Love And Madness [Paperback]

David Rehak (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2003

Karl is a rich young man with ambition and a desire for romantic and erotic adventure. He falls for Bertha, but is it true and lasting love or just a passing infatuation? Can the weight of Bertha’s love tip the scales in her favor, or will she plot revenge? Love and madness reign in this unusual tale of sexual lust, greed, mental illness, and personal destruction set in turn-of-the-century Sweden and loosely based on a true story.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...this book depicts a time, place, and philosphy that modern man would do well to consider. -- --Laurel Johnson, Midwest Book Review

Great, powerful plotline. Emotionally moving certainly. I wish most screenplays were as well-written and compelling as this novel. -- --Nicole Kidman, Hollywood actress

I had a great time with this book...it is really a page-turning and you'll never guess what will happen. -- --Paul Kyriazi, Hollywood director of films including OMEGA COP, and others

This story does a captivating job of capturing the atmosphere of Scandinavia. Like a Strindberg play--disturbing and totally engrossing. -- --Her Majesty Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark

Product Details

• Paperback: 131 pages
• Publisher: PublishAmerica (August 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413702767
• ISBN-13: 978-1413702767
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,928,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Midwest Book Review, May 3, 2004

By 

Laurel Johnson (Kansas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love And Madness (Paperback)

Much like The Stranger by Camus, this book depicts a time, place, and philosphy that modern man would do well to consider.

It's early in the 20th century as Love and Madness begins. The location is Goteborg Sweden. Karl Lind is an intelligent, idealistic young man with a strong work ethic. Despite his life of wealth and privilege, he has no desire to be counted among the idle rich. Karl loves his job working for his father's newspaper, and accepts with humor his family's urging to live a rich man's life. Lively discussions of philosophical beliefs and religious mores are common around the dinner table and Karl participates with relish.

The chance meeting of a hedonistic girl with atheistic leanings casts a pall on Karl's life. The first rush of sexual excitement is soon replaced by boredom and dislike for Bertha and her ways. By then she's pregnant and he's forced by moral beliefs into a marriage he cannot stomach. It's downhlll all the way from there. When Bertha establishes a lesbian attachment to her friend Christine, not even Karl's devotion to his son is enough to salvage his idealism. Bertha and Christine plot to ruin Karl through vicious lies and sly rumors. They won't be satisfied until he's lost everything, including his family, money and sanity.

In Love and Madness, David Rehak shows a good man's rapid fall from grace. It's a dark period piece, a commentary on the past that remains a dire warning for this present day. "Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it."

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing dark, thought-provoking read!, September 19, 2004

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Love And Madness (Paperback)

This is one dark love story! Love and Madness tells the story of a love affair gone awry. Karl is a wealthy man with a rather lavish lifestyle. He enjoys the intelligent discussions regarding religion and philosophy during dinners and parties. However, he is in the lookout for a romantic adventure. He meets Bertha and immediately falls in love with her. And then his life takes a rapid spin toward disaster. Bertha, with the help of her lesbian lover Christine, sets up a scheme to ruin Karl's impeccable reputation by way of lies and manipulation. Her motive is far more sinister than the reader anticipates. There are various disturbing scenes throughout the novel.

This is one of the most disturbing novels I have read this year. It is more than just a story about a man falling from grace -- the language, the development of the story and the psychological backdrop make this novel a unique, literary read. I love novels of this sort, and they don't get better than this. I also love the setting of turn of the century Sweden. It added darkness to the story. David Rehak is an amazing author. I loved A Young Girl's Crimes, but this one's better by a long shot. I look forward to reading more books by this author. I am hooked on his keen storytelling.

37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can not predict what will happen, till it does., April 29, 2004

By 

Paul Kyriazi "bondlife" (Los Angeles,, CA. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love And Madness (Paperback)

I had a great time with this book. Nice and tight in 131 pages, like "Jeckyll and Hyde" and "The Time Machine".

The story kept moving and over a long period of time. Once the hero met the willing girl, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and it did, over and over again. Great to watch the personalities change over the many years. Kind of like "Giant" but in a tight short length with the story refreshing itself and entering new acts quickly. Some of the incidences didn't tie into the story, but tied into the atmosphere.

The main thing about the book is that it is really a page turning and you will never guess what will happen to any of the characters until it actually happens.