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Brenner #7
Der Brenner und der liebe Gott
Ob du es glaubst oder nicht: Der Brenner ist wieder da!
Der Brenner, Expolizist und Exdetektiv, hat endlich einen guten Job gefunden - als Chauffeur. Noch nie im Leben hat er sich so wohlgefühlt. Aber er wäre nicht der Brenner, wenn es lange dauern würde, bis wieder was passiert. Eine an der Tankstelle gekaufte Tafel Schokolade sorgt für eine Kette von dramatischen Ereignissen. Es beginnt mit einer Kindesentführung, und am Ende stehen sieben Begräbnisse ...
Der Brenner, Expolizist und Exdetektiv, hat endlich einen guten Job gefunden - als Chauffeur. Noch nie im Leben hat er sich so wohlgefühlt. Aber er wäre nicht der Brenner, wenn es lange dauern würde, bis wieder was passiert. Eine an der Tankstelle gekaufte Tafel Schokolade sorgt für eine Kette von dramatischen Ereignissen. Es beginnt mit einer Kindesentführung, und am Ende stehen sieben Begräbnisse ...
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 24, 2009
19 people are currently reading
498 people want to read
About the author
Wolf Haas
28 books207 followersWolf Haas is the author of nine books in the bestselling Detective Brenner mystery series, three volumes of which have been made into popular German-language films. Among other prizes, the Brenner books have been awarded the German thriller prize and the 2004 Literature Prize from the City of Vienna.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
August 13, 2023
You know those books that sit on your shelf for a year or two or five or more and then one day you say, look, either I read you or you're going to the little free library so somebody else can have a chance, you deserve to have a chance, and so you take the book down and put it on the pile, and then, when its turn comes, you say, inside of a few pages: "Are you kidding me? This was just sitting there unread, this wonderful, hilarious, utterly distinctive, wholly captivating book? It was just waiting for me to get the first few pages read before holding my attention so closely that it pushes everything else out of the way for a couple of days?"; and then, with the last few chapters still waiting to be read, you order the rest of the author's available catalog in English because you're pretty certain it'll all be this delightful, this fun and insightful, this good, and you've had such a good time in the company of its characters?
You know those kinda books, right? This is one of those books. It's a mystery, it's genre fiction for sure, and it's both exemplary in its form and a bit more than that. What a true pleasure! Big thanks for Melville House for bringing Wolf Haas out in English.
You know those kinda books, right? This is one of those books. It's a mystery, it's genre fiction for sure, and it's both exemplary in its form and a bit more than that. What a true pleasure! Big thanks for Melville House for bringing Wolf Haas out in English.
January 16, 2013
Funny in a dark humor sort of way, and I really liked it; it also has one of the ickiest situations in a crime novel I've ever read.
Ex-cop Simon Brenner has finally found a profession he actually likes and someone who "understands him better that most adults he's had anything to do with in his life." Brenner works as a chauffeur for the Kressdorfs, the parents of two year-old Helena, with whom he can discuss his problems and worries while he's driving her out on the Autobahn. It's a great arrangement, and according to the omniscient narrator who is telling the story, the two are "like-minded souls," with a "kindred connection between them." Helena's mom is a doctor who among other things in her practice performs abortions; her dad is known as "the lion of construction." The parents are super happy with Brenner, especially because he is an ex-cop, and he is generally careful to make everything perfect prior to each trip of many hours on the Autobahn with Helena. Despite his meticulous preparations before each trip, on the day the novel begins, he realizes he has forgotten to put gas in the car (likely due to the calming pills he takes since his last girlfriend moved out) and makes a stop. After fueling, he moves the car over to one side to keep Helena (still in her car seat) away from the fumes while Brenner goes inside alone to pay, promising her an otherwise verboten chocolate bar when he comes back. Taking another couple of minutes, he grabs an espresso, and on his return to the car, he discovers that Helena's not there. He stands there clicking the door locks open with the key fob to no avail (Helena's still not there); he goes into the gas station to ask about surveillance footage but he'd parked the BMW away from any of the cameras. Instead of calling the police (maybe owing to the drugs or just plain shock), he waits -- and it's not long, of course, until Brenner becomes the prime suspect and also (needless to say) unemployed. He decides that he will have to be the one to take on the case of the missing Helena; as he begins to look for potential suspects he stumbles into some of the Kressdorf's most carefully-guarded secrets as well as those of their associates and enemies, the whole lot offering up possible motives and possible kidnappers. But there are people who don't want these secrets to be revealed at any cost and when Brenner starts getting too close, he finds himself literally in the shit.
What sets Brenner and God apart from just becoming another crime fiction novel is that unlike other crime fiction narratives, (with the possible exception of the previous six in the series**) there is an all-seeing, all-knowing narrator who not only gives the reader hints as to what may be coming down the pike for our erstwhile hero, but also warns us about mistakes people are going to make in just a matter of seconds, and even offers up some pretty funny and sometimes spot-on philosophical observations as the crime plot moves forward. After I'd finished reading this novel, I actually calculated that without all of the narrator's commentary running through the novel the actual crime story would take up very little space in the book. Normally I would cry foul and complain about the fluff padding the author's doing, but not in this case. Personally, I liked the way Haas set up the narration of this story although I do have to admit that by the end of the book the wiggy style was beginning to grate and I was starting to need a respite. In deciding whether or not to read this novel you might want to consider the following: if you're more into the crime and less into style, you might want to pass because of all of the meandering asides that can be rather intrusive at times slowing down movement toward resolution. OR, if you can just relax with the author's style and try to enjoy the humor knowing that the entire book is going to be like this in and around the crime narrative, well I think you'll find it quite funny, very well done. I will definitely be wanting to pick up the next Melville House Brenner release of The Bone Man. I do hope Melville House will plan a run of the entire series -- starting with book number seven kind of leaves readers at a loss wondering about what other kinds of messes Simon Brenner has found himself in in the past.
Ex-cop Simon Brenner has finally found a profession he actually likes and someone who "understands him better that most adults he's had anything to do with in his life." Brenner works as a chauffeur for the Kressdorfs, the parents of two year-old Helena, with whom he can discuss his problems and worries while he's driving her out on the Autobahn. It's a great arrangement, and according to the omniscient narrator who is telling the story, the two are "like-minded souls," with a "kindred connection between them." Helena's mom is a doctor who among other things in her practice performs abortions; her dad is known as "the lion of construction." The parents are super happy with Brenner, especially because he is an ex-cop, and he is generally careful to make everything perfect prior to each trip of many hours on the Autobahn with Helena. Despite his meticulous preparations before each trip, on the day the novel begins, he realizes he has forgotten to put gas in the car (likely due to the calming pills he takes since his last girlfriend moved out) and makes a stop. After fueling, he moves the car over to one side to keep Helena (still in her car seat) away from the fumes while Brenner goes inside alone to pay, promising her an otherwise verboten chocolate bar when he comes back. Taking another couple of minutes, he grabs an espresso, and on his return to the car, he discovers that Helena's not there. He stands there clicking the door locks open with the key fob to no avail (Helena's still not there); he goes into the gas station to ask about surveillance footage but he'd parked the BMW away from any of the cameras. Instead of calling the police (maybe owing to the drugs or just plain shock), he waits -- and it's not long, of course, until Brenner becomes the prime suspect and also (needless to say) unemployed. He decides that he will have to be the one to take on the case of the missing Helena; as he begins to look for potential suspects he stumbles into some of the Kressdorf's most carefully-guarded secrets as well as those of their associates and enemies, the whole lot offering up possible motives and possible kidnappers. But there are people who don't want these secrets to be revealed at any cost and when Brenner starts getting too close, he finds himself literally in the shit.
