Library Journal: "Hacker’s plain sentences and long paragraphs bring to mind William Faulkner’s deceptively simple narrative style. This honest portrayal of the dark side of the human psyche understandably won the 2006 German Book Prize for best novel."

Verdict: Hacker’s plain sentences and long paragraphs bring to mind William Faulkner’s deceptively simple narrative style. This honest portrayal of the dark side of the human psyche understandably won the 2006 German Book Prize for best novel. Recommended for public and academic libraries.

Background: German novelist Hacker’s third work to be translated into English (after Morpheus and The Lifeguard), this novel concerns a chance, post-9/11 encounter among children’s book illustrator Isabelle, a drug dealer, and Sara, a mentally challenged little girl. Hacker moves among the protagonists, eavesdropping on their seemingly routine lives, gradually building up tension after Isabelle and her husband move from Berlin to London. Seeking more from their mundane lives, Isabelle and the drug dealer casually flirt with each other, but the new relationship evolves into one of humiliation and power. When Sara, looking for her stray cat, comes between them, bloodshed ensues, and she becomes an innocent victim of their conflict, the violence at home echoing the distant war on terrorism.