Friedrich D眉rrenmatt (1921 鈥� 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist.
D眉rrenmatt was born in the Emmental (canton of Bern), the son of a Protestant pastor. His grandfather Ulrich D眉rrenmatt was a conservative politician. The family moved to Bern in 1935. D眉rrenmatt began to study philosophy and German language and literature at the University of Zurich in 1941, but moved to the University of Bern after one semester. In 1943 he decided to become an author and dramatist and dropped his academic career. In 1945-46, he wrote his first play, "It is written". On October 11 1946 he married actress Lotti Geissler. She died in 1983 and D眉rrenmatt was married again to another actress, Charlotte Kerr, the following year.
He was a proponent of epic theater whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author gained fame largely due to his avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire. One of his leading sentences was: "A story is not finished, until it has taken the worst turn". D眉rrenmatt was a member of the Gruppe Olten.
Der Verdacht = Suspicion (The Inspector B盲rlach Mysteries #2), Friedrich D眉rrenmatt
Suspicion is a detective novel by the Swiss writer Friedrich Durrenmatt in 1950 featuring the Inspector Barlach. It is the sequel to D眉rrenmatt's The Judge and His Hangman. Inspector Hans B盲rlach, at the end of his career and suffering from cancer, is recovering from an operation. He witnesses how his friend and doctor Samuel Hungertobel turns pale and becomes nervous when looking at a photograph in a magazine he is reading.
The person pictured is the German Dr. Nehle who carried out horrific experiments on prisoners in the concentration camp Stutthof near Gdansk, including operating on patients without anesthesia. Hungertobel explains that his colleague Fritz Emmenberger, who was in Chile and publishing medical articles from there during the war, closely resembles Dr. Nehle. ...
Aare River and the old section of Bern, location of Salem Hospital - the building with the tower on the right is the town hall.
"Inspector Barlach had checked into the Salem - the hospital overlooking the town hall and the old parts of Bern - in the beginning of November 1948. A heart attack had delayed the urgent and difficult surgical intervention by two weeks. The operation was finally performed with success, but the surgeon's findings confirmed his belief that Barlach's sickness was incurable."
So begins this short, tight, engrossing novel told mostly in dialogue, a work you'll want to finish in one sitting as soon as you read the first page where Inspector Barlach hands his doctor a back issue of Life with a black and white photo of a surgeon at Stutthof concentration camp performing an abdominal operation on a prisoner without anesthesia. And Barlach's doctor is in for a shock: he turns pale since he recognizes the beast with the surgical mask standing over his victim on the operating table is none other than Fritz Emmenberger - sole owner and head doctor at a clinic for the wealthy in Z眉rich. But how can that be? The magazine clearly states the camp doctor's name is Nehle.
We're off. Friedrich D眉rrenmatt structures Suspicion in two parts: Part One, where old, ailing Barlach lies in bed at Salem Hospital, and Part Two, when the inspector, still confined to his bed, checks himself into that posh Zurich clinic under an assumed name. You might not think a crime novel set in a hospital and convalescent center where the detective, old, sickly, bedridden, diagnosed with incurable cancer and given a year at most to live, would be the stuff of a suspenseful thriller, but, if you're like me, you'll get caught up in the drama and not want to put the book down.
As we quickly discover, there's action aplenty, of a kind, however much of the novel focuses on the psychological and philosophic, as when Inspector Barloch reflects on the possible link between Emmenberger and Nehle and tells his doctor, 鈥渟uspicion is a terrible thing, it comes from the devil. There's nothing like suspicion to bring out the worst in people.鈥� The inspector's statement is indeed ironic since he himself suspects the clinic's doctor is, in fact, the Nazi criminal, a suspicion so deep he's willing, as unwell as he is, to risk his life by checking into Emmenberger's convalescent center.
Barlach's first visitor in Salem Hospital is none other than his boss from the police station. In the course of conversation, Barlach states his view that there is something very wrong with the way the world is run. 鈥淭hey let the big scoundrels go and lock up the little ones. And there's a whole heap of crimes no one pays any attention to, because they are more esthetic than those blatant murders that get written up in the newspapers.鈥� This fact was continually on Friedrich D眉rrenmatt's mind since, in his longest novel, The Execution of Justice, the author has his protagonist, a young, truth-seeking lawyer, delve into the sordidness and criminality of Z眉rich's multimillionaires.