What sets Brenner and God apart from just becoming another crime fiction novel is that unlike other crime fiction narratives, (with the possible exception of the previous six in the series**) there is an all-seeing, all-knowing narrator who not only gives the reader hints as to what may be coming down the pike for our erstwhile hero, but also warns us about mistakes people are going to make in just a matter of seconds, and even offers up some pretty funny and sometimes spot-on philosophical observations as the crime plot moves forward. After I'd finished reading this novel, I actually calculated that without all of the narrator's commentary running through the novel the actual crime story would take up very little space in the book. Normally I would cry foul and complain about the fluff padding the author's doing, but not in this case. Personally, I liked the way Haas set up the narration of this story although I do have to admit that by the end of the book the wiggy style was beginning to grate and I was starting to need a respite. In deciding whether or not to read this novel you might want to consider the following: if you're more into the crime and less into style, you might want to pass because of all of the meandering asides that can be rather intrusive at times slowing down movement toward resolution. OR, if you can just relax with the author's style and try to enjoy the humor knowing that the entire book is going to be like this in and around the crime narrative, well I think you'll find it quite funny, very well done. I will definitely be wanting to pick up the next Melville House Brenner release of The Bone Man. I do hope Melville House will plan a run of the entire series -- starting with book number seven kind of leaves readers at a loss wondering about what other kinds of messes Simon Brenner has found himself in in the past.
November 11, 2012
I don't read a lot of detective books, but picked this up based on Tom Roberge's recommendation and "The Weather Fifteen Years Ago," which is absolutely brilliant. Anyway, the book itself is totally fine and does exactly what it's supposed to do--sets forth a mystery, keeps the reader guessing a bit, includes a bit of sexy, a bit of violence, a few tight situations, all resolved in the end by our intrepid hero, Brenner.
But. Haas's writing style annoys the shit out of me. First off, there are a ton of asides to the reader, who is frequently referred to as "my swan." (?? -- what the shit is this?) A couple, fine, but so many times, these asides are used to generate false anticipation by foreshadowing something major that will happen by the end of the book. Fuck you, Haas. Keep me interested with your writing, not with your telling me to be interested.
Beyond that, he/translator Annie Janusch has this awful tick of ending sentences with a clipped "because, X" that drove me absolutely crazy over the course of the book.
On page 194: "Whether or not he meant to address Brenner formally as Herr Sion was left open-ended this time because short and succinct: 'Shut up.' . . . Because ones thing's clear when you've come as far as [SPOILER] has, you don't waste any time coddling your witnesses, no, you mop them up like fly droppings because--no sentimentality."
Employed occasionally, this sort of writing technique can create an interesting voice, but 2-3 times a page for 215 pages? Gah.
Anyway, I hope this finds a decent audience, since it is rather entertaining, just not to my tastes because, artless.
But. Haas's writing style annoys the shit out of me. First off, there are a ton of asides to the reader, who is frequently referred to as "my swan." (?? -- what the shit is this?) A couple, fine, but so many times, these asides are used to generate false anticipation by foreshadowing something major that will happen by the end of the book. Fuck you, Haas. Keep me interested with your writing, not with your telling me to be interested.
Beyond that, he/translator Annie Janusch has this awful tick of ending sentences with a clipped "because, X" that drove me absolutely crazy over the course of the book.
On page 194: "Whether or not he meant to address Brenner formally as Herr Sion was left open-ended this time because short and succinct: 'Shut up.' . . . Because ones thing's clear when you've come as far as [SPOILER] has, you don't waste any time coddling your witnesses, no, you mop them up like fly droppings because--no sentimentality."
Employed occasionally, this sort of writing technique can create an interesting voice, but 2-3 times a page for 215 pages? Gah.
Anyway, I hope this finds a decent audience, since it is rather entertaining, just not to my tastes because, artless.
Read
January 1, 2023A well-meaning quasi-moron provokes, solves a kidnapping. Good, fun, weird.
August 15, 2014
A fun break. Interesting narrator, third person but from Brenner’s point of view, primarily, and direct address from beginning to end. I like the running patter of observations about memory, desperation, cell phones, police technique, hindsight, a truth written in flames, the Zone of Transparency...all in asides with just the right amount of disjointed, simultaneous breeziness and seriousness.
In hindsight it would all be revealed eventually, or frankly, not even all of it, or else Vienna would look very different today, don’t ask. But one thing you can’t forget: Brenner’s not in hindsight at this point. Not yet! Because it’s just human nature that you’re never in hindsight until it’s too late.
The plot is a tangle of current social issues and very individual weaknesses. Brenner is a character easy to spend time with, a skillful ex-policeman but with plenty of human flaws and humanity.
Here’s hoping there are more translations of books in this series in the works. I’m also going to look for Haas’s solo novel, The Weather Fifteen Years Ago.
In hindsight it would all be revealed eventually, or frankly, not even all of it, or else Vienna would look very different today, don’t ask. But one thing you can’t forget: Brenner’s not in hindsight at this point. Not yet! Because it’s just human nature that you’re never in hindsight until it’s too late.
The plot is a tangle of current social issues and very individual weaknesses. Brenner is a character easy to spend time with, a skillful ex-policeman but with plenty of human flaws and humanity.
Here’s hoping there are more translations of books in this series in the works. I’m also going to look for Haas’s solo novel, The Weather Fifteen Years Ago.
February 12, 2013
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
I'm never a good person to listen to when it comes to crime novels, because I'm not really much of a fan of the genre; and then when it comes to Wolf Haas' Brenner and God, the English debut of what is apparently a hugely popular series in Europe, there's an additional problem, which is that the translation by Annie Janusch sounds very, very strange, and I couldn't tell whether this was being done on purpose or not. I mean, the story is serviceable enough, the tale of a stressed-out former detective who takes a job as a chauffeur for the rich and famous, and who gets reluctantly pulled back into crime-fighting when a little girl he was in charge of gets kidnapped right under his nose; but I'm not sure if it's that Haas' original version was written in some hyper-stylized, Denis-Johnson-style German version of noir prose, but the English version calls undue attention to its own sentence structure in nearly every paragraph, and not in the good way either, coming across at many times as if you were at DisneyWorld and listening to a foreign visitor comically attempt to ask directions to Space Mountain. When added to my natural disinterest in crime novels to begin with, the whole thing feels like I can't really do much service to this novel as a critic, so I'm just giving it a middle-of-the-road score today and moving on.
