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A review by annabanana96
The Execution of Justice by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
4.0
Dürrenmatt's works are world class literature. You'll either like his grotesque, confused no-BS style of writing in this novel or you won't.
Therefore, I'll limit this review on how I experienced the book and am not judging it as good or bad. The novel is about justice and the justice system (which aren't necessarily the same thing), the corruption and foulness of the middle class Swiss society, the confusing and mad world Dürrenmatt experiences, and how prone to manipulation and naive society is. So naive, as to question a murder happening in a full cafe in broad daylight.
It is a novel in which none of the characters are really likeable or good; the narrator is an alcoholic getting ready to commit murder... All the women are sexually loose, the men drink too much, are corrupt, brutal or disillusioned. Rape and murder occur. Also: Don't expect to "fall into" this story; you're not supposed to forget you're reading a story.
What I really enjoyed are the meticulous, precise and intelligent character studies. The dialogues are short and crisp, not one superfluous word. They fit perfectly to the abstruse situations in which the narrator finds himself.
The narrator, a drunk young lawyer, writes the story in one go, talking to the reader, explaining himself and his actions. The noble ones and the evil ones. The style of writing therefore is confused and non-chronological. However, drunk people are honest, brutally honest in this case. Incredibly long sentences are paired with a few incredibly short ones. You, the reader, must give this book your full attention to discover the pure genius in every sentence.
Therefore, I'll limit this review on how I experienced the book and am not judging it as good or bad. The novel is about justice and the justice system (which aren't necessarily the same thing), the corruption and foulness of the middle class Swiss society, the confusing and mad world Dürrenmatt experiences, and how prone to manipulation and naive society is. So naive, as to question a murder happening in a full cafe in broad daylight.
It is a novel in which none of the characters are really likeable or good; the narrator is an alcoholic getting ready to commit murder... All the women are sexually loose, the men drink too much, are corrupt, brutal or disillusioned. Rape and murder occur. Also: Don't expect to "fall into" this story; you're not supposed to forget you're reading a story.
What I really enjoyed are the meticulous, precise and intelligent character studies. The dialogues are short and crisp, not one superfluous word. They fit perfectly to the abstruse situations in which the narrator finds himself.
The narrator, a drunk young lawyer, writes the story in one go, talking to the reader, explaining himself and his actions. The noble ones and the evil ones. The style of writing therefore is confused and non-chronological. However, drunk people are honest, brutally honest in this case. Incredibly long sentences are paired with a few incredibly short ones. You, the reader, must give this book your full attention to discover the pure genius in every sentence.