But the heart of the novel deals with philosophic questions revolving around Good versus Evil and our capacity as humans to make our intentions manifest by the use of power. We witness Barlach discussing these critical issues with a former inmate of the concentration camps, a radical journalist 鈥� and ultimately with Emmenberger himself. Reading Suspicion is gut-wrenching, a novel where Friedrich D眉rrenmatt compels each of us to face our human condition nakedly and with complete honesty.
Swiss author and artist Friedrich D眉rrenmatt, 1921-1990
"When our friends from the SS accidentally left me lying in some miserable lime pit among fifty men of my poor race whom they had shot on a beautiful day in May forty-five - I particularly remember a little white cloud - and when, hours later, covered in blood, I was able to crawl into a lilac bush that was blooming nearby, so that the troops who shoveled the whole thing under overlooked me, I swore that from that moment on I would lead the existence of an abused and defiled animal, since in this century it appears to have been God's pleasure to have so many of us live like beasts." - Suspicion
Kommiss盲r B盲rlach liegt mit einer fortgeschrittenen Krebserkrankung im Krankenhaus und erholt sich von einer Operation. Durch Zufall stechen ihm Hinweise auf einen KZ-Arzt ins Auge, den er bald verd盲chtigt unter anderer Identit盲t eine Klinik f眉r die Reichen und Sch枚nen zu betreiben. Er veranlasst, in diese Klinik eingewiesen zu werden, um der Sache auf den Grund zu gehen.
Soweit zum ersten Teil des Romans, der klassisch krimim盲脽ig daherkommt und dem Leser die Logik der B盲rlachschen Gedankeng盲nge offenbart. Dieser erste Teil hat mir auch sehr gefallen und ich fand es sehr spannend, wie B盲rlach sich immer mehr in dem Fall festgebissen hat.
Im zweiten Teil, als der Kommiss盲r in der Klinik ankommt, wird es allerdings recht merkw眉rdig, um nicht zu sagen grotesk. Anstatt hier weiter zu schildern, wie der Verbrecher enttarnt und mehr und mehr in die Enge getrieben wird, besteht diese zweite H盲lfte zum einen aus (ich kann es nicht anders sagen) Figuren aus dem Gruselkabinett und sehr tiefgehenden philosophischen Er枚rterungen 眉ber das B枚se. Mir hat das in meiner Lesebegeisterung ein wenig einen D盲mpfer aufgesetzt, weil es so gar nicht das war, was ich erwartet hatte.
Der Schreibstil ist ungewohnt, schlie脽lich ist das Buch 70 Jahre alt und es gibt regionale Sprachunterschiede zwischen der Schweiz, Deutschland und 脰sterreich. Daher, und auch weil das Buch so kurz ist, und D眉rrenmatt so kondensiert schreibt, ist beim Lesen eine gewisse Konzentration vonn枚ten.
Besonders intensiv ist mir aufgefallen, dass man anscheinend schon damals (das Buch ist Anfang der 1950er erschienen) davon gesprochen hat, dass 鈥瀖an das doch alles endlich vergessen solle鈥�, sobald die Rede auf die Verbrechen der Nazis kommt.
Insgesamt habe ich das Buch mit enormem Interesse gelesen und dabei viel f眉r mitgenommen. Ich werde sicher noch lange daran denken.
Aus meiner Sicht 4 Sterne.
-------------------
Definitely not a classic detective novel
Commissioner B盲rlach is in hospital with advanced cancer and is recovering from an operation. By chance, he caught hints of a concentration camp doctor whom he soon suspected of running a clinic for the rich and beautiful under a different identity. He arranges to be admitted to this clinic to investigate the matter.
So much for the first part of the novel, which comes across as a classic crime scene and reveals the logic of B盲rlach's lines of thought to the reader. I also liked this first part very much and I found it very exciting how B盲rlach got more and more stuck in the case.
In the second part, when the inspector arrives at the clinic, things get very strange, if not to say grotesque. Instead of further describing how the villain is exposed and cornered more and more, this second half consists on the one hand of (I can't put it another way) figures from the horror cabinet and very in-depth philosophical discussions about evil. That put a damper on my enthusiasm for reading, because it wasn't what I expected.
