The Ditch

by Herman Koch (Author), Sam Garrett (Translator)

New
Hardcover
2019
$18.49

When Robert Walter, popular Mayor of Amsterdam, sees his wife toss her head back in laughter while chatting to one of his aldermen at a New Year's reception, he immediately suspects the worst.
Despite their long and happy marriage, Robert is convinced that Sylvia is cheating on him - and with the straitlaced alderman, no less, who is committed to the environment and wants to spoil the capital's skyline with wind turbines.
Soon afterwards, a journalist produces a photograph of a police officer being beaten up by three protesters during a demonstration against the Vietnam War. She claims that the mayor is one of the protesters. Then, out of the blue, Robert's ninety-four-year-old father turns up on the steps of the city hall, desperate to speak to him. He and his wife want to die together. They do not want to burden their son with their deteriorating health, so why not end their own lives when the time is right?
Herman Koch's The Ditch shows how a seemingly stable man can quickly become increasingly entangled in his own fears and suspicions. Or is everything not what it seems - is Robert Walter actually seeing things clearly for the very first time?

Synopsis

When Robert Walter, popular Mayor of Amsterdam, sees his wife toss her head back in laughter while chatting to one of his aldermen at a New Year's reception, he immediately suspects the worst.

Despite their long and happy marriage, Robert is convinced that Sylvia is cheating on him - and with the straitlaced alderman, no less, who is committed to the environment and wants to spoil the capital's skyline with wind turbines.

Soon afterwards, a journalist produces a photograph of a police officer being beaten up by three protesters during a demonstration against the Vietnam War. She claims that the mayor is one of the protesters. Then, out of the blue, Robert's ninety-four-year-old father turns up on the steps of the city hall, desperate to speak to him. He and his wife want to die together. They do not want to burden their son with their deteriorating health, so why not end their own lives when the time is right?

Herman Koch's The Ditch shows how a seemingly stable man can quickly become increasingly entangled in his own fears and suspicions. Or is everything not what it seems - is Robert Walter actually seeing things clearly for the very first time?

$18.49

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Edition: Main Market
Publisher: Picador
Published: 22 Aug 2019
ISBN 10: 1509883436
ISBN 13: 9781509883431

Media Reviews

A riveting but disturbing literary thriller from the richly talented Dutch author who sprang to prominence with his gripping The Dinner . . . Delicately told, in spare, haunting prose, there are echoes of Stephen King's Misery, but this is even more subtle, with a denouement to send shivers down the spine. * Daily Mail on Dear Mr M *

Author Bio

Herman Koch was born in 1953. He is the author of a number of novels, including The Dinner and Summer House with Swimming Pool, and short stories, has acted for radio, television, and film, and was a co-creator of the long-running Dutch TV comedy series Jiskefet (1990-2005). The Dinner has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide and spent a year on the New York Times bestseller list. Richard Gere, Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, and Chloe Sevigny starred in the film adaptation.