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Kommissär Bärlach #1-2
Съдията и неговият палач • Подозрението
Ново издание на произведенията на талантливия прогресивен писател със световна известност Фридрих Дюренмат. Познат на българските читатели преди всичко с драмите си, с тези творби той ще изненада почитателите си с изключителното си умение да разкрива и криминално-психологически сюжети. В първата творба криминалистът Берлах сам разкрива и става палач на голям престъпник, а основната идея на романа „Подозрението“ е насочена срещу прикритите нацистки престъпници от Втората световна война, които безнаказано продължават и днес да извършват злодеяния срещу човечеството. Двете произведения се обединяват от общ главен герой — криминалния инспектор Берлах.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1953
About the author
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
423 books1,073 followersFriedrich Dürrenmatt (1921 – 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist.
Dürrenmatt was born in the Emmental (canton of Bern), the son of a Protestant pastor. His grandfather Ulrich Dürrenmatt was a conservative politician. The family moved to Bern in 1935. Dürrenmatt began to study philosophy and German language and literature at the University of Zurich in 1941, but moved to the University of Bern after one semester. In 1943 he decided to become an author and dramatist and dropped his academic career. In 1945-46, he wrote his first play, "It is written". On October 11 1946 he married actress Lotti Geissler. She died in 1983 and Dürrenmatt was married again to another actress, Charlotte Kerr, the following year.
He was a proponent of epic theater whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author gained fame largely due to his avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire. One of his leading sentences was: "A story is not finished, until it has taken the worst turn". Dürrenmatt was a member of the Gruppe Olten.
Dürrenmatt was born in the Emmental (canton of Bern), the son of a Protestant pastor. His grandfather Ulrich Dürrenmatt was a conservative politician. The family moved to Bern in 1935. Dürrenmatt began to study philosophy and German language and literature at the University of Zurich in 1941, but moved to the University of Bern after one semester. In 1943 he decided to become an author and dramatist and dropped his academic career. In 1945-46, he wrote his first play, "It is written". On October 11 1946 he married actress Lotti Geissler. She died in 1983 and Dürrenmatt was married again to another actress, Charlotte Kerr, the following year.
He was a proponent of epic theater whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author gained fame largely due to his avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire. One of his leading sentences was: "A story is not finished, until it has taken the worst turn". Dürrenmatt was a member of the Gruppe Olten.
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December 11, 2025
IL CAVALIERE, LA MORTE E IL DIAVOLO
”Der Richter und sein Henker - Assassinio sul ponte” diretto nel 1975 da Maximilian Schell, più famoso come attore che come regista, è l’adattamento cinematografico del breve romanzo di Dürrenmatt.
La tesi era questa: che l’imperfezione umana, il fatto che le azioni degli altri non sono mai del tutto prevedibili e che del resto non possiamo mai, nei nostri calcoli, tener conto del caso, che tuttavia ha la sua parte in tutto, fosse il motivo per cui la maggior parte dei delitti vengono immancabilmente alla luce.
L’hai fatta franca una volta, non ti hanno scoperto, e quindi, sei rimasto impunito.
Posso accusarti di un crimine che non hai commesso per compensare quella volta che l’hai passata liscia?
Può la pena per una colpa che non hai commesso equilibrare la pena che l’altra volta non hai scontato?
Martin Ritt è l’ispettore Bärlach, Robert Shaw quello su cui far ricadere la colpa. Il cast è arricchito da Jon Voight e Jacqueline Bisset.
Un vecchio ispettore indaga sull’omicidio di un tenente di polizia. L’anziano ispettore è malato e vicino al pensionamento, ma si dedica al caso con tutto se stesso: è come se volesse redimersi da una colpa.
Si scopre che molti anni prima a Istanbul un amico lo aveva sfidato, in un duello che dura da tutta la vita: l’amico aveva scommesso di poter commettere un omicidio irrisolvibile, senza movente, e l’ispettore doveva scommettere di poterlo incastrare. Ma l’ispettore non era riuscito a provare la colpevolezza dell’amico, che, per gioco, era diventato un assassino, rimasto impunito, e l’ispettore era diventato involontariamente suo complice.
Adesso cerca di rimediare trasformandosi da investigatore in giudice. E chi sarà il boia?
Se non che il vecchio assassino non solo questa volta è innocente, e il colpevole è un altro: ma è anche protetto da amicizie politiche influenti, tanto che l’ispettore avrebbe le mani legate. Se non che ha deciso che questa volta chiuderà i conti col passato.
Un altro finto giallo e finto thriller del grande scrittore svizzero che riesce a costruire tensione con regole tutte sue.
Ritorna il caso come motore del vivere.
E anche una robusta freccia contro il sistema giudiziario che non può porre rimedio al male se non andando contro i suoi stessi principi, cedendo all’arbitrarietà. Per fare giustizia si può commettere un’ingiustizia. Giustizia non vuol dire verità.
”Il sospetto” è stato un Tv movie della RAI, quelli che all’epoca si chiamavano sceneggiati. Diretto da Daniel D’Anza nel 1972 aveva un cast di fantastici attori: qui si vede Paolo Stoppa nella parte dell’ispettore Bärlach e Adolfo Celi in quella del chirurgo assassino.
Dopo la prima chicca, cento pagine gustosissime, questa edizione regala la seconda: un altro romanzo, Il sospetto dove ritorna lo stesso vecchio ispettore Bärlach. Tra la pubblicazione del primo e del secondo un solo anno, 1952 e 1953.
Ferruccio De Ceresa era il medico amico di Bärlach che mette in moto l’indagine. Gulliver era interpretato da Mario Carotenuto.
L’ispettore Bärlach è ricoverato in ospedale e i medici gli danno al massimo un altro anno di vita. La foto di un chirurgo che operava i prigionieri dei lager nazisti senza anestetico, per quanto coperto dalla mascherina, fa scattare la sua fame di indagine e giustizia. Per smascherare il criminale, che ha assunto nuova identità e dirige clinica privata, si fa ricoverare in quella clinica. Se non che il piano dell’ispettore è scoperto e il chirurgo, dopo aver confessato i suoi crimini, annuncia all’ispettore che lo opererà senza anestesia come faceva nei lager, e lo farà morire in sala operatoria.
Per fortuna c’è Gulliver, l’unico ebreo scampato a quelle operazioni da macellaio nel campo di concentramento.
Tra il pensiero e la realtà c’è sempre di mezzo l’avventura della nostra esistenza.
Albrecht Dürer: Il cavaliere, la morte e il diavolo (1513).
”Der Richter und sein Henker - Assassinio sul ponte” diretto nel 1975 da Maximilian Schell, più famoso come attore che come regista, è l’adattamento cinematografico del breve romanzo di Dürrenmatt.