Out of 10: 7.5
I'm never a good person to listen to when it comes to crime novels, because I'm not really much of a fan of the genre; and then when it comes to Wolf Haas' Brenner and God, the English debut of what is apparently a hugely popular series in Europe, there's an additional problem, which is that the translation by Annie Janusch sounds very, very strange, and I couldn't tell whether this was being done on purpose or not. I mean, the story is serviceable enough, the tale of a stressed-out former detective who takes a job as a chauffeur for the rich and famous, and who gets reluctantly pulled back into crime-fighting when a little girl he was in charge of gets kidnapped right under his nose; but I'm not sure if it's that Haas' original version was written in some hyper-stylized, Denis-Johnson-style German version of noir prose, but the English version calls undue attention to its own sentence structure in nearly every paragraph, and not in the good way either, coming across at many times as if you were at DisneyWorld and listening to a foreign visitor comically attempt to ask directions to Space Mountain. When added to my natural disinterest in crime novels to begin with, the whole thing feels like I can't really do much service to this novel as a critic, so I'm just giving it a middle-of-the-road score today and moving on.
Out of 10: 7.5
July 20, 2024
ohne den ganzen Sexismus, die Homophobie und den Rassismus wäre das Buch vielleicht sogar ok gewesen.
November 19, 2014
Der neue Haas ganz gut eben typisch. Bei manchen Szenen stellt man sich gleich vor wie grauslich das dann verfilmt wird.
So sehr ich vom Stilmittel des langsamen behäbigen Romans mit simpler einfältiger Sprache am Anfang begeistert war, so sehr nervt mich mit der steigenden Anzahl der gelesenen Brenner-Romane die ewig gleiche Fadesse.
Lieber Wolf Haas (ich glaub unter Auftraggeber und Mörder duzt man sich): Scheiss auf die Quoten für zukünftige Filme und murks endlich den Brenner gaanz grausllich und furios ab - diesmal aber bitte endgültig. Leute die nicht nur das Buch zum Film lesen, wissen nämlich dass Du viel variantenreicheres Geschreibsl drauf hast! (z.B. Ausgebremst). Erfinde Dich, den Haas Roman endlich neu und stell uns auch wieder mal neue Leute, Detektive oder was ganz anderes vor. Das kriegst Du hin!!!
So sehr ich vom Stilmittel des langsamen behäbigen Romans mit simpler einfältiger Sprache am Anfang begeistert war, so sehr nervt mich mit der steigenden Anzahl der gelesenen Brenner-Romane die ewig gleiche Fadesse.
Lieber Wolf Haas (ich glaub unter Auftraggeber und Mörder duzt man sich): Scheiss auf die Quoten für zukünftige Filme und murks endlich den Brenner gaanz grausllich und furios ab - diesmal aber bitte endgültig. Leute die nicht nur das Buch zum Film lesen, wissen nämlich dass Du viel variantenreicheres Geschreibsl drauf hast! (z.B. Ausgebremst). Erfinde Dich, den Haas Roman endlich neu und stell uns auch wieder mal neue Leute, Detektive oder was ganz anderes vor. Das kriegst Du hin!!!
August 31, 2012
The seventh (I think) in a bestselling German series, here translated for the first time, and I tried to like it. I really did, in part because it was given to me by someone whose taste I admire . . . but I couldn't. It's written in a cockamamie and fiercely irritating third person in which the narrator takes a very animated (intrusive would be another way of putting it) role, continually stepping aside to tell us what he thinks about this or that, to order us to pay attention (in case what he's about to tell us is far too subtle for our grade level), and just generally being a pest.
This is also a mystery in which key elements of solving the crime are delivered more or less providentially, a route that always inspires doubt in me. I probably won't read the next one to be translated.
This is also a mystery in which key elements of solving the crime are delivered more or less providentially, a route that always inspires doubt in me. I probably won't read the next one to be translated.
September 3, 2020
Fast hätte ich es weg gelegt und nicht fertig gelesen. Weil, pass auf. Kindesentführung ist so ein Thema, da stellt es dir halt alle Haare am Rücken auf und du bist dir gar nicht mehr sicher ob du jetzt wirklich wissen willst wie es weitergeht.
Bin aber sehr froh dass ich es doch noch beendet habe und war wieder sehr gut unterhalten. Der Brenner spricht mir halt auf meiner österreichischen Seele ;)
Bin aber sehr froh dass ich es doch noch beendet habe und war wieder sehr gut unterhalten. Der Brenner spricht mir halt auf meiner österreichischen Seele ;)
September 20, 2012
This is the seventh book in the "Brenner" series by Austrian writer Haas, but the first to appear in English. I generally hate it when series books are translated out of order, since it always leaves me with a nagging feeling that there's a whole lot of depth and backstory to the protagonist that I'm missing out on. That was especially the case with this book, which employs an unusually intrusive omniscient narrator who offers a snarky running commentary to the proceedings.
Brenner is an antidepressant-popping ex-cop, currently working as the private chauffeur to a wealthy developer, mainly ferrying the man's two-year-old daughter back and forth between Vienna and Munich. The story itself revolves around what happens one night when Brenner stops at a gas station to fill up and grab a coffee, and comes back to an empty car. Although he is immediately fired by the developer and his wife (an abortion clinic doctor), Brenner naturally can't sit back and let the police fumble around -- he has to find the girl himself. Both parents had enemies due to their professions, and Brenner starts poking his nose into their affairs in order to try and suss out the kidnappers.
What makes the book marginally more interesting than your average detective procedural, is the style and tone of the darkly comic narrator. The asides and interjections break up what is, at its core, a pretty simple narrative. They also provide a great deal of foreshadowing, enough for the reader to know from very early on that this is a story with a significant body count. Depending on the reader, this can be taken blackly humorous, or possibly annoying -- personally, I enjoyed it even though it lessens the suspense.
Brenner is an antidepressant-popping ex-cop, currently working as the private chauffeur to a wealthy developer, mainly ferrying the man's two-year-old daughter back and forth between Vienna and Munich. The story itself revolves around what happens one night when Brenner stops at a gas station to fill up and grab a coffee, and comes back to an empty car. Although he is immediately fired by the developer and his wife (an abortion clinic doctor), Brenner naturally can't sit back and let the police fumble around -- he has to find the girl himself. Both parents had enemies due to their professions, and Brenner starts poking his nose into their affairs in order to try and suss out the kidnappers.
