From Publishers Weekly
An Amsterdam couple descend into a nightmare world of recriminations, teen violence and self-destruction in this psychological drama by Dorrestein (A Heart of Stone). As the novel begins, the Vermeers-Phinus, a toy designer, and his wife, Franka, a social worker-are struggling to recover from the death of their teenage son, Jem, who was shot in a club in a random incident. The strain on their marriage is palpable, and the frustrated Phinus tries to lighten things up by taking Franka on a weekend retreat to a remote country inn. The quaint inn makes a fine first impression, but trouble begins when they wander off the grounds and Franka is attacked by a pair of sinister young teenage girls ("graffiti made flesh") on a local bridge. Phinus arrives and overreacts with a vengeance, beating up the girls. Afterward, the injured Franka demands that he make amends and give the girls a ride, but her charitable impulse is misguided: the girls threaten them with blackmail and then lock the couple in a dilapidated cabin. This incident drives a final wedge between Phinus and Franka, and their split catapults Phinus into another attack of blind rage. Phinus's descent into the same violence and heedless behavior that ended his son's life is Dorrestein's true theme, and it is chillingly elaborated, but the progress of the plot is uneven and jolting, particularly toward the end. Harrowing in conception, but lacking the smoothness and perfectly calibrated suspense of A Heart of Stone, this will disappoint Dorrestein's fans in the U.S.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Dorrestein's second novel to be translated into English follows a couple going on a weekend getaway after losing their son in a shooting at a nightclub. Fifteen-year-old Jem was Franka's son by her first husband, who died before Jem was born. Phinus fell in love with Franka, and when he married her, he adopted Jem. Jem was the light of their lives--a thoughtful, clever, and loving boy who was on his first date the night he was shot. While Franka wants to grieve openly, Phinus wards off grief with anger and denial. What starts as a seemingly peaceful weekend soon devolves into a nightmare. Franka and Phinus argue, and when Franka storms off, she is attacked by two teenage girls. In a rage, Phinus beats the girls. All of Phinus' anger and Franka's resentment rushes to the surface, and they are forced to confront their feelings about each other, as well as Jem's death. This follow-up to her haunting novel
A Heart of Stone (2001) is a gripping, heartbreaking exploration of tragedy and grief.
Kristine HuntleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