La tesi era questa: che l’imperfezione umana, il fatto che le azioni degli altri non sono mai del tutto prevedibili e che del resto non possiamo mai, nei nostri calcoli, tener conto del caso, che tuttavia ha la sua parte in tutto, fosse il motivo per cui la maggior parte dei delitti vengono immancabilmente alla luce.
L’hai fatta franca una volta, non ti hanno scoperto, e quindi, sei rimasto impunito.
Posso accusarti di un crimine che non hai commesso per compensare quella volta che l’hai passata liscia?
Può la pena per una colpa che non hai commesso equilibrare la pena che l’altra volta non hai scontato?
Martin Ritt è l’ispettore Bärlach, Robert Shaw quello su cui far ricadere la colpa. Il cast è arricchito da Jon Voight e Jacqueline Bisset.
Un vecchio ispettore indaga sull’omicidio di un tenente di polizia. L’anziano ispettore è malato e vicino al pensionamento, ma si dedica al caso con tutto se stesso: è come se volesse redimersi da una colpa.
Si scopre che molti anni prima a Istanbul un amico lo aveva sfidato, in un duello che dura da tutta la vita: l’amico aveva scommesso di poter commettere un omicidio irrisolvibile, senza movente, e l’ispettore doveva scommettere di poterlo incastrare. Ma l’ispettore non era riuscito a provare la colpevolezza dell’amico, che, per gioco, era diventato un assassino, rimasto impunito, e l’ispettore era diventato involontariamente suo complice.
Adesso cerca di rimediare trasformandosi da investigatore in giudice. E chi sarà il boia?
Se non che il vecchio assassino non solo questa volta è innocente, e il colpevole è un altro: ma è anche protetto da amicizie politiche influenti, tanto che l’ispettore avrebbe le mani legate. Se non che ha deciso che questa volta chiuderà i conti col passato.
Un altro finto giallo e finto thriller del grande scrittore svizzero che riesce a costruire tensione con regole tutte sue.
Ritorna il caso come motore del vivere.
E anche una robusta freccia contro il sistema giudiziario che non può porre rimedio al male se non andando contro i suoi stessi principi, cedendo all’arbitrarietà. Per fare giustizia si può commettere un’ingiustizia. Giustizia non vuol dire verità.
”Il sospetto” è stato un Tv movie della RAI, quelli che all’epoca si chiamavano sceneggiati. Diretto da Daniel D’Anza nel 1972 aveva un cast di fantastici attori: qui si vede Paolo Stoppa nella parte dell’ispettore Bärlach e Adolfo Celi in quella del chirurgo assassino.
Dopo la prima chicca, cento pagine gustosissime, questa edizione regala la seconda: un altro romanzo, Il sospetto dove ritorna lo stesso vecchio ispettore Bärlach. Tra la pubblicazione del primo e del secondo un solo anno, 1952 e 1953.
Ferruccio De Ceresa era il medico amico di Bärlach che mette in moto l’indagine. Gulliver era interpretato da Mario Carotenuto.
L’ispettore Bärlach è ricoverato in ospedale e i medici gli danno al massimo un altro anno di vita. La foto di un chirurgo che operava i prigionieri dei lager nazisti senza anestetico, per quanto coperto dalla mascherina, fa scattare la sua fame di indagine e giustizia. Per smascherare il criminale, che ha assunto nuova identità e dirige clinica privata, si fa ricoverare in quella clinica. Se non che il piano dell’ispettore è scoperto e il chirurgo, dopo aver confessato i suoi crimini, annuncia all’ispettore che lo opererà senza anestesia come faceva nei lager, e lo farà morire in sala operatoria.
Per fortuna c’è Gulliver, l’unico ebreo scampato a quelle operazioni da macellaio nel campo di concentramento.
Tra il pensiero e la realtà c’è sempre di mezzo l’avventura della nostra esistenza.
Albrecht Dürer: Il cavaliere, la morte e il diavolo (1513).
Read
June 14, 2019The Judge and His Hangman (1950) was a pure joy to read. Perhaps I should feel guilty about enjoying Swiss people killing each other, in my defence I can only claim that it was fiction. Written by a young man about an old man and although it is said just pay the bills it is all the same highly entertaining.
There was a moment when I thought it was too melodramatic but the melodrama reminded me of the old Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films I used to watch after school, one can forgive a lot for the sake of nostalgia, and more importantly Duerrenmatt had already won me over by establishing atmosphere, I think largely through the descriptions of nature.
You can follow the clues, although they are more in the nature of observing the old inspectors reactions and noticing what he notices. These are clues to stimulate your intuition - the old inspector isn't a fan of modern policing methods with all their forensics and what not. The solution has to condense in the mind in the style of George Simenon's Maigret.
Duerrenmatt was a playwright, justice and freedom were regular themes in his stage work and naturally enough appear in these two Inspector Baerlach stories. From the two stories it would seem that Duerrenmatt's handle on them was...idiosyncratic.
There was a 1974 film version featuring Donald Sutherland as the murder victim, since in the story he's discovered dead on the first page that suggests either a certain degree of rewriting or a confused and disappointed audience.
Suspicion (1951) didn't work quite so well for me, but with most of the story taking place in two hospital rooms it is a blessing to the theatre director or TV producer on a budget. In one way, as the setting implies, it is an inversion of the detective story as story of the man of action. The only action is in the brain. The use of direct speech - not so important in the earlier story - adds to the feeling that this could have been a stage play. However of the two stories it reminded me the most of Sherlock Holmes and Raymond Chandler.
There are several elements in the story that reappear in Chandler's The Long Goodbye. Chandler's story is a couple of years later, but somehow I doubt that he was a regular reader of the Der Schweizerische Beobachter in which it was first published. Perhaps there is a common source that both writers drew upon.
The shadow of Sherlock Holmes is a long one here visible in the struggle between two men of genius. The Moriarty aiming to indulge himself by exploiting the realities of society, the Holmes working for others and for an ideal of a just society.
But then I've also found both some Holmes and Marlowe stories as well as this tale to not make complete sense, stretch credulity and be as a result a little unsatisfying. The Simon Wiesenthal style plot hinted at a broader social commentary - Duerrenmatt had a long running critical interest in Switzerland's status as a neutral during the war years but this wasn't entirely satisfying either. Perhaps it might work better on a reread.
What was impressive was the duel of wills between Duerrenmatt's Holmes and his Moriarty. Each trying to counter their opponent’s next step. The suspicion that brought Baerlach to his criminal is turned against him by his Moriarty who works it backwards to work out the steps, through a process of deduction, that led Baerlach to his conclusion.
The Knight, Death and the Devil presides over the story from the first as we see an old man reading an out of date copy of Life even as we all know this is something that he doesn't have much more of.
There was a moment when I thought it was too melodramatic but the melodrama reminded me of the old Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films I used to watch after school, one can forgive a lot for the sake of nostalgia, and more importantly Duerrenmatt had already won me over by establishing atmosphere, I think largely through the descriptions of nature.