What makes the book marginally more interesting than your average detective procedural, is the style and tone of the darkly comic narrator. The asides and interjections break up what is, at its core, a pretty simple narrative. They also provide a great deal of foreshadowing, enough for the reader to know from very early on that this is a story with a significant body count. Depending on the reader, this can be taken blackly humorous, or possibly annoying -- personally, I enjoyed it even though it lessens the suspense.
March 30, 2015
Bits and pieces I didn't like. I found the first bit not the most readable, but the last half of this all-too-short book was a blistering read. This seemed a much more mature read than and Resurrection and The Bone Man. After the halfway mark, I couldn't put the book down. It was that good a read.
Now I'm stuck waiting for more translations, although it looks like I could read Come, Sweet Death! now. I'm not sure if crime readers will like Brenner because almost everything I've read in Crime has left me completely flat. Brenner's attitude entertains me and so far it doesn't seem to be letting up.
Now I'm stuck waiting for more translations, although it looks like I could read Come, Sweet Death! now. I'm not sure if crime readers will like Brenner because almost everything I've read in Crime has left me completely flat. Brenner's attitude entertains me and so far it doesn't seem to be letting up.
July 26, 2016
I liked this short book featuring an Austrian ex-detective turned chauffeur. It was definitely quirky and different, but that's good. The story was told by a somewhat detached narrator who is not identified, and that took some getting used to. This is the first of Haas's books to be translated, and I'm not sure if it's the first in his series or not. Fantasticficion.com lists it as first, but maybe that's because it was translated first. I'll definitely try another.
May 4, 2022
Ja, wer den Brenner und seine eigene Sprache mag, für den ist es sicher spannend und humorvoll. Gut zu lesen.
September 20, 2012
Translated from the German by Annie Janusch
“Personally, I prefer to look on the positive side of life these days. Not just Murder He Wrote all the time, and who-got-who with a bullet, a knife, an extension cord, or what else I don’t know. Me, I’m far more interested in the nice people now, the quiet ones, the normals, the ones who you’d say—they lead their regular lives, abide by the law, don’t mistake themselves for the good lord when they get up in the morning, just nice tidy lives.
Look at Kressdor’s chauffeur, for example.”
That chauffeur is Brenner, or Herr Simon, a former police officer now assigned to be the personal driver of a two-year-old little girl whose wealthy and high-profile parents need to make sure she’s safe from being kidnapped. It seems a lowly task, except that right off, Brenner admits that his most interesting converations in life so far have been with Helena, the babbling child, and he’s paid well for what he finds comforting and solid work. His biggest challenge appears to be how to sneak Helena a chocolate bar without her parents finding out. But, it’s this very chocolate bar that gets him in trouble, because in purchasing it, he lowers his guard, just the once, and she is taken.
Brenner is a brooder, and his instinct is to tear himself apart with guilt, and go back to figuring out how to find her. Now, there’s no shortage of brooding, ex-cops turning into vengeful detectives in modern fiction, but Brenner is compelling because he’s brought to light by the omniscient narrator of the novel, who lets us in on Brenner’s inner struggles. He’s suffered recent depression, gets really excited about clean sheets, seems an linguistic expert in dialects, adores Jimi Hendrix, and can’t keep his eye off the clock…counting the moments since she’s gone missing and hoping against the worst. And we learn why he loves to drive:
“…Because that’s one of the many advantages of a car. You can listen to music in private, you can enjoy nature without exertion, and when in despair, you can let out a cry.”
As the reader learns about Brenner, and watches him search, they soon begin to wonder about the narrator as well. Because this isn’t some neutral observer: this narrator is an in-your-face and aggressive voice who tells the reader to “listen up” and “pay attention”. He’s clearly on Brenner’s side even when the kidnapping plot gets messy:
“Between the seventy-fourth and the eighty-eighth hours, Brenner did some first-rate investigative work that was never fully appreciated afterward….a detective can’t be praised for everything he did right. But because everyone glossed right over it, I’d like to at least touch on it briefly. I have to say it was brilliant... […] He achieved peak detective form there, and there’s only one thing to be said: hats off.”
For those who enjoy detective novels, this is no procedural. Much of the actual work of solving the crime is left out in favor of developing the plot: mainly, what is going on with Helena’s parents, an abortion doctor and a mega-developer, that may be related to her disappearance. Brenner’s musings on both of their occupations gets far more time than chasing down forensic evidence, which keeps this from feeling like so many popular crime novels that appear to be repeats of CSI episodes, where the story is lost in the jargon.
My only minor qualm about the story was the curious introduction of one character, a police officer named Peinhaupt. He’s all set up to be a prime character, and drawn with incredible detail. I was surprised to see that his character sort of vanishes in the action of the mystery, only to reappear later in a minor scene. While this is part of a series of books about Brenner, the seventh in fact, it is the first Brenner novel to appear in English. I’m curious if Peinhaupt might have had a role in earlier Brenner novels that might explain his appearance here, or if he may be in line for a series of his own.
Time, in minutes, hours, and days, plays a huge factor in the plot…the narrator and Brenner both dwell on every hour that goes by (pay attention, you’re reminded). And while Brenner searches and the narrator speculates, these time stamps are the real events that make up this fast-paced story:
“Then the worst thing that can happen to a detective happened to Brenner. Fifty-seven hours after the girl’s disappearance, he became innocent.”
“Personally, I prefer to look on the positive side of life these days. Not just Murder He Wrote all the time, and who-got-who with a bullet, a knife, an extension cord, or what else I don’t know. Me, I’m far more interested in the nice people now, the quiet ones, the normals, the ones who you’d say—they lead their regular lives, abide by the law, don’t mistake themselves for the good lord when they get up in the morning, just nice tidy lives.
Look at Kressdor’s chauffeur, for example.”
That chauffeur is Brenner, or Herr Simon, a former police officer now assigned to be the personal driver of a two-year-old little girl whose wealthy and high-profile parents need to make sure she’s safe from being kidnapped. It seems a lowly task, except that right off, Brenner admits that his most interesting converations in life so far have been with Helena, the babbling child, and he’s paid well for what he finds comforting and solid work. His biggest challenge appears to be how to sneak Helena a chocolate bar without her parents finding out. But, it’s this very chocolate bar that gets him in trouble, because in purchasing it, he lowers his guard, just the once, and she is taken.
Brenner is a brooder, and his instinct is to tear himself apart with guilt, and go back to figuring out how to find her. Now, there’s no shortage of brooding, ex-cops turning into vengeful detectives in modern fiction, but Brenner is compelling because he’s brought to light by the omniscient narrator of the novel, who lets us in on Brenner’s inner struggles. He’s suffered recent depression, gets really excited about clean sheets, seems an linguistic expert in dialects, adores Jimi Hendrix, and can’t keep his eye off the clock…counting the moments since she’s gone missing and hoping against the worst. And we learn why he loves to drive:
“…Because that’s one of the many advantages of a car. You can listen to music in private, you can enjoy nature without exertion, and when in despair, you can let out a cry.”
