Crime & Guilt, by Ferdinand von Schirach

Crime & Guilt, by German author Ferdinand von Schirach (Sheer-rack) is a romp of a book, leaving you caught up in raucous laughter and bitter tears.  Some would call it a collection of stories, but I call it a book of portraits, or a collection of lives, with a peek into family secrets, interwoven with exactly what the title implies.

The diverse characters populate plots exposing every human frailty and strength.  Take the case of The Hedgehog.  “…only Karim, a brother of the accused was still to be heard.  Hmmmm, thought the presiding judge, we all know what to expect from alibies provided by relatives.  He only had one question for this witness…”  But, one question always leads to another and another, until suddenly, what is certain is suddenly uncertain.  Open and shut case, right?  Well, at least open.

Then there is The Key, a tale of crime and hilarity that reads like a Guy Ritchie British gangster movie.  In all there are eleven stores until the title of Crimeand  another fifteen under the title of Guilt and sometimes it’s difficult to tell which should be labeled as which.

Every story has its surprises, decorated with gritty details.  How about the tale of a man who is pestered by a pair of Neo-Nazi thugs on a railway platform and dispatches them with the speed of a man slapping mosquitoes?  Who is he and what happens next?

At 430 pages, some would say this book is long, but I found myself wishing it were twice the length, maybe longer.  Von Schirach writes with such clarity and composure that you find yourself turning page at the speed of heat, not to finish the book or the story, but to smile and laugh and cry over what comes next.

I’ve written of two other of von Schirach’s books, The Collini Caseand The Girl Who Wasn’t There.  You don’t want to miss those either.

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-colllini-case.html

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-girl-who-wasnt-there-by-ferdinand.html

Clever!  Engaging!  Write faster Herr von Schirach!

The Girl Who Wasn’t There by Ferdinand von Schirach

A year ago I wrote about Ferdinand von Schirach’s The Collini Case.  So why revisit the same author?  Because he’s THAT good.  http://stroudallover.blogspot.de/2014/09/the-colllini-case.html

In The Girl Who Wasn’t There, von Schirach taunts us with another closed and shut case.  Sebastian von Eschburg had an unusual childhood, to say the least.  He’s risen above it.  A renowned photographic artist, his works play with reality and truth, bridging the boundaries of both.  He provokes, he guides his viewers into places of wonder.

Von Schirach carves his character in clear, distinct, but circular lines, making us wonder, plumbing the depths of an unknowable mind.  The language is sharp, concise, chiseled.  Take this short description of an episode in the protagonist’s beginning as a photographer:

“…the owner of a perfumery came into one of these small studios.  She wanted nude photographs of herself. She was in her mid-forties and she and her husband had divorced a few months before: the pictures were to be for the new man in her life.  She blushed when she said that.”

You’re immediately caught with the awkwardness, the abruptness, and a pathway leading to the heart of the book.  Somewhat romantic, but in the sense of gauze-covered glimpses, in a dream-like reality.

You wonder, why would a writer take the time to bridge the stepping-stones of his character’s development as a photographer?  The sure answer is, the reader needs to be lead carefully from transient soul to artist.  And yet, there is always that misty covering, the fog of who Sebastian von Eschburg really is as a man, as well as questions about his character.

Then comes the kicker.  A foot to the solar plexus.   The artist is accused of murder.  A seasoned lawyer, Konrad Biegler agrees to represent him.  Sebastian gives him no help at all in his own defense.  The evidence piles up.  Blood.  The murder scene.  It’s open and shut…or is it?  Dark shadows of deception darken every corner.  Still, the artist refuses to speak.

By this time, you read faster.  Ya gotta know!  This is a short book, just over 200 pages.  Once you open it, you won’t leave your chair, and when you finish, you’ll be breathless.

The Girl Who Wasn’t There, by Ferdinand von Schirach