You can follow the clues, although they are more in the nature of observing the old inspectors reactions and noticing what he notices. These are clues to stimulate your intuition - the old inspector isn't a fan of modern policing methods with all their forensics and what not. The solution has to condense in the mind in the style of George Simenon's Maigret.
Duerrenmatt was a playwright, justice and freedom were regular themes in his stage work and naturally enough appear in these two Inspector Baerlach stories. From the two stories it would seem that Duerrenmatt's handle on them was...idiosyncratic.
There was a 1974 film version featuring Donald Sutherland as the murder victim, since in the story he's discovered dead on the first page that suggests either a certain degree of rewriting or a confused and disappointed audience.
Suspicion (1951) didn't work quite so well for me, but with most of the story taking place in two hospital rooms it is a blessing to the theatre director or TV producer on a budget. In one way, as the setting implies, it is an inversion of the detective story as story of the man of action. The only action is in the brain. The use of direct speech - not so important in the earlier story - adds to the feeling that this could have been a stage play. However of the two stories it reminded me the most of Sherlock Holmes and Raymond Chandler.
There are several elements in the story that reappear in Chandler's The Long Goodbye. Chandler's story is a couple of years later, but somehow I doubt that he was a regular reader of the Der Schweizerische Beobachter in which it was first published. Perhaps there is a common source that both writers drew upon.
The shadow of Sherlock Holmes is a long one here visible in the struggle between two men of genius. The Moriarty aiming to indulge himself by exploiting the realities of society, the Holmes working for others and for an ideal of a just society.
But then I've also found both some Holmes and Marlowe stories as well as this tale to not make complete sense, stretch credulity and be as a result a little unsatisfying. The Simon Wiesenthal style plot hinted at a broader social commentary - Duerrenmatt had a long running critical interest in Switzerland's status as a neutral during the war years but this wasn't entirely satisfying either. Perhaps it might work better on a reread.
What was impressive was the duel of wills between Duerrenmatt's Holmes and his Moriarty. Each trying to counter their opponent’s next step. The suspicion that brought Baerlach to his criminal is turned against him by his Moriarty who works it backwards to work out the steps, through a process of deduction, that led Baerlach to his conclusion.
The Knight, Death and the Devil presides over the story from the first as we see an old man reading an out of date copy of Life even as we all know this is something that he doesn't have much more of.
June 14, 2019
Chess with Tennessee Williams
Reading the Barlach Mysteries is like watching a one-act play by Tennessee Williams while playing chess against Garry Kasparov. The drama is tight as a drum. Every character is perfectly placed. Every move is in the open. But you know you are going to lose in the battle of wits, and you don't know how.
Durrenmatt writes with the precision of ... well, a Swiss watch. But because he tosses in the odd commentary on the Swiss class-system and the snobbery of small countries, he's never stuffy. In these two stories, there's more character development about the scenery than there is about the actors. But this is precisely correct. Each character is an element, a cog, in what are very well running little narrative machines.
Hans Barlach must be unique among fictional detectives. An over-the-hill cop on the verge of both retirement and death. Who has no use for any of the tricks of the trade, neither conventional nor high-tech. Who is more concerned with justice than the law or his conviction record. Who creates the evidence and circumstances he needs. As he says, "It's carelessness that makes the world a bad place." And Barlach is anything but careless.
And he also has something to say about current affairs. Although set in 1948, Barlach predicts, "A single dunce at the head of a world power, and we'll be carried off by the floods." Get your ark ready.
Reading the Barlach Mysteries is like watching a one-act play by Tennessee Williams while playing chess against Garry Kasparov. The drama is tight as a drum. Every character is perfectly placed. Every move is in the open. But you know you are going to lose in the battle of wits, and you don't know how.
Durrenmatt writes with the precision of ... well, a Swiss watch. But because he tosses in the odd commentary on the Swiss class-system and the snobbery of small countries, he's never stuffy. In these two stories, there's more character development about the scenery than there is about the actors. But this is precisely correct. Each character is an element, a cog, in what are very well running little narrative machines.
Hans Barlach must be unique among fictional detectives. An over-the-hill cop on the verge of both retirement and death. Who has no use for any of the tricks of the trade, neither conventional nor high-tech. Who is more concerned with justice than the law or his conviction record. Who creates the evidence and circumstances he needs. As he says, "It's carelessness that makes the world a bad place." And Barlach is anything but careless.
And he also has something to say about current affairs. Although set in 1948, Barlach predicts, "A single dunce at the head of a world power, and we'll be carried off by the floods." Get your ark ready.
July 13, 2014
Two slim novellas that try to push the novel-of-ideas into the frame of classic detective fiction. It didn't really work for me. As genre fiction they're unsuccessful – the set-ups are extremely implausible and both stories rely heavily on dei ex machina – so the stories stand or fall on the ideas in play, which have to do with the nature of good and evil and the perfectibility of human nature.
The second piece, Suspicion, is the more successful, because realism is abandoned so completely that you feel permitted to ignore the plot and concentrate on the themes. At the same time, the pages are kept turning by the insane melodrama: a mad Nazi doctor, a gigantic wandering Jew, a drug-addicted sadistic nurse, etc etc. For me, the main interest came in the details of Swiss life, both the descriptive passages and the psychic questioning over Swiss involvement in the 1939–45 war. Some of this is picked up in Sven Birkerts's rather grandiose introduction (‘having come of age in the long Walpurgisnacht of World War II, and then nourished on the bitter milk of postwar existentialism…’), which sets Dürrenmatt in context well. Joel Agee's English translation is solid and sounds very natural, with enough flashes of German left in to convey flavour – a minor plot point in the second book turns on the Bernese pronunciation of Miuchmauchterli (a Swiss German word for a milking-stool, though this is not explained in the text). Only thing I'm not quite sure of is why he changed Inspector Bärlach's name to Barlach; I'm sure most English readers aren't scared of a couple of umlauts.
Overall I was left unsatisfied, but other readers may well get more out of this than I did.
The second piece, Suspicion, is the more successful, because realism is abandoned so completely that you feel permitted to ignore the plot and concentrate on the themes. At the same time, the pages are kept turning by the insane melodrama: a mad Nazi doctor, a gigantic wandering Jew, a drug-addicted sadistic nurse, etc etc. For me, the main interest came in the details of Swiss life, both the descriptive passages and the psychic questioning over Swiss involvement in the 1939–45 war. Some of this is picked up in Sven Birkerts's rather grandiose introduction (‘having come of age in the long Walpurgisnacht of World War II, and then nourished on the bitter milk of postwar existentialism…’), which sets Dürrenmatt in context well. Joel Agee's English translation is solid and sounds very natural, with enough flashes of German left in to convey flavour – a minor plot point in the second book turns on the Bernese pronunciation of Miuchmauchterli (a Swiss German word for a milking-stool, though this is not explained in the text). Only thing I'm not quite sure of is why he changed Inspector Bärlach's name to Barlach; I'm sure most English readers aren't scared of a couple of umlauts.