As the reader learns about Brenner, and watches him search, they soon begin to wonder about the narrator as well. Because this isn’t some neutral observer: this narrator is an in-your-face and aggressive voice who tells the reader to “listen up” and “pay attention”. He’s clearly on Brenner’s side even when the kidnapping plot gets messy:
“Between the seventy-fourth and the eighty-eighth hours, Brenner did some first-rate investigative work that was never fully appreciated afterward….a detective can’t be praised for everything he did right. But because everyone glossed right over it, I’d like to at least touch on it briefly. I have to say it was brilliant... […] He achieved peak detective form there, and there’s only one thing to be said: hats off.”
For those who enjoy detective novels, this is no procedural. Much of the actual work of solving the crime is left out in favor of developing the plot: mainly, what is going on with Helena’s parents, an abortion doctor and a mega-developer, that may be related to her disappearance. Brenner’s musings on both of their occupations gets far more time than chasing down forensic evidence, which keeps this from feeling like so many popular crime novels that appear to be repeats of CSI episodes, where the story is lost in the jargon.
My only minor qualm about the story was the curious introduction of one character, a police officer named Peinhaupt. He’s all set up to be a prime character, and drawn with incredible detail. I was surprised to see that his character sort of vanishes in the action of the mystery, only to reappear later in a minor scene. While this is part of a series of books about Brenner, the seventh in fact, it is the first Brenner novel to appear in English. I’m curious if Peinhaupt might have had a role in earlier Brenner novels that might explain his appearance here, or if he may be in line for a series of his own.
Time, in minutes, hours, and days, plays a huge factor in the plot…the narrator and Brenner both dwell on every hour that goes by (pay attention, you’re reminded). And while Brenner searches and the narrator speculates, these time stamps are the real events that make up this fast-paced story:
“Then the worst thing that can happen to a detective happened to Brenner. Fifty-seven hours after the girl’s disappearance, he became innocent.”
June 19, 2012
Brenner and God is the first of Wolf Haas's Detective Simon Brenner series to be translated from German to English, though it is the seventh book in the series. It seems like an odd place to begin, but I doubt any one would guess.
It was the premise that piqued my interest, introducing Brenner, once a police detective, now a personal chauffeur for a two year old girl, Helena. When Helena goes missing from the limousine while Brenner sips espresso in the service station, it is assumed that she has been kidnapped. The police suspect Brenner is involved, but her parents, a doctor who provides abortions and a construction and property developer giant, have plenty of enemies. When there is no ransom demand, or a body, Brenner decides to investigate the child's disappearance only to find himself mired in a cesspit of lies, betrayal and murder.
Told in the first person by an omniscient narrator who is never introduced, intermittently addresses the reader directly as well as interjecting opinion, information and judgement, Brenner and God has one of the most unusual styles of narration I have encountered. The effect is initially bewildering and I am not sure I ever quite got used to the quirky voice, even though I admired the author's unique approach.
Brenner is a cynic with an emerging pill habit and a history of ignoring authority. Despite being warned off becoming involved in the investigation he refuses to step back from the case, driven not only by his sense of guilt but also his belief in doing the right thing. Under suspicion is an anti abortionist campaigner and a cabal of business heavyweights, but even as bodies begin to fall, Brenner doesn't get any closer to finding Helena and finds himself, literally in the sh*t.
I did enjoy Brenner and God, it's entertaining and clever with an appealing protagonist. This is a book for fans of noir detective fiction looking for something unusual and edgy.
It was the premise that piqued my interest, introducing Brenner, once a police detective, now a personal chauffeur for a two year old girl, Helena. When Helena goes missing from the limousine while Brenner sips espresso in the service station, it is assumed that she has been kidnapped. The police suspect Brenner is involved, but her parents, a doctor who provides abortions and a construction and property developer giant, have plenty of enemies. When there is no ransom demand, or a body, Brenner decides to investigate the child's disappearance only to find himself mired in a cesspit of lies, betrayal and murder.
Told in the first person by an omniscient narrator who is never introduced, intermittently addresses the reader directly as well as interjecting opinion, information and judgement, Brenner and God has one of the most unusual styles of narration I have encountered. The effect is initially bewildering and I am not sure I ever quite got used to the quirky voice, even though I admired the author's unique approach.
Brenner is a cynic with an emerging pill habit and a history of ignoring authority. Despite being warned off becoming involved in the investigation he refuses to step back from the case, driven not only by his sense of guilt but also his belief in doing the right thing. Under suspicion is an anti abortionist campaigner and a cabal of business heavyweights, but even as bodies begin to fall, Brenner doesn't get any closer to finding Helena and finds himself, literally in the sh*t.
I did enjoy Brenner and God, it's entertaining and clever with an appealing protagonist. This is a book for fans of noir detective fiction looking for something unusual and edgy.
March 30, 2013
This one is beautiful. And it’s all in the VOICE.
I am always happy to find a new Euro cop I can enjoy. For me, Simon Brenner, a disaffected Austrian cop created by (Austrian writer) Wolf Haas is a delightful discovery. The unseen, unnamed narrator Haas assigns to relate this story is one of the truly funny literary voices I have read in a long while. In my opinion, “funny” is the most difficult challenge in any genre of writing. And the more so in mystery writing. Anyone who ever got hooked on Philip Marlowe knows that a droll voice cuts far deeper (and quicker) to the heart of a character and his world than anything tragic and/or heroic.
Obviously Marlowe is a creature of his time… and there are many others between then and now. Jussi Adler-Olsen (Denmark). Leif G.W. Persson (Sweden). Pacio Taibo (Mexico). Stuart Macbride (Scotland). Fred Vargas (France). Wolf Haas fits perfectly with right now. A question of effectively blending noir with the absurd.
The plot revolves around the kidnapping of the young daughter of lady abortionist and her construction mogul husband. The kid is snatched at a gas station while the chauffeur is inside paying for gas. The chauffeur is Brenner, who quit the police for something more relaxing. His sense of guilt transforms him into a private detective and he eventually solves the mystery. The plot has interesting turns, some of them quite violent indeed - EXCEPT for the fact of this amazing narrative voice.
I have just read of the publication in English of another book by Wolf Haas from the Brenner series. Which is great news. I highly recommend Brenner and God.
I am always happy to find a new Euro cop I can enjoy. For me, Simon Brenner, a disaffected Austrian cop created by (Austrian writer) Wolf Haas is a delightful discovery. The unseen, unnamed narrator Haas assigns to relate this story is one of the truly funny literary voices I have read in a long while. In my opinion, “funny” is the most difficult challenge in any genre of writing. And the more so in mystery writing. Anyone who ever got hooked on Philip Marlowe knows that a droll voice cuts far deeper (and quicker) to the heart of a character and his world than anything tragic and/or heroic.
Obviously Marlowe is a creature of his time… and there are many others between then and now. Jussi Adler-Olsen (Denmark). Leif G.W. Persson (Sweden). Pacio Taibo (Mexico). Stuart Macbride (Scotland). Fred Vargas (France). Wolf Haas fits perfectly with right now. A question of effectively blending noir with the absurd.
