Books we like ... and books we're not too fussed about
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Allan Hall
Penguin 2008
The particular monster here is Josef Fritzl, the Austrian who kept his daughter imprisoned underground for 24 years, repeatedly raped her, and fathered a number of children by her. Hall’s account follows the usual “true crime” path, dramatising the story with imagined dialogue and vivid, sensational language. As it was published before Fritzl’s trial (he was found guilty this March), there’s quite a lot of speculation, and quite a lot of repetition. Another result of its obviously rushed nature are some proof-reading errors and anomalies (for example, Fritzl wanting to save a few euros in 1984, and using Viagra in 1997). That said, drawing on a number of expert opinions, Hall provides a convincing rationale for Fritzl’s perversions and an interesting overview of Austrian society the nature of which, he claims, enabled his crimes to go undetected for so long. The translations from German jar a little with their odd colloquialisms, and indeed Hall’s own English seems a little stilted at times. However, overall, this is an interesting enough book of its kind.
30th October 2009
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