One of our Great Reads You May Have Missed in 2012.
An insanely fast-paced, utterly unputdownable psychological thriller from a German bestseller. What if we could permanently erase our most terrifying experiences from memory? And what could go wrong?
Early in this book, it is recognised that 'what is generally held to constitute the difference between man and beast (is) self-awareness. We reflect on why we exist, when we'll die and what happens after death, whereas an animal wastes no thought on whether it's on earth at all (and) can't even recognise itself in a mirror'.
It is impossible to enjoy literary fiction without being able to place oneself into someone else's mind. The more skilful the writer, the easier it becomes to do this and thus the more enjoyable - and certainly empathetic - is the novel.
The core theme of 'Splinter' is the proposition that humans could 'learn to forget' a traumatic or tragic life experience - a state of deliberately induced amnesia that, in erasing the bad experience, would necessarily wipe out the memory of one's whole life.
This consequences of this original and compelling thesis are successfully explored in this compulsively written, thought-provoking and thoroughly enjoyable book.
If you are prepared to try reading it - and we think you should - there is a postscript at the end that you may find worth reading first. It shows that, with the aid of modern pharmaceutical developments, the core theme outlined above (which is openly revealed on the cover of the book) is not as far fetched as you might think.
'Splinter' is already an 'international bestseller'. We are not surprised.
| Genres: |
Thriller and Suspense Crime and Mystery |