The writing style is unusual, after all, the book is 70 years old and there are regional language differences between Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Therefore, and also because the book is so short and D眉rrenmatt writes in such a condensed way, a certain amount of concentration is necessary when reading it.
I noticed particularly intensely that even then (the book was published in the early 1950s) it was said that 鈥渨e should finally forget all of this鈥� as soon as the talk of the crimes of the Nazis comes up.
Overall, I read the book with enormous interest and took a lot with me. I will certainly think about it for a long time.
Ich hatte von D眉rrenmatt bisher nur in der Schule 鈥濪er Besuch der alten Dame鈥� gelesen und gehasst (sorry). Ich konnte mich 眉ber die Pr盲misse und den Plot nicht am眉sieren, das war weder stilistisch noch inhaltlich mein Ding. So dauerte es lange, bis ich mich wieder auf einen D眉rrenmatt einlie脽, wenn ich auch zugeben muss, dass das Buch nur deshalb auf meinem SuB lag, weil eine meiner Schwestern es irgendwann in meinem Elternhaus zur眉ckgelassen hatte. Aber ich war durchaus gewillt meine Meinung zu 盲ndern und ein Roman, zumal ein Krimi, ist vielleicht auch zug盲nglicher als die Theaterst眉cke. Teilweise ist dies gelungen. Auch hier konnte ich nicht wirklich viel mit D眉rrenmatts lakonischer Erz盲hlweise anfangen, ich kann aber voll anerkennen, welche Interpretationsm枚glichkeiten das Werk bietet und dass es sich dabei um hochwertige Literatur handelt. Es ist ein Buch, das studiert werden will, geradezu gemacht f眉r den Deutschunterricht. Ich bestehe darauf, auch von Hochliteratur unterhalten werden zu wollen, das kam hier f眉r mich zu kurz, auf der Bedeutungsebene fand ich den Roman jedoch interessant.
Sort of a post-WW2, existentialist take on Christie's Curtain (albeit with much higher stakes), wherein an elderly, terminally ill detective pursues and is pursued by a sociopathic Mengele-esque war criminal who wouldn't be out of place in Cormac McCarthy's gallery of moral monsters and metaphysical mutants; although at times a touch too theatrical for its own good, this is still a gripping, surprisingly intense little novel that is not infrequently quite profound.
It does have thrillerish elements, but actually it feels more like a stage play by Durrenmatt, with long monologues from each of the main characters. Really interesting moral dilemmas though and discussions of beliefs and human nature, particularly relevant in the post-WW2 world of nihilism.
隆Perded toda esperanza, vosotros que entr谩is! Y yo perd铆 toda esperanza. Es absurdo rebelarse y luchar por un mundo mejor. El hombre mismo desea su propio infierno, lo anticipa en sus ideas y lo instaura en sus actos.
Pues este es el tono pesimista de la novela de D眉rrenmatt, una obra breve pero que te sacude completamente. Con un lenguaje sencillo y hasta ingenuo, se nos relata la odisea de un anciano comisario de polic铆a, enfermo en un hospital, que persevera en la lucha contra el mal. Siguiedo el rastro de un m茅dico nazi que operaba pacientes sin anestesia en un campo de concentraci贸n, llega a ingresarse en la cl铆nica que ahora regenta, como si entrara en el infierno de Dante al que alude la cita anterior.
Todo el transcurso de la obra es angustioso, muy teatral y reflexivo en sus largos di谩logos, pero no aburre en ning煤n momento. El sentido del humor un pel铆n absurdo de D眉rrenmatt, tan presente en otras de sus obras como Griego busca griega, proporciona un necesario alivio. A m铆 me ha parecido espectacular.
This story begins as a kind of detective, with the Swiss inspector B盲rlach in the leading role again. From the previous book, "The judge and his executioner" we already knew that B盲rlach was terminally ill and only had one more year to live. We now see him immediately after a major operation, recovering in a hospital. But the blood creeps where it cannot go, and still on his hospital bed the inspector gets intrigued by the search for a former Nazi doctor. It is quite amusing to follow B盲rlach's way of thinking, and to be completely swallowed up in his growing suspicion.