The plot revolves around the kidnapping of the young daughter of lady abortionist and her construction mogul husband. The kid is snatched at a gas station while the chauffeur is inside paying for gas. The chauffeur is Brenner, who quit the police for something more relaxing. His sense of guilt transforms him into a private detective and he eventually solves the mystery. The plot has interesting turns, some of them quite violent indeed - EXCEPT for the fact of this amazing narrative voice.
I have just read of the publication in English of another book by Wolf Haas from the Brenner series. Which is great news. I highly recommend Brenner and God.
September 26, 2012
Brenner and God is a curious book. The story is told through an anonymous narrator who both tells the story and 'talks to' the reader, sometimes telling them what to do ('My dear Swan, pay attention, this is important'). It’s a style that I found increasingly irritating, partly because it comes across as somewhat patronising. There are also a number of what are meant to be profound digressions, providing insights into modern society, but most fall flat. As for the story, it’s a kidnapping story with a twist, based on two unrelated but coincidental threads. The plot is interesting enough, but its telling felt a little underdeveloped in terms of its realisation, characterisation and sense of place. I never felt as if I got to know any of the characters in any substantive way and some barely played a role or were under-used (for example, the cop to whom the reader is given a relatively substantial introduction near the beginning then disappears until the end when he very briefly re-appears). This should have been a book I that I thoroughly enjoyed given the theme and supposed dark humour, but it just didn’t click into place for me, mainly due to its voice and underdeveloped narrative.
May 29, 2012
"BRENNER AND GOD is one of the cleverest—and most thoroughly enjoyable—mysteries that I've read in a long time. Wolf Haas is the real deal, and his arrival on the American book scene is long overdue."
—Carl Hiaasen
Think of a Cohen brothers movie adaptation of a Carl Hiaasen novel set in Germany and you're only about halfway to understanding how enjoyable Wolf Haas "Detective Brenner" books are.
—Carl Hiaasen
Think of a Cohen brothers movie adaptation of a Carl Hiaasen novel set in Germany and you're only about halfway to understanding how enjoyable Wolf Haas "Detective Brenner" books are.
July 28, 2012
What fun, what style, made me laugh out loud.
And I liked how the narrator takes the reader by the hand (leading/misleading). Will try to read the series from the beginning in German since the translation indicates a few Austrian jokes/insights worth savouring.
And I liked how the narrator takes the reader by the hand (leading/misleading). Will try to read the series from the beginning in German since the translation indicates a few Austrian jokes/insights worth savouring.
May 16, 2011
Fantastic, smooth, cynical... and VERY VERY Viennese...
September 30, 2012
A good mystery although the style reminded me of the dialect many German born Canadians seem to use when speaking English...and that made the fluidity of reading difficult but not off putting.
June 26, 2023
zum zweiten Mal gelesen und diesmal mehr genossen. Wenn man sich auf die Sprache und das Erzähltempo einlässt : sehr lesenswert.
September 27, 2025
We’ve all read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, haven’t we? Even if some of us don’t want to admit it. (Casting side-eye in the direction of Belgium, France and Germany.) Imagine if Douglas Adams, instead of growing up in a large, loving family in Merry Olde England, had been busted for stealing fancy hubcaps and was sent to reform school, and instead of writing about a lovable band of misfits having interstellar adventures had addressed the finer points of picking locks, smoking and boozing and inflicting injuries.
No? That image doesn’t work well, does it?
Okay. How many of you have seen the film Lola Rennt? (“Run Lola Run” in English). Imagine if this were a six-hour book instead of a ninety minute movie, and it didn’t have all the different endings but stayed true to a single timeline throughout. I think we’re getting closer.
Straight up: This book, with its hectoring, know-if-all narrator and sympathetic idiot main character was a hoot. Haas is very well-known for his crime novels in the German-speaking world (he’s from Vienna) and speaking of crimes, why are our shelves filled with David Balducci and George Pelikanos when stuff like “Brenner and God” exists? Admittedly, there were a couple times near the beginning when I wished the hipness of the narrator would be dialed back a bit, but on the whole this was told with such wit, such great plotting and such a desire to entertain that I was completely won over. You’ll want to read it in long bursts, though, because there’s a lot happening and you don’t want the flow to be interrupted too often.
I like Mick Herron’s books, a lot. When Herron perfects his craft, people might start comparing him to Wolf Haas.
No? That image doesn’t work well, does it?
Okay. How many of you have seen the film Lola Rennt? (“Run Lola Run” in English). Imagine if this were a six-hour book instead of a ninety minute movie, and it didn’t have all the different endings but stayed true to a single timeline throughout. I think we’re getting closer.
Straight up: This book, with its hectoring, know-if-all narrator and sympathetic idiot main character was a hoot. Haas is very well-known for his crime novels in the German-speaking world (he’s from Vienna) and speaking of crimes, why are our shelves filled with David Balducci and George Pelikanos when stuff like “Brenner and God” exists? Admittedly, there were a couple times near the beginning when I wished the hipness of the narrator would be dialed back a bit, but on the whole this was told with such wit, such great plotting and such a desire to entertain that I was completely won over. You’ll want to read it in long bursts, though, because there’s a lot happening and you don’t want the flow to be interrupted too often.
I like Mick Herron’s books, a lot. When Herron perfects his craft, people might start comparing him to Wolf Haas.
May 4, 2017
Overall, it is a moderately good crime story but the style is very very different to the average crime story. There is a kidnapping and a mystery developers around who did it and why. There are suspects and several men are murdered. The connection does become clear eventually but the story twists and turns Not as you would expect in such a story but as. Result of the actual narration.
I did find the style exasperating and was ready to put the book aside several times. I kept reading though to discover who and why. The omnispresent narrator was actually annoying but did provide the links. Without this, the mystery may not have been obvious. Some of the book was quite humorous and I think this was the aim of the author. It did lighten the tension developed through the crimes committed.
Some of the frustration may have been a result of the translation. It would be an interesting exercise to read the previous books to compare the style.
I did find the style exasperating and was ready to put the book aside several times. I kept reading though to discover who and why. The omnispresent narrator was actually annoying but did provide the links. Without this, the mystery may not have been obvious. Some of the book was quite humorous and I think this was the aim of the author. It did lighten the tension developed through the crimes committed.
Some of the frustration may have been a result of the translation. It would be an interesting exercise to read the previous books to compare the style.
January 14, 2025
Ach ja, du, der Brenner und die ewige Manier vom Eine-Geschichte-nicht-Erzählen!
