, Axel is an independent daredevil; as an adult, he becomes successful in the violent underworld of international drug smuggling. He befriends the novel's protagonist, Egon Wagter, at summer camp in Belgium. It's a strange relationship from the outset: Axel seems to love and admire Egon, who is at best boring and unimaginative. Egon is drawn into orbit around Axel at camp, and in later life is unable to break loose. Eventually, Egon's modest life falls apart. His wife leaves him (she also once was drawn to Axel's more vivid existence), and he proves to be a failure as a geologist. When the opportunity for adventure presents itself, he eagerly seizes the chance to travel to South America with a scientific expedition. But he needs money to participate, so Axel agrees to let humdrum Egon act as a drug courier to a Southeast Asian country, where capital punishment for drug offenses is common. There Egon meets an American woman to whom he is as spookily drawn as he has always been drawn to Axel. Her story unfolds from the novel's midpoint onward, and in a surprising finish, Krabb draws the strands of his tale together in the novel's eponymous cave. This writer's art is one of indirection and understatement. His fine, spare prose weaves a seamless web of vividly imagined reality, and his grasp of daily life in Holland, Massachusetts and Southeast Asia is completely persuasive a tribute no doubt in part to the work of his translator. (Oct.) FYI: A film version of The Cave will be released in November.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Can a single encounter with evil poison an entire life? Dutch writer Krabbe (whose earlier suspense novel, The Golden Egg, was made into the film The Vanishing ) provides us with a hero, a promising student turned successful geologist turned alienated drug smuggler, who puzzles out this question for most of his life. After showing us what narrator Egon Wagter has become, waiting for an appointment he knows can end his life, Krabbe revisits a student exploration of Belgian caves, when the young Egon met another young student, Axel, an obvious sociopath. This meeting, other accidental meetings, and scraps of news about the casually evil Axel forms the central fascination of Egon's life. While crime plays a role in this novel, the chief suspense comes from watching how Egon's obsession deforms his actions. The Cave is Kafkaesque in its exquisite examination of a man doomed by his own thoughts. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An exquisitely wrought Chinese puzzle,
By Daniel Quinn (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Cave (Hardcover)
I was surprised to see the book described in reviews as a thriller. Although it has some elements associated with that genre, thriller-readers will probably be disappointed with The Cave. Aside from the fact that it's a very fine piece of literature--something rarely true of thrillers--it's primarily an enchanting (and ultimately chilling) tale of love and fate. The translation was so smooth I wondered if it hadn't been written in English to begin with. It has the kind of weight that is usually only seen in the work of European masters--Peter Handke and Friedrich Durrenmatt come to mind. Speaking as a novelist, I have to say that I wish I'd written it myself.
4.0 out of 5 stars
wonderfully crafted thriller,
By
This review is from: The Cave (Hardcover)
I had some trouble getting into the first part of this novel but that probably had more to do with the fact that I started it on a train straight after finishing another book and hadn't given my brain time to adjust to the change of pace (in my head I always finish books faster than I start them).However, once I entered the second section (the flashback to childhood), I was hooked. Wonderfully crafted this is a thriller less reliant on thrills than subtle revelations. As the book moves towards its conclusion the subject matter gets progressively more uncomfortable and unpleasant but, conversely, to book begins to delight more and more. The Cave can be read in one sitting (or two train journeys!) and is likely to be a novel you will want to read again and again.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Many Twists in a Short, Well-Constructed Novel,
By
This review is from: The Cave (Hardcover)
Tim Krabbe's The Cave is a beautiful little book that is ultimately sad. Its tale twists over many decades and three continents and then twists back again. The beauty of the writing and the style of the author is how he is able to create so much in so little space. The reader understands the characters quickly and sympathizes with them instantly. These are basically good people moved to do things they would not otherwise do by an irrestible force in the form of a man, Axel. The themes of lost chances and the interconnectedness of everyone are present and poignant throughout the novel. The suspense is in the first part of the novel but the strength of the story is in the revealing of the tapestry that created the action. This novel was a joy, albeit bitter sweet. Worth the time it will take to finish this beautiful little tale.
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