But unfortunately, in the second part, the story takes a rather unlikely turn. B盲rlach is admitted to the hospital led by the suspect doctor. He is quite sure that he will be able to expose the man, or rather, that he will expose himself. But for some reason D眉rrenmatt is moving away from the path and his story turns into a grotesque, with the human evil in the leading role. All kinds of repulsive figures emerge: a murderous dwarf, a horrible old woman that before his eyes turns into a handsome appearance, a religious-fanatical nurse and finally the suspected Nazi doctor himself, who in a very long argument relates his nihilistic beliefs for pages on end. It seems as if we ended up in a narrative of E.T.A. Hoffmann: the 'gothic' elements are all around. And then finally, there鈥檚 the very weak ending of this story.
No, with "The judge and his hangman" D眉rrenmatt had impressed me, but unfortunately, this is a derailed story that didn鈥檛 really captivate me.
Un poliziotto, il suo medico, una sentenza gia' scritta e una trama investigativa apparentemente delineata.Solo apparentemente, perche' quello che si presenta in principio come un giallo classico svolta ben presto su sentieri diversi e piu' delicati. Ci si trova ben presto alle prese con un teso apologo sulla liberta', intesa come facolta' di disporre di se'... e degli altri. Delizioso e terribile romanzo breve.
鈥淣iente 猫 pi霉 difficile da annegare di un sospetto, perch茅 niente torna di continuo a galla pi霉 facilmente鈥�
Hans B盲rlach, anziano commissario da poco in pensione, ha appena subito un delicato intervento chirurgico quando sfogliando una vecchia copia della rivista Life vede una foto del campo di concentramento di Stutthof, dove compare il dottor Nehle. L'immagine dell鈥檜omo non 猫 nitida , ma il medico e amico che cura B盲rlach crede di riconoscervi un vecchio compagno di studi ora direttore di una clinica in Svizzera, il dottor Emmenberger. I nomi dei due per貌 non corrispondono e nemmeno le biografie. Emmenberger era in Cile durante la guerra e da l矛 pubblicava diversi articoli scientifici, mentre Nehle si 猫 suicidato con una capsula di veleno e il suo corpo 猫 stato trovato e identificato. Eppure ci sono alcuni dettagli che fanno dubitare B盲rlach B盲rlach sospetta che Emmenberger sia in realt脿 il sanguinario medico nazista Nehle, famoso per il suo sadismo che lo portava ad operare senza anestesia.
Dal suo letto d'ospedale, B盲rlach intraprende un'indagine sui generis che da un lato gli permette di soddisfare il suo istinto poliziesco, dall'altro lo distrae alla sua fine ormai prossima e, comunque, gli permette di avere la coscienza a posto: non ha intenzione di chiudere gli occhi sulla possibilit脿, anche piccola, di smascherare un criminale. 鈥渓a verit脿, nient鈥檃ltro che la verit脿!鈥�
Il Sospetto 猫 a met脿 tra intrigo e riflessione. D眉rrenmatt coglie perfettamente lo spirito della sua epoca, (l'immediato dopoguerra), con tutti i dubbi, le ansie e le diffidenze di fronte ad ogni ideologia. Mentre il mondo 猫 prigioniero delle rigide trincee della Guerra Fredda, il sospetto diventa uno stile di vita. Ma come pu貌 l'umanit脿 sopravvivere solo con il nichilismo? L'autore riprende il tema della colpa e della responsabilit脿, della vendetta e della giustizia e attraverso un esistenzialismo indagatore riflette sulla legge e la moralit脿, sulla natura del male e l'incertezza della conoscenza.
鈥淭utto ci貌 che si fa, fatti e misfatti, accade per pura fatalit脿, il male e il bene ti piovono dal cielo come un terno al lotto; per caso diventi un giusto, per caso un malvagio鈥�
Friedrich D眉rrenmatt has become one of my favourite writers of all time. It's such a shame he only wrote a handful of crime novels because they are so good. His writing is exceptional and his pacing is impressive. A must read for crime readers.
This book is the sequel to The Judge and his Hangman which was brilliant. There's only two books in this series featuring Inspector B盲rlach and I wish there were more. Both books are under 160 pages long.
I feel D眉rrenmatt is an underappreciated writer and deserves more recognition for his works. The Pledge is also another excellent book by D眉rrenmatt. His other known works are his plays: The Visit and The Physicists.