Overall I was left unsatisfied, but other readers may well get more out of this than I did.
Read
December 28, 2020This was recommended to me after I wrote in a recent review that I liked my noir to be more about the discovery of the inner person and not necessarily the discovery of the killer. And the recommendation was spot on.
That said, the two novella-length stories in this edition are quite different. They are both about Inspector Barlach, an ageing Swiss Police Inspector, who only has a year to live. And he pursues his own kind of existential justice, where crimes are balanced against each other, and where a reckoning does not always come to the killer, but to an overdue bill. I hope I'm being cryptic enough.
In form, The Judge and His Hangman is a classic whodunit. A police detective is shot in the temple while sitting in his car. And we will find out the true killer at the end, and as in most noir, the killer will not be the most obvious suspect. It is the history between that suspect and Barlach that drives the story, however, and makes it a deeper journey.
Barlach is in the hospital to start the second story - Suspicion. It's sometime around 1948 and he's looking at a Life magazine. He sees a photograph of a doctor at a Nazi concentration camp and a story about that doctor performing operations without anesthesia. He's a mass murderer . . . or was, as he has taken his own life. Or has he? Barlach, now retired from the Police force can't let it go.
. . . we should not try to save the world, but we must endure it. This is the only true adventure left to us at this late hour.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
And, it's always cool when there's something in a book that speaks only to the reader. Nothing important, just a cool, personal thing. I was reading this last Saturday night. The next day my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers would be playing the Indianapolis Colts. The Steelers won their first 11 games of the season, giving pandemic-stricken yinzers hope. But then they conspired to lose the next three games against inferior opponents and largely because the starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, was looking very old and ineffective. Stinking up the joint. So on the eve of the Colts game, I worried that Roethlisberger might toss another stinker. It was then I read this, about Barlach's replacement:
". . . now Rothlisberger will take my place. . . . I'm sure Rothlisberger will be all right."
Like all mysteries, it took half the game to get there. But, yes, Roethlisberger was all right.
That said, the two novella-length stories in this edition are quite different. They are both about Inspector Barlach, an ageing Swiss Police Inspector, who only has a year to live. And he pursues his own kind of existential justice, where crimes are balanced against each other, and where a reckoning does not always come to the killer, but to an overdue bill. I hope I'm being cryptic enough.
In form, The Judge and His Hangman is a classic whodunit. A police detective is shot in the temple while sitting in his car. And we will find out the true killer at the end, and as in most noir, the killer will not be the most obvious suspect. It is the history between that suspect and Barlach that drives the story, however, and makes it a deeper journey.
Barlach is in the hospital to start the second story - Suspicion. It's sometime around 1948 and he's looking at a Life magazine. He sees a photograph of a doctor at a Nazi concentration camp and a story about that doctor performing operations without anesthesia. He's a mass murderer . . . or was, as he has taken his own life. Or has he? Barlach, now retired from the Police force can't let it go.
. . . we should not try to save the world, but we must endure it. This is the only true adventure left to us at this late hour.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
And, it's always cool when there's something in a book that speaks only to the reader. Nothing important, just a cool, personal thing. I was reading this last Saturday night. The next day my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers would be playing the Indianapolis Colts. The Steelers won their first 11 games of the season, giving pandemic-stricken yinzers hope. But then they conspired to lose the next three games against inferior opponents and largely because the starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, was looking very old and ineffective. Stinking up the joint. So on the eve of the Colts game, I worried that Roethlisberger might toss another stinker. It was then I read this, about Barlach's replacement:
". . . now Rothlisberger will take my place. . . . I'm sure Rothlisberger will be all right."
Like all mysteries, it took half the game to get there. But, yes, Roethlisberger was all right.
October 9, 2019
As Robin has pointed out, this is noir with a slightly more refined, European flair. Inspector Barlach is a man facing terminal illness as he continues to solve crimes, make references to art, literature, and music and carry on intelligent conversations with his friends. While reading Dashiell Hammett, I often thought to myself, "How can a human being drink that much and still function?" Aside from some serious vodka drinking with a mysterious Russian Jew, Inspector Barlach is much more restrained in his vices than the 1930's-40's American noir protagonists.
Barlach is frequently deep in thought about his life and work, in light of his impending demise, and he ponders whether anything in life has any purpose. As far as I can tell his answer is no, though he feels compelled to pursue criminals because they violate basic human contracts, and that offends his sense of justice. Barlach is Swiss, but German Swiss, and this line of thought is quite Germanic in my experience (I lived near Nurnberg several years). Barlach is so calm, so methodical, so undemonstrative; he is certainly not a Hammett character. This book puts me in mind of The Third Man, but set in Switzerland. And the twist at the end of the first book is in the didn't-see-that-coming category, which was satisfying.
Overall, these are two well-executed and enjoyable mysteries, and I liked the European ambience; I was reminded of small villages in Germany; I always loved the inevitable little Gasthaus found in all but the smallest towns, and there are scenes that take place in them or refer to them. The books are page-turners, and easy reads. They are curious books in many ways, and are the sort of thing that would not likely appear in the U.S., and I am glad I read them.
Barlach is frequently deep in thought about his life and work, in light of his impending demise, and he ponders whether anything in life has any purpose. As far as I can tell his answer is no, though he feels compelled to pursue criminals because they violate basic human contracts, and that offends his sense of justice. Barlach is Swiss, but German Swiss, and this line of thought is quite Germanic in my experience (I lived near Nurnberg several years). Barlach is so calm, so methodical, so undemonstrative; he is certainly not a Hammett character. This book puts me in mind of The Third Man, but set in Switzerland. And the twist at the end of the first book is in the didn't-see-that-coming category, which was satisfying.
Overall, these are two well-executed and enjoyable mysteries, and I liked the European ambience; I was reminded of small villages in Germany; I always loved the inevitable little Gasthaus found in all but the smallest towns, and there are scenes that take place in them or refer to them. The books are page-turners, and easy reads. They are curious books in many ways, and are the sort of thing that would not likely appear in the U.S., and I am glad I read them.
May 2, 2015
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
A policeman is dead and Inspector Barlach has a hunch about the murderer. Bernard Hepton reads Friedrich Dürrenmatt's novella.
A policeman is dead and Inspector Barlach has a hunch about the murderer. Bernard Hepton reads Friedrich Dürrenmatt's novella.
May 7, 2015
Very European mysteries. Both stories involve the detective’s quixotic retribution for long-ago crimes by nihilist villains. The reader needs to suspend disbelief, in particular in the second story. For Durenmatt relies on a super-natural (although ‘real’) ally in ’Suspicion' and in both stories characters take action at just the moment needed by terminally ill Inspector Barlach to achieve ‘justice'. Durrenmatt’s dramatist career shows in unlikely long speeches that fill in background and motivation in these revenge ‘plays'.