Sagen wir so: Dieses Mal sind wir zerrissen. Er ist - als ehemaliger Polizist - von einer umstrittenen Wiener Abtreibungsärztin als Fahrer für ihr kleines Mädchen eingestellt worden. Das Buch ist halb in Wien und halb nicht in München. Dort ist der getrennt lebende Papa ansässig, der hat aber ein Berghaus (mit riesiger Sickergrube) oberhalb von Kitzbühel. Also in Tirol, ein Bundesland wo wir noch nicht waren - und darum fahren wir jetzt hin - und her.
Und der ist der Riesenbaulöwe, aber nur in Wien, wo sie ein Stück vom Prater mit einer Betonlandschaft zuspachteln wollen. Und, kannst dir denken, da gehören schon noch die ganzen Freunderl und Berghüttensaunamitbenutzer dazu, mit Après und Strip und alles. Also, der korrupte Politiker von den Konservativen, der sich am Roten Wien rächen möchte, ein Bankier und noch ein Oberbauingenieur oder so was. Jetzt wunderst dich, weil es sonst immer gleich kurz und Schlag auf Schlag an die zehn Kabarett-Figuren sind, damit, bevor du dir einen plastisch vorstellen und merken kannst, das Morden und Sterben angehen kann. Weil zum Schluss sind noch mehrere tot und der Brenner ist hinterm Falschen her und du willst ja ahnen, wer überhaupt noch da ist von denen, damit er bei dem in die Falle tappen kann.
Jetzt, wie du schon gemerkt hast, sind es ja immer mehrere Geschichten ineinander hinein geschoben. Da wundert es dich dieses Mal schon sehr, dass es nur diese eine Geschichte ist von der Getrennten und ihrer Tochter, die beim Schokoladeaussuchen im Tankstellenshop auskommt und wie weg vom Erdboden. Und der ding, nein! Halt! ding hat der Wolf Haas in diesem Fall jetzt nicht mehr. Wahrscheinlich will er nicht mehr riskieren, dass er, als Schöpfer, sein eigenes ding und Dings verwechselt, wie am Ende von „Das ewige Leben“ (2003). Und der Knoll also.
Die Abtreibungsgegnerbewegung von diesem Knoll also wollte gerade die Praxis von der getrennten Ärztin und Mutter zusperren, da haben die das Haus gekauft, drin die Überwachungsanlage, wo irgendwas auf einem Band sein könnte. Und der Knoll hat auch einen Schrebergarten am Prater gekauft, weil das Riesenbauprojekt von dem Münchner oder Kitzbüheler, also dem Brenner seinem neuen Chef halt, (oder noch, weißt ja, wie die Brenner-Geschichten so laufen), das will er auch stoppen. Dann hat er, also der Knoll auch noch ein Interesse, die minderjährige zwölfjährige Abgängige zu finden, weil die getrennte Ärztin, die Mutter, die hat bei dem Mädel einen Abbruch vorgenommen, weil der Vater halt, du ahnst schon was. Auch Jugo-Gangster kommen vor, obwohl man so nicht mehr sagt, aber die könnten sie haben. Und einer von den Kitzbüheler Hüttenkameraden, auf die du, gib’s nur zu, schon wieder zu wenig geachtet hast, obwohl es verdächtig wenige gewesen sind, drei nämlich nur, ist dann auch noch Vater. Genaueres sagt man nicht, sonst wird so ein Krimi witzlos.
Du magst es unübersichtlich, aber drollig erzählt nennen, noch mal so ein typisches Brenner-Abenteuer. Mich wirst du kennen, die Stimme, die extrem eigenartige und selbstgefällige Stimme, die dir jedes Kapitel genau so erzählt, dass du nicht merkst, was du gerade an Wichtigem unter all dem Geblödel erfahren hast. Aber Geschmackssache. Nach wie vor. Später wird’s dir dann in zehn Zeilen Klartext sowieso noch hintendran gepappt. Weil Krimi heutzutage, es will doch überhaupt keiner mehr aufmerksam lesen, frage nicht.
Und der Brenner trifft wieder so eine Frau. Südtirolerin, eine Wiener Südtirolerin. „Das hab ich gleich gemerkt, dass du nicht der Schnellste bischt“, sagt sie, weil Tirol und Liebe. Sie kauft sich einen VW-Bus, hat aber keinen Führerschein. Hast du gemerkt? Gleiches Ende wie bei „Das ewige Leben“, Graz, aber andere Frau, mehr Geld. Wenn sie es nachher irgendwann verfilmen mit dem Josef Hader, wird der Haas sich auch noch eine richtige Handlung dazu ausdenken und es werden nicht mehr 90 vom 220-seitigen Buch sein, bis überhaupt mal ein Toter den Schauplatz betritt. (Am Ende fünf Tote aber, da lässt der sich immer noch nicht lumpen.)
Weil pausenlos ich spreche, sprich Mysteriöse Erzähler-Stimme, zitiere ich jetzt auch nichts Verräterisches, sondern was Blödes.
Oder pass auf! Das muss schon ein schwacher Jahrgang 2009 gewesen sein, wenn die FAZ-Kritikerin über einen, na, wie soll ich sagen, „verlängerten Kriminalroman“ schreibt:
Man könnt aber auch sagen, die Lust am Fritz Eckhardt, am Ossy Kolmann, am Otto Jaggberg, Oder ein Reichsdeutscher, Martin Halter, schreibt für die Rheinische Post:
Oder noch mal die FAS, ihr Sonntagsblattl dieses Mal, ein Herr Doktor Peter Körte:
„Jeder Satz ein Sickergrubendeckbalken“, wäre fast genauer gewesen. Nämlich eine Kitzbüheler Sickergrube.
Sagen wir so: Dieses Mal sind wir zerrissen. Er ist - als ehemaliger Polizist - von einer umstrittenen Wiener Abtreibungsärztin als Fahrer für ihr kleines Mädchen eingestellt worden. Das Buch ist halb in Wien und halb nicht in München. Dort ist der getrennt lebende Papa ansässig, der hat aber ein Berghaus (mit riesiger Sickergrube) oberhalb von Kitzbühel. Also in Tirol, ein Bundesland wo wir noch nicht waren - und darum fahren wir jetzt hin - und her.
Und der ist der Riesenbaulöwe, aber nur in Wien, wo sie ein Stück vom Prater mit einer Betonlandschaft zuspachteln wollen. Und, kannst dir denken, da gehören schon noch die ganzen Freunderl und Berghüttensaunamitbenutzer dazu, mit Après und Strip und alles. Also, der korrupte Politiker von den Konservativen, der sich am Roten Wien rächen möchte, ein Bankier und noch ein Oberbauingenieur oder so was. Jetzt wunderst dich, weil es sonst immer gleich kurz und Schlag auf Schlag an die zehn Kabarett-Figuren sind, damit, bevor du dir einen plastisch vorstellen und merken kannst, das Morden und Sterben angehen kann. Weil zum Schluss sind noch mehrere tot und der Brenner ist hinterm Falschen her und du willst ja ahnen, wer überhaupt noch da ist von denen, damit er bei dem in die Falle tappen kann.