Un libro molto intenso per la passione con cui viene affrontato il tema della giustizia e della possibilit脿 che esista un'etica "umana" distinta da quella religiosa. Sembra una questione ormai superata, su cui molto si 猫 dibattuto, ma il libro (pubblicato nel 1951) si confronta con l'Olocausto e i Gulag sovietici. L'autore 猫 molto chiaro su un punto: non esistono popoli buoni e cattivi perch茅, se le condizioni lo consentono, si pu貌 passare da una categoria all'altra. L'unica differenza 猫 tra torturati e torturatori, tra potenti e vittime, tra la capacit脿 di vedere sempre l'umanit脿 nell'altro e la ricerca egoistica del proprio interesse danneggiando altre persone. Le questioni pi霉 filosofiche si incrociano con le scelte politiche della Svizzera che rimanendo neutra durante la seconda guerra mondiale ha anteposto il proprio bene a una posizione chiara contro i torturatori. L'autore condanna questa scelta (e la politica successiva che non si pone nuovi valori) ma, allo stesso tempo, riconosce che tale posizione ha risparmiato agli svizzeri le mostruosit脿 della guerra. Tutto il romanzo 猫 permeato da una grande tristezza dovuta alla convinzione che l'egoismo, il male e il piacere nel farlo sono parte dell'umanit脿: il passato pu貌 ripetersi se non si vigila abbastanza.
He dudado entre las 3 y las 4 estrellas, porque el libro de D眉rrenmatt me ha gustado mucho. Creo que est谩 escrito con mucha elegancia, con un estilo entre metaf铆sico y de novela negra a la vieja usanza. Prima la atm贸sfera opresiva de los sanatorios suizos, m谩s pr贸ximos a las c谩rceles que a las casas de reposo, sobre la trama, que es de car谩cter m谩s psicol贸gico que procedimental. No obstante, me he decantado por la valoraci贸n m谩s "conservadora" por dos motivos muy claros:
1. el abrupto final "deus ex machina" que, aunque justificado, enturbia toda la expectativa y tensi贸n generadas en los dos 煤ltimos cap铆tulos. 2. el exceso en n煤mero y extensi贸n de los mon贸logos disgresivos, que enlentecen el ritmo narrativo ya moroso de la novela negra de corte m谩s psicol贸gico.
Con todo, me ha gustado el estilo de D眉rrenmatt y quiero seguir leyendo obras suyas.
Vor ann盲hernd zwanzig Jahren war ich bei einem Freund zu Hause, der noch schnell was erledigen musste, mit einer raschen Handbewegung auf sein Zimmer deutete und zu mir sagte "f眉hl dich ganz wie zu Hause, es dauert nicht lange!". Nun, es dauerte wohl doch eine Weile, denn in dieser Wartezeit schaffte ich es ein d眉nnes Taschenbuch aus seinem Regal zu ziehen das den spannend klingenden Titel "Der Verdacht" trug, (was verborg sich wohl dahinter? Ein Krimi? Um was f眉r einen Verdacht ging es hier eigentlich?), blo脽 "mal reinschnuppern zu wollen", sofort h盲ngen zu bleiben und es dann in einem Zug durchzulesen. Ich erinnere mich vage, dass besagter Freund zwischendurch wiederkam und ich ihn ver盲rgert weg wedelte und signalisierte, er m眉sse mich das jetzt erst zu Ende lesen lassen.
Das waren meine Erinnerungen an dieses d眉nne B眉chlein von D眉rrenmatt.
Neulich fiel es mir in einem B眉cherschrank in die H盲nde und ich nahm es sofort mit, mit den gemischten Gef眉hlen von Vorfreude und dem 盲ngstlichen Zaudern, dass es mir vielleicht beim wiederholten Lesen doch nicht mehr so gut gefallen und mich um eine sch枚ne Erinnerung bringen w眉rde. Aber ... weit gefehlt. Ich denke, ich kann guten Gewissens behaupten, dass mir das Buch mit 37 NOCH besser gefallen hat als mit 18 und ich habe es erneut in atemloser, unziemlicher Hast verschlungen (eine halbe Bahnfahrt hat es gedauert), obwohl ich sogar noch grob wusste wie es endete.
