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the complete review - fiction

The Truth about Sascha Knisch

by
Aris Fioretos

[an overview of the reviews and critical reactions]

general information | review summaries | links | about the author

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Why we haven't reviewed it yet:
Had a go at it, but it didn't seem to go anywhere


Chances that we will review it:
Slim

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  From the Reviews:

• "Mit viel Witz und Verstand inszeniert der 1960 geborene Fioretos in seinem zweiten Roman den Berlin-Mythos der großen sexuellen Ökumene, in der jeder nach seiner Façon selig werden mochte. (…) Geschlecht ist Konstruktion, und Roman ist auch Konstruktion. Aber in dieser Hinsicht hat Fioretos dann doch zuviel des Guten getan. Die labyrinthische Handlung wirkt vor allem im letzten Drittel blaß und ausgedacht." - Wolfgang Schneider, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
  
  
• "There is much to marvel at in this often hilarious erotic thriller set in the hot summer of 1928 in Berlin. (…) The problem is that the author translated the novel from the original Swedish himself -- and the result is a kind of pedantry of language that is often awkward and obscure and leaves meanings opaque." - Matthew Lewin, The Guardian
  
  
• "There is a conflict in this novel between the dramatic and the poetic. There is the classic, noir-ish murder story and the ensuing revelations that move the narrative along. But the dense, colourful writing insists that the eye stops to admire just as it wants to return to the action. The clash is a strength rather than a weakness, since it creates an energy of its own, as the reader tries to balance the need to rush on and the urge to slow down. By the end of this involved, at times wilfully oblique, novel, the truth about Sascha Knisch may remain uncertain, but the formidable qualities of his creator have been well established." - Simon Baker, Times Literary Supplement
  
  
• "Woven into this plot is a complex and subtle treatise on sexuality. (…) A stylish, intelligent and eerily entertaining novel." - Tom Boncza-Tomaszewski, Independent on Sunday

Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.

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Links:

• Viking publicity page

• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (German)
• The Guardian
• Ikonen (German)
• Independent on Sunday

• Official site

• See Index of Scandinavian literature at the complete review

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About the Author:

       Swedish author Aris Fioretos was born in 1960.

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