Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Guilt: Stories-Ferdinand von Schirach; Carol Brown Janeway (translator)

Guilt: Stories


Ferdinand von Schirach; Carol Brown Janeway (translator)

Knopf, Jan 31 2012, $24.00

ISBN: 9780307599490



This is a strong German crime anthology that looks closely at justice especially legal failures as the fifteen excellent short entries focus on the meaning of guilt from several viewpoints. In “Funfair”, the band at a six century anniversary gala rapes a teenage girl, but the DNA evidence and subsequently the case is lost. Nina and Thomas called the subway home when they kill an old man who tried to molest her in “DNA”. The "Children" bare false witness against the man accused of abuse. The “Lonely” young teenage is raped by a family who left her naive, frightened and pregnant. Whether it is the manslaughter death of a teacher by student bullies in the “Illuminati” or a depressed bored housewife getting a rush of “Desire” by stealing nonentities, Ferdinand von Schirach provides a deep look at what guilt is and its impact on those within a degree or two of the selected guilty party. Readers will reconsider their definitions; as whether a person did the deed or not never matters when it comes to the altered psychological symbiotic partnership relationships as there is powerful cause and effect on the hurt party, the chosen one (guilty or not is irrelevant) and their two circles.



Harriet Klausner

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