However, there is no need for a mystery to be ‘realistic’, if one accepts it as a philosophical and historical comment instead. Durrenmatt focuses as tough an eye on complacent, industrialist Switzerland as he does on Nazi Germany. He explores the antisocial nihilist personality and the humanist’s powerlessness in opposition. Barlach can identify and confront the nihilist, but the problem can be ulitimately solved not by society by only by another ruthless actor.
However, there is no need for a mystery to be ‘realistic’, if one accepts it as a philosophical and historical comment instead. Durrenmatt focuses as tough an eye on complacent, industrialist Switzerland as he does on Nazi Germany. He explores the antisocial nihilist personality and the humanist’s powerlessness in opposition. Barlach can identify and confront the nihilist, but the problem can be ulitimately solved not by society by only by another ruthless actor.
May 2, 2015
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nh722
1: A policeman is dead and Inspector Barlach has a hunch about the murderer. Bernard Hepton reads Friedrich Dürrenmatt's novella.2: Barlach and Tschanz are on the trail of the mysterious 'G'.3: What is the truth behind the shadowy Gastmann's dinner parties? 4: The man known as Gastmann reveals his and Barlach's shared past. 5: The surprising truth about Schmied's murder is revealed. 
September 9, 2025
Der Richter und sein Henker ist sehr gut, Der Verdacht ist großartig
September 1, 2021
Grandios
June 27, 2018
Finished: 27.06.2018
Genre: crime fiction
Rating: A++
#20BooksOfsummer
Conclusion:
This was absolutely riveting!
...what a plot and the ending....checkmate!
#MustRead
Genre: crime fiction
Rating: A++
#20BooksOfsummer
Conclusion:
This was absolutely riveting!
...what a plot and the ending....checkmate!
#MustRead
June 27, 2018
Finished: 27.06.2018
Genre: Crime Fiction
Rating: A++
#20BooksOfsummer
Conclusion:
This is absolutely riveting
...what a plot
...checkmate!
Genre: Crime Fiction
Rating: A++
#20BooksOfsummer
Conclusion:
This is absolutely riveting
...what a plot
...checkmate!
July 31, 2024
hab ich in der ferienwohnung gefunden in der ich bin, ehrlich ganz gut aber ich hasse die namen die dürrenmatt sich für seine charaktere ausdenkt
June 14, 2019
Every chapter had a twist that left you dumbfounded at Dürrenmatt’s intelligence. His view on Bern and the general “fatigue” of Switzerland was also something that I, as a Swiss citizen with the same opinions, could relate to.
The crime and the investigation itself were so incredibly thought out and that was what made it such a page-turner.
It was a perfect mix of murder mystery and social critic, it was like watching two geniuses play a chess game before your eyes.
5/5 stars.
The crime and the investigation itself were so incredibly thought out and that was what made it such a page-turner.
It was a perfect mix of murder mystery and social critic, it was like watching two geniuses play a chess game before your eyes.
5/5 stars.
March 19, 2025
Dürrenmatt einfach ein G.
March 9, 2008
The previous occupant of the office where I work was an in-house editor of this book, and page proofs were still on the shelves when I started the job a year & a half ago. After the appropriate length of postpublication time had passed, I was clearing off the shelves & dumping papers in recycling, but I decided to hold on to these pages & read the book.
I'm glad I did. They are two complex little tales that wrestle with moral questions. Inspector Barlach is quirky & adept at probing motives. And I found the lament over Swiss culture in "Suspicion" truly hilarious--even though the crimes being addressed are treated soberly as the heinous deeds they are.
I'm glad I did. They are two complex little tales that wrestle with moral questions. Inspector Barlach is quirky & adept at probing motives. And I found the lament over Swiss culture in "Suspicion" truly hilarious--even though the crimes being addressed are treated soberly as the heinous deeds they are.
Read
May 19, 2022This is a volume of two novellas in which the ageing and terminally ill Inspector Barlach investigates. They are unlike most mystery stories of recent decades (and indeed they are not all that recent, but from not too long after World War II), in that they are a mix of ratiocination (one might think of Holmes or his contemporary the Thinking Machine) and contemplation. There are some lines that are really funny if read out of context (particularly about Berne and the Swiss), but the overall tone of the novellas is quiet and grim, as Barlach pursues justice in convoluted and decidedly non-standard ways. It's clear that one underlying theme here is how Switzerland's neutrality during World War II was not ultimately a very neutral choice but in many ways abetted Nazi Germany. While the author does not develop this into a real critique of Swiss neutrality, it's an interesting point to consider at the present time when Sweden, another long-neutral nation, has chosen to cast aside that neutrality in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Stylistically, for some reason I'm reminded of Rilke's early novellas, but these don't for the most part share Rilke's decadent perspective apart from some of the truly creepy aspects of "Suspicion," like the murderous dwarf and the ghostly yet still-living Jew (characters who really make me feel like I'm back in the world of Rilke's, Meyrink's, and Karásek's Prague rather than Berne). Well, and the villainous doctor, his addicted assistant, and their peculiar nurse!
Stylistically, for some reason I'm reminded of Rilke's early novellas, but these don't for the most part share Rilke's decadent perspective apart from some of the truly creepy aspects of "Suspicion," like the murderous dwarf and the ghostly yet still-living Jew (characters who really make me feel like I'm back in the world of Rilke's, Meyrink's, and Karásek's Prague rather than Berne). Well, and the villainous doctor, his addicted assistant, and their peculiar nurse!
January 5, 2021
Don't know why this took me so long to finish . It was an amazing book. I wish there were more
February 23, 2026
Die Version mit der Umschlagillustration von Heinz Ita unter den Top 3 Covern.
December 18, 2021
I rather liked these two mysteries, there are not many on the list so it was a nice change of pace. I enjoyed the setting, time period and our inspector Mr. Barlach.
April 29, 2015
The two novellas that make up this book aren't really -- despite the claim of the title -- mysteries. Instead they're tales exploring the relativity of guilt, the ethics of retribution and other philosophical concerns. They pay respect to the form of the mystery/detective story without fully adopting that form themselves.
The central character in both is the elderly, ailing Inspector Barlach of the Bern police. In the first story he's approaching retirement; in the second story he's approaching death. I've seen him described as an antihero rather than a hero, but I don't subscribe to that view. He's not on the side of evil. He's long ago given up believing in the possibility of attaining the ultimate good in any situation; instead he aims to achieve the best good that might be on offer.