Das Buch geh枚rt zu den spannendsten Werken, die ich je gelesen habe und ist mit Sicherheit D眉rrenmatts allerbestes Buch. Es ist gleicherma脽en Krimi, Thriller und dramatische Vergangenheitsaufarbeitung und alles drei gleicherma脽en kunstfertig.
Sowohl die Entstehung des namengebenden Verdachts (schnell zusammengefasst und verdient auch keinen Spoilertag, da dieser Verdacht praktisch schon auf den ersten beiden Seiten ge盲u脽ert wird: "Ist der bekannte Chefarzt ein ehemaliger KZ-Arzt, der gr盲ssliche Experimente an Gefangenen durchgef眉hrt hat?"), wie auch die Ermittlung, das entstehende Katz- und Mausspiel, und die Art wie D眉rrenmatt die Vergangenheit lebendig werden l盲sst, sind unglaublich intensiv und plastisch. Auch wenn anfangs gar nicht viel passiert, kriecht doch zunehmend etwas Unheimliches, D眉steres in die Szenerie. Etwas Grauenerregendes zeichnet sich ab unter der gutb眉rgerlichen Fassade von solider Anst盲ndigkeit, was ich als unglaublich sinnbildlich und stellvertretend f眉r die gesamten 50er Jahre empfunden habe. Die Unfassbarkeit des B枚sen, der bodenlose Alptraum, dieser Abgrund, der sich vor einem 枚ffnet, wenn man ein wenig kratzt an der d眉nnen Fassade, das alles ist schwindelerregend und schrecklich und entwickelt einen unglaublichen Sog.
Es gibt T盲ter und Opfer in diesem Buch, aber auch Mitl盲ufer, Leute die weggesehen haben, und es gibt Opfer, die selbst zu T盲tern geworden sind, weil es die einzige Art zu 脺berleben war, weil es die einzige Art war mit dem Leben irgendwie weiter zu machen.
Der Jude Gulliver verk枚rpert die leibhaftige, fleischgewordene Erinnerung an all die Gr盲ueltaten, die damals geschehen sind, er ist ein lebendes Mahnmal an das was ihm und Millionen anderen angetan wurde. Er ist ein unglaublich beeindruckender Charakter, der einen nachhaltig besch盲ftigt.
Ich kann das Buch eigentlich nur jedem empfehlen. Es ist sehr kurz, aber wahnsinnig spannend und beklemmend bis zum Schluss. Und es hinterl盲sst einen mit einem Gef眉hl von unendlichen Fragen und einem Wirbel aus Emotionen, was nur die besten B眉cher schaffen.
Bench猫 l'atmosfera di questo racconto (che definire giallo 猫 riduttivo) a tratti appaia inevitabilmente un po' antiquata, Durrenmatt 猫 riuscito a confezionare una storia che a distanza di oltre 60 anni presenta ancora sorprendenti elementi di originalit脿.
Il pi霉 evidente 猫 la scelta di un protagonista anziano e gravemente malato, alle prese con un complicato e pericoloso mistero che affronta rimanendo forzatamente ricoverato in un letto d'ospedale e poi di una clinica privata per tutta la durata del libro, una quasi assoluta unit脿 di luogo che tuttavia non nuoce affatto alla suspence, grazie all'abilit脿 dell'autore.
L'altro elemento di grande fascino di "Il sospetto" 猫 costituito dall'atmosfera di angosciosa minaccia che via via si instaura nella narrazione: gli oggetti, i chiaroscuri che filtrano dalle finestre, i dipinti alle pareti, perfino le attrezzature sanitarie contribuiscono a comporre intorno al malato una situazione claustrofobica e quasi onirica, in cui i personaggi compaiono d'improvviso dando a volte l'impressione che non si tratti di persone reali ma del frutto dell'immaginazione del vecchio, della sua malattia e dei farmaci che gli sono somministrati.
Poco importa che il tema principale (su cui non dico nulla per evitare spoiler...) sia stato gi脿 sfruttato altre volte e che soprattutto nel finale si evidenzino eccessive semplificazioni: la costruzione tramite brevi tratti sintetici dell'ambiente e dei rapporti fra i personaggi, fa invidia a gran parte dei noir contemporanei.