Jetzt, wie du schon gemerkt hast, sind es ja immer mehrere Geschichten ineinander hinein geschoben. Da wundert es dich dieses Mal schon sehr, dass es nur diese eine Geschichte ist von der Getrennten und ihrer Tochter, die beim Schokoladeaussuchen im Tankstellenshop auskommt und wie weg vom Erdboden. Und der ding, nein! Halt! ding hat der Wolf Haas in diesem Fall jetzt nicht mehr. Wahrscheinlich will er nicht mehr riskieren, dass er, als Schöpfer, sein eigenes ding und Dings verwechselt, wie am Ende von „Das ewige Leben“ (2003). Und der Knoll also.
Die Abtreibungsgegnerbewegung von diesem Knoll also wollte gerade die Praxis von der getrennten Ärztin und Mutter zusperren, da haben die das Haus gekauft, drin die Überwachungsanlage, wo irgendwas auf einem Band sein könnte. Und der Knoll hat auch einen Schrebergarten am Prater gekauft, weil das Riesenbauprojekt von dem Münchner oder Kitzbüheler, also dem Brenner seinem neuen Chef halt, (oder noch, weißt ja, wie die Brenner-Geschichten so laufen), das will er auch stoppen. Dann hat er, also der Knoll auch noch ein Interesse, die minderjährige zwölfjährige Abgängige zu finden, weil die getrennte Ärztin, die Mutter, die hat bei dem Mädel einen Abbruch vorgenommen, weil der Vater halt, du ahnst schon was. Auch Jugo-Gangster kommen vor, obwohl man so nicht mehr sagt, aber die könnten sie haben. Und einer von den Kitzbüheler Hüttenkameraden, auf die du, gib’s nur zu, schon wieder zu wenig geachtet hast, obwohl es verdächtig wenige gewesen sind, drei nämlich nur, ist dann auch noch Vater. Genaueres sagt man nicht, sonst wird so ein Krimi witzlos.
Du magst es unübersichtlich, aber drollig erzählt nennen, noch mal so ein typisches Brenner-Abenteuer. Mich wirst du kennen, die Stimme, die extrem eigenartige und selbstgefällige Stimme, die dir jedes Kapitel genau so erzählt, dass du nicht merkst, was du gerade an Wichtigem unter all dem Geblödel erfahren hast. Aber Geschmackssache. Nach wie vor. Später wird’s dir dann in zehn Zeilen Klartext sowieso noch hintendran gepappt. Weil Krimi heutzutage, es will doch überhaupt keiner mehr aufmerksam lesen, frage nicht.
Und der Brenner trifft wieder so eine Frau. Südtirolerin, eine Wiener Südtirolerin. „Das hab ich gleich gemerkt, dass du nicht der Schnellste bischt“, sagt sie, weil Tirol und Liebe. Sie kauft sich einen VW-Bus, hat aber keinen Führerschein. Hast du gemerkt? Gleiches Ende wie bei „Das ewige Leben“, Graz, aber andere Frau, mehr Geld. Wenn sie es nachher irgendwann verfilmen mit dem Josef Hader, wird der Haas sich auch noch eine richtige Handlung dazu ausdenken und es werden nicht mehr 90 vom 220-seitigen Buch sein, bis überhaupt mal ein Toter den Schauplatz betritt. (Am Ende fünf Tote aber, da lässt der sich immer noch nicht lumpen.)
Weil pausenlos ich spreche, sprich Mysteriöse Erzähler-Stimme, zitiere ich jetzt auch nichts Verräterisches, sondern was Blödes.
Aus Erfahrung hat er gewusst, man muss sich in so einer Situation einfach möglichst weit aus dem Fenster lehnen, sich in eine Gefahrensituation bringen, dann schwimmt auf dem Adrenalin schon ein guter Spruch daher. Und darum hat er einfach einmal, während die Frau schon am Chipsregal vorbei Richtung Zeitungsregal und am Zeitungsregal vorbei Richtung Zubehörregal und am Zubehörregal vorbei Richtung Tür geflogen ist, auf so eine Art, als würde er nur murmeln, aber doch eindeutig und unüberhörbar zu ihr „Südtirol“ herübergerufen.
Und der Spruch wird schon hinterherkommen. Das war die Kalkulation, mit dem Essen kommt der Appetit, mit dem Reden kommen die Leute zusammen, und mit dem Stänkern wird der charmante Spruch schon hinterherkommen. Sprich Fehlkalkulation. Weil leider kein Spruch weit und breit. Der Einwortspruch ist durch den Tankstellenshop gehallt, dass dem Brenner ganz übel geworden ist. Südtirol!
Oder pass auf! Das muss schon ein schwacher Jahrgang 2009 gewesen sein, wenn die FAZ-Kritikerin über einen, na, wie soll ich sagen, „verlängerten Kriminalroman“ schreibt:
... gibt der deutschen Gegenwartsliteratur die Lust am Text zurück
Man könnt aber auch sagen, die Lust am Fritz Eckhardt, am Ossy Kolmann, am Otto Jaggberg, Oder ein Reichsdeutscher, Martin Halter, schreibt für die Rheinische Post:
Der siebte Brenner-Roman ist der beste.
Oder noch mal die FAS, ihr Sonntagsblattl dieses Mal, ein Herr Doktor Peter Körte:
Jeder Satz ein Sprengsatz.
„Jeder Satz ein Sickergrubendeckbalken“, wäre fast genauer gewesen. Nämlich eine Kitzbüheler Sickergrube.
August 30, 2019
Some love Wolf Haas' writing style, some loathe it, there doesn't seem much in between. I definitely belong to the first category. Interrupted, incomplete and half sentences containing exclamations and featuring sentence structures you might use when speaking but not when writing aren't for everyone. For me, they convey authenticity and the feeling of having the story told to you in a pub over a beer by a middle aged man in a deadend job with a strong sense of dark humour.
All of this, however, only holds true for the original German version. I cannot imagine how this could be translated into another language without losing most of its charme.
All of this, however, only holds true for the original German version. I cannot imagine how this could be translated into another language without losing most of its charme.
November 27, 2025
Though at first Wolf Haas’ writing style made it difficult for me to have a flawless read, I grew to love it and enjoy it and his great sense of humour. I had never read a detective story before but this one was definitely the best one to start with!
I did read the original in German, cannot speak about the translation.
Great plot, it totally consumed me after my rocky start, which is why I’m giving those well deserved 5 stars.
I did read the original in German, cannot speak about the translation.
Great plot, it totally consumed me after my rocky start, which is why I’m giving those well deserved 5 stars.
July 26, 2021
I can only assume this was better in the original language. Pointless story - if you want a mystery/thriller the try something else. Maybe I am missing something and this is truly awesome but I just didn't get it
January 10, 2017
Written in a very different way from what I'm used to, but I enjoyed it, as well as the humor, and the story itself. It's a kidnapping/murder mystery.
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