In "The Judge and his Hangman" Barlach is set to solve the murder of a junior colleague, and succeeds in doing so fairly quickly. However, in a wonderful volte-face, we suddenly discover that this isn't really what the story's about. Someone who seemed to be no more than an incidental character in the case is in fact an old foe of Barlach's, a man who succeeded in committing a murder right in front of him yet in such a way that Barlach couldn't arrest him, and who has been leading a life of murderous crime ever since. The two rivals are in a sense almost friends; they can discuss their situation in a civilized fashion, even share a drink. Yet Barlach is keen to see, before age overtakes him, that justice is meted out to this mass-murderer. And so he begins to manipulate people and circumstances to ensure that this comes about . . .
The second novella, "Suspicion," is the more substantial of the two. Barlach's in hospital, and for a while it has been touch and go whether he'll pull through; even with the best outcome, the prognosis is that he has maybe a year to go. Leafing through an old copy of Life, he finds his attention caught by a photo of a Nazi doctor performing, without anaesthetics, an operation on an unfortunate concentration-camp inmate. Just then his own doctor -- and old friend -- comes into the room and recognizes the surgeon in the photo as someone who has now become a very prominent physician, Emmenberger. Barlach maneuvers his transfer to Emmenberger's clinic under an assumed name. Almost immediately Emmenberger rumbles him, and proposes to make him his next victim . . .
As in the earlier novella, Barlach and the monster are capable of discussing their joint situation and its implications, and it's in the long conversation between them that much of "Suspicion's" most enthralling interest lies. It's full of lines that deserve to be reread and their implications savored:
To Emmenberger torture -- in which he has continued to indulge even after the end of the war and the disappearance of the structures that protected him -- has become both a narcotic and a religion; he agrees with in enthusiasm when Barlach finally deduces this: "You believe in nothing but the right to torture!"
There are some very interesting ancillary characters in the tale, and one who sort of bounds onto the page, grabs our attention and refuses to let it go. This is the Jew Barlach referred to above, an old underworld contact of his, a gigantic man called Gulliver who underwent to rigors of heEmmenberger's surgery in a concentration camp and who in fact took the photo that later appeared in Life. Ever since the war's finish Gulliver has been stalking those Nazi war criminals who for one reason or another are immune from orthodox retribution, and exacting his own vengeance. And here's yet another ethical dilemma for Barlach. Emmenberger is a sadistic mass murderer, to be sure, but the genial, generous-spirited Gulliver is a mass murderer too. Where do we draw the line between "good" mass murder and the contemptible variety? Can we draw that line?
I read Durrenmatt's most celebrated novella, The Pledge , a few weeks ago, and was mightily impressed by it. I wouldn't put the two novellas collected here on that same high pinnacle, not quite, but they're both extraordinarily rewarding.
The central character in both is the elderly, ailing Inspector Barlach of the Bern police. In the first story he's approaching retirement; in the second story he's approaching death. I've seen him described as an antihero rather than a hero, but I don't subscribe to that view. He's not on the side of evil. He's long ago given up believing in the possibility of attaining the ultimate good in any situation; instead he aims to achieve the best good that might be on offer.
In "The Judge and his Hangman" Barlach is set to solve the murder of a junior colleague, and succeeds in doing so fairly quickly. However, in a wonderful volte-face, we suddenly discover that this isn't really what the story's about. Someone who seemed to be no more than an incidental character in the case is in fact an old foe of Barlach's, a man who succeeded in committing a murder right in front of him yet in such a way that Barlach couldn't arrest him, and who has been leading a life of murderous crime ever since. The two rivals are in a sense almost friends; they can discuss their situation in a civilized fashion, even share a drink. Yet Barlach is keen to see, before age overtakes him, that justice is meted out to this mass-murderer. And so he begins to manipulate people and circumstances to ensure that this comes about . . .
The second novella, "Suspicion," is the more substantial of the two. Barlach's in hospital, and for a while it has been touch and go whether he'll pull through; even with the best outcome, the prognosis is that he has maybe a year to go. Leafing through an old copy of Life, he finds his attention caught by a photo of a Nazi doctor performing, without anaesthetics, an operation on an unfortunate concentration-camp inmate. Just then his own doctor -- and old friend -- comes into the room and recognizes the surgeon in the photo as someone who has now become a very prominent physician, Emmenberger. Barlach maneuvers his transfer to Emmenberger's clinic under an assumed name. Almost immediately Emmenberger rumbles him, and proposes to make him his next victim . . .
As in the earlier novella, Barlach and the monster are capable of discussing their joint situation and its implications, and it's in the long conversation between them that much of "Suspicion's" most enthralling interest lies. It's full of lines that deserve to be reread and their implications savored:
"I have been told by a Jew, Dr. Emmenberger, a man who underwent an operation without anesthesia in a concentration camp, that there is only one difference between human beings: the difference between the tormentors and the tormented. But I believe there is also the difference between the tempted and the spared.
To Emmenberger torture -- in which he has continued to indulge even after the end of the war and the disappearance of the structures that protected him -- has become both a narcotic and a religion; he agrees with in enthusiasm when Barlach finally deduces this: "You believe in nothing but the right to torture!"
There are some very interesting ancillary characters in the tale, and one who sort of bounds onto the page, grabs our attention and refuses to let it go. This is the Jew Barlach referred to above, an old underworld contact of his, a gigantic man called Gulliver who underwent to rigors of heEmmenberger's surgery in a concentration camp and who in fact took the photo that later appeared in Life. Ever since the war's finish Gulliver has been stalking those Nazi war criminals who for one reason or another are immune from orthodox retribution, and exacting his own vengeance. And here's yet another ethical dilemma for Barlach. Emmenberger is a sadistic mass murderer, to be sure, but the genial, generous-spirited Gulliver is a mass murderer too. Where do we draw the line between "good" mass murder and the contemptible variety? Can we draw that line?
I read Durrenmatt's most celebrated novella, The Pledge , a few weeks ago, and was mightily impressed by it. I wouldn't put the two novellas collected here on that same high pinnacle, not quite, but they're both extraordinarily rewarding.
June 18, 2023
Ich habe zwar gute 20 Seiten gebraucht um in die Handlung einzutauchen und der „ältere” Schreibstil ist auch etwa ungewöhnlich, da es nicht darauf fixiert ist die Spannung zu erhalten. Aber genau das war eigentlich ganz gut. Das Ende und die Intrigen fand ich klasse. Vor allem war der Schreibstil neutral, nur beschreibend aber trotz des neutralen Tons hat mich das Ende richtig gefesselt.
Der Richter und sein Henker ist auch wirklich DER perfekte Titel. Ich mochte es sehr und werde „der Verdacht“ auf jeden Fall auch noch lesen.
Der Richter und sein Henker ist auch wirklich DER perfekte Titel. Ich mochte es sehr und werde „der Verdacht“ auf jeden Fall auch noch lesen.
