|
Hansjörg Schertenleib
Der Papierkönig
(The Paper King)
Aufbau-Verlag, August 2003. 343 pp. Swiss author Hansjörg Schertenleib's latest novel tells the story of Reto Zumbach, a journalist working for a local newspaper in Hamburg. In search of a good story to lift his dismal career, Zumbach goes to Ireland to investigate a murder. The victim was Daniel Kienast, a Swiss footballer who was holidaying in Ireland with his girlfriend Natalie, the childhood best friend of Zumbach's sister. Kienast's murderer, Richard Kolk, the owner of a paper factory, had killed Kienast and kept Natalie captive. Natalie survived, but was deeply traumatised as a result of Kolk's abuse. Armed with reams of puzzling and somewhat contemptuous letters from Kolk and a tape recording of his interview with Natalie, Zumbach travels from scene to scene in an attempt to put himself in the couple's shoes. Unfortunately that is almost exactly what he ends up doing.
In Der Papierkönig, Schertenleib builds on the genre of the whodunnit (or rather, whyhedunnit) to produce an intricately spun yarn and an in-depth study of the human mind. Zumbach's journey to and within Ireland throws up many personal issues for Zumbach himself, and the unfolding plot shifts between the investigation of the crime and an examination of Zumbach's own character, his ex-girlfriend, his family and his past. The author's almost lyrical portrayals of the countryside are interspersed with forays into the mind of the unfortunate Natalie and vivid descriptions of Zumbach's dreams. When Zumbach and Natalie are kidnapped, the boundary between the story which Zumbach is writing (in the hope it will end up as a book) and the story which we, as readers, are reading begins to blur.
'As he skilfully forges the links between the individual stories and the collection as a whole, Hansjörg Schertenleib demonstrates that he is a truly accomplished writer.' Neue Luzerner Zeitung on Von Hund zu Hund
|