April 11, 2025
The Inspector Barlach Mysteries collects two novellas – The Judge and His Hangman and Suspicion – starring the titular inspector, a Swiss police detective who’s near retirement and dying of cancer. Both stories take place in Switzerland a few years after World War II (they were published in 1950 and ’51, respectively), and both force Barlach to question the principles he’s devoted his life to. In The Judge, a police detective is murdered, and Barlach’s investigation appears to be leading him to a wealthy industrialist. Things are more complex than appearances suggest and there are a few twists before the killer is revealed. In Suspicion, Barlach gets on the trail of a suspected Nazi concentration camp doctor and risks life and limb to ferret him out.
In neither is the whodunnit of paramount interest. It’s obvious who the real killer is in The Judge and it’s a matter of how Barlach is going to expose the criminal not who in Suspicion. In the former, Barlach brings a truly monstrous criminal to justice while pursuing a more common villain. In the latter, Barlach is forced to confront the purpose and worth of his long career.
Barlach is an atypical hero. He’s barely functional in the first novella and he’s bedridden throughout the second but I find him fascinating. I’m not an aficionado of the mystery genre but in the mysteries I have read, Barlach is the kind of detective I like. He’s smart and able to put together disparate and apparently unrelated clues to get the real story. He’s not infallible, though. He makes mistakes (near fatal ones in Suspicion), and he’s wracked with doubts, but he holds his faith. In something. There’s an interesting scene toward the end of Suspicion when the Nazi justifies his nihilism and demands Barlach do the same for his position:
The Inspector Barlach Mysteries was in impulse buy. I saw the title in a University of Chicago Press catalog and bought it. In this case, my instincts were spot on. This is a near-four-star read for me and strongly recommended.
In neither is the whodunnit of paramount interest. It’s obvious who the real killer is in The Judge and it’s a matter of how Barlach is going to expose the criminal not who in Suspicion. In the former, Barlach brings a truly monstrous criminal to justice while pursuing a more common villain. In the latter, Barlach is forced to confront the purpose and worth of his long career.
Barlach is an atypical hero. He’s barely functional in the first novella and he’s bedridden throughout the second but I find him fascinating. I’m not an aficionado of the mystery genre but in the mysteries I have read, Barlach is the kind of detective I like. He’s smart and able to put together disparate and apparently unrelated clues to get the real story. He’s not infallible, though. He makes mistakes (near fatal ones in Suspicion), and he’s wracked with doubts, but he holds his faith. In something. There’s an interesting scene toward the end of Suspicion when the Nazi justifies his nihilism and demands Barlach do the same for his position:
“He stopped and looked at the inspector intently. ‘It doesn’t matter what I do,’ he said, ‘a more powerful position cannot be attained: to conquer this Point of Archimedes is the highest achievement of which man is capable, it is his only sense in the nonsense of this world, in the mystery of this dead matter, this measureless carrion that keeps bringing forth new lief and new death without end. But I bind your release – that is my malice – to a lousy joke, a childishly easy condition: that you show me a faith as great as mine. Show it! Surely faith in the good must be at least as strong in man as faith in evil! Nothing will amuse me more than to watch my own ride to hell.”
The only sound was the ticking of the clock.
‘Then say it for its own sake,’ Emmenberger continued after waiting a while, ‘for the sake of God’s son and your faith in him, for the sake of justice.’
The clock, nothing but the clock.
‘Your faith,’ screamed the doctor, ‘show me your faith.”
The old man lay there, with his hands clutching the blanket.
‘Your faith, your faith!’
Emmenberger’s voice was like brass, like trumpet blasts bursting through an infinite vault of gray sky.
The old man was silent.” (pp. 201-2)
The Inspector Barlach Mysteries was in impulse buy. I saw the title in a University of Chicago Press catalog and bought it. In this case, my instincts were spot on. This is a near-four-star read for me and strongly recommended.
January 18, 2012
Zwei Kriminalromane präsentiert Dürrenmatt hier, beide um den alten Kommissar Bärlach, der ob seines Krebsleidens nur noch kurze Zeit zu leben hat, doch noch einiges an Rechnungen offen hat.
Stets merkt man Dürrenmatt dabei nicht nur sprachliche Überlegenheit an, sondern auch seine hohe Kunst in der Dramatik. Jede Szene des Buchs ist überlegen und greifbar gezeichnet; allein schon jene Kunst des Bühnenbaus (im Kopf des Lesers) verleiht den beiden Werken einiges an Spannung. Die Stimmung ist durchweg düster, die Motive der handelnden Personen bleiben lange Zeit im Dunkeln verborgen, und insbesondere Bärlach ist, gerade im ersten Roman, für einige Überraschungen gut.
"Der Richter und sein Henker" stellt den spannendsten der beiden Romane dar: er macht dem "Krimi" alle Ehre, präsentiert einen hervorragend gebauten Fall, den es zu lösen gilt, umschifft aber dabei -- so empfand ich es jedenfalls -- die klassischen und immer gleichen Muster von Krimis, wirkt eigenständig, außergewöhnlich. Der Leser bleibt jedenfalls stets am Rätseln, und wird zugleich von der sprachlichen Tiefe mitgenommen.
"Der Verdacht" ist nüchterner angelegt und orientiert sich nicht mehr so stark am klassischen Hintergrund eines Kriminalromans, genauso wenig, wie es sich hier um einen klassischen Krimi-Verbrecher handelt. Bereits "Der Richter und sein Henker", in der Nachkriegszeit geschrieben, beschäftigte sich mit der NS-Zeit in Deutschland, jedoch eher am Rande. "Der Verdacht" dagegen steigt direkt in diese Thematik ein, und es sind nicht gewöhnliche Diebe oder Mörder, die Bärlach hier jagt; der Roman erzählt das Aufeinandertreffen zwischen Kommissär und einem KZ-Arzt, berüchtigt für seine Grausamkeit.
Und während hier für mich die Spannung tendentiell eher im Hintergrund stand, weniger Rätselhaftes auf seine Lösung wartete, glänzte "Der Verdacht" vorallem dadurch, dass er wahnsinnig atmopshärisch ist, wortgewaltig, düster und bewegend, tief, geradezu nihilistische Gedanken offenbart und streiten lässt gegen Lebensbejahung. Hoffnung wechselt sich hier ab mit schwärzestem Schwarz --
Ich bin keineswegs der klassische Krimi-Leser; die handwerkliche Kunst und die Ausgefeiltheit beider Geschichten rissen mich jedoch von Anfang an mit sich. Aber auch für Krimi-Fans, welche weniger Wert auf Tiefgang und starke Gedankengebäude legen, dürfte insbesondere der erste Roman einiges zu bieten haben.
Stets merkt man Dürrenmatt dabei nicht nur sprachliche Überlegenheit an, sondern auch seine hohe Kunst in der Dramatik. Jede Szene des Buchs ist überlegen und greifbar gezeichnet; allein schon jene Kunst des Bühnenbaus (im Kopf des Lesers) verleiht den beiden Werken einiges an Spannung. Die Stimmung ist durchweg düster, die Motive der handelnden Personen bleiben lange Zeit im Dunkeln verborgen, und insbesondere Bärlach ist, gerade im ersten Roman, für einige Überraschungen gut.
"Der Richter und sein Henker" stellt den spannendsten der beiden Romane dar: er macht dem "Krimi" alle Ehre, präsentiert einen hervorragend gebauten Fall, den es zu lösen gilt, umschifft aber dabei -- so empfand ich es jedenfalls -- die klassischen und immer gleichen Muster von Krimis, wirkt eigenständig, außergewöhnlich. Der Leser bleibt jedenfalls stets am Rätseln, und wird zugleich von der sprachlichen Tiefe mitgenommen.
"Der Verdacht" ist nüchterner angelegt und orientiert sich nicht mehr so stark am klassischen Hintergrund eines Kriminalromans, genauso wenig, wie es sich hier um einen klassischen Krimi-Verbrecher handelt. Bereits "Der Richter und sein Henker", in der Nachkriegszeit geschrieben, beschäftigte sich mit der NS-Zeit in Deutschland, jedoch eher am Rande. "Der Verdacht" dagegen steigt direkt in diese Thematik ein, und es sind nicht gewöhnliche Diebe oder Mörder, die Bärlach hier jagt; der Roman erzählt das Aufeinandertreffen zwischen Kommissär und einem KZ-Arzt, berüchtigt für seine Grausamkeit.
Und während hier für mich die Spannung tendentiell eher im Hintergrund stand, weniger Rätselhaftes auf seine Lösung wartete, glänzte "Der Verdacht" vorallem dadurch, dass er wahnsinnig atmopshärisch ist, wortgewaltig, düster und bewegend, tief, geradezu nihilistische Gedanken offenbart und streiten lässt gegen Lebensbejahung. Hoffnung wechselt sich hier ab mit schwärzestem Schwarz --
Ich bin keineswegs der klassische Krimi-Leser; die handwerkliche Kunst und die Ausgefeiltheit beider Geschichten rissen mich jedoch von Anfang an mit sich. Aber auch für Krimi-Fans, welche weniger Wert auf Tiefgang und starke Gedankengebäude legen, dürfte insbesondere der erste Roman einiges zu bieten haben.
August 25, 2010
Among the many authors of major works of fiction, several have taken a turn at the crime and/or detective story...with varying success (if we use Dostoyevski and Faulkner as examples of the heights and depths of such writings). With the late Swiss dramatist and philosopher Friedrich Durrenmatt (1921-90) we witness his efforts in the recently translated short novels, THE JUDGE AND THE HANGMAN and SUSPICION, which compose this book (published by the University of Chicago). Durrenmatt, who was most widely known for the play THE VISIT (a 1964 film with Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Quinn), provides a snapshot of the existential detective that makes Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, and Lew Archer look like giddy school boys in comparison. Inspector Hans Barlach is at the end of his career...and life. In fact, in SUSPICION, he never leaves his hospital bed in solving the case in which mind over matter triumphs with the assistance of a "deformed Jewish giant" defeating an evil Nazi doctor and his dwarfish minion. The previous tale is less improbable, but the culprit is a Moriarity-type figure who has battled wits with Barlach for years. Of course, the inspector triumphs.
As one might expect from such a noted dramatist, the language and dialogue are well-crafted as are the philosophical discussions. However, as detective stories they fall short in the areas of tension and careful plotting. Aspects of the charm and melodrama of such tales is largely absent.
Both stories were originally written in the early 1950's and the postwar speeches and ideas conveyed, which were so chilling at that time, have lost their ability to shock us. The writing is clever, but owes more to Camus than Dashiel Hammett and is likely to inspire more admiration than pure enjoyment. For those seeking an odd (but provocative) entertainment in a genre bloated by hacks who regard the alphabet as justification for writing a new book, Durrenmatt, much like current author Bernard Schlick, provides a new direction for "the fine art of murder." In this respect, despite my misgivings about the stories, I must applaud this truly Sisyphean effort.
As one might expect from such a noted dramatist, the language and dialogue are well-crafted as are the philosophical discussions. However, as detective stories they fall short in the areas of tension and careful plotting. Aspects of the charm and melodrama of such tales is largely absent.
Both stories were originally written in the early 1950's and the postwar speeches and ideas conveyed, which were so chilling at that time, have lost their ability to shock us. The writing is clever, but owes more to Camus than Dashiel Hammett and is likely to inspire more admiration than pure enjoyment. For those seeking an odd (but provocative) entertainment in a genre bloated by hacks who regard the alphabet as justification for writing a new book, Durrenmatt, much like current author Bernard Schlick, provides a new direction for "the fine art of murder." In this respect, despite my misgivings about the stories, I must applaud this truly Sisyphean effort.
June 1, 2013
I first became acquainted with Friedrich Durrentmatt through his play, The Visit, which I read in German in college. (I should reread it in English now that I think about it). And I was compelled to search out The Barlach Mysteries (1950) after reading that Paul Theroux has read the first novella, "The Judge and his Hangman," while riding the trains to South America in The Old Patagonia Express. I'm a fan of crime fiction, but Durrenmatt's stories are more than mere entertainments, they have a intellectual and philosophical heft in the vein of a book like Crime and Punishment. Inspector Barlach is not your typical crime solving hero, he is an ailing old man at death's door at the end of his career who solves crimes with his wits as much as any crime procedures. He is essentially at death's door in the second installment, "Suspicion." The stories take place in Switzerland, which woudl seem like an unlikely place to set a crime novel, but I think every society has their outsiders and outlaws. Both stories are concerned with pure evil, the second in the guise of a former Nazi doctor from the concentration camps. These stories were thought-provoking and entertaining.
June 26, 2026
This is a re-upload because goodreads is an annoying app and for some reason decided to make duplicates of the book I read and then said I finished neither of them and blah blah blah anyway:
“The Nazis wanted Stutthof; the millionaires, this hospital; others will want other things. We can't save the world as individuals, that would be a task as hopeless as that of poor Sisyphus. It is not up to us, nor is it up to any man of power, or any nation, or the devil himself, who is surely more powerful than anyone; it is in the hand of God, who makes his decisions alone. We can only help in particular cases, we cannot affect the whole. Those are the limits of the poor Jew Gulliver, those are the limits of all human beings. Therefore, we should not try to save the world, but we must endure it. This is the only true adventure left to us at this late hour.' And carefully, like a father with his child the giant lowered the old man back into his bed”
Well, it would seem I am getting to this much later than I thought I would! Actually, I think I completely expected to be this late. Thus, therefore, and althoughbeit, I will be quite short.
I felt a psychological intensity reading suspicion that I haven't felt in a while, since The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis! The Judge novella was not bad, a clean and smooth, unexpected take on mystery that was nice for me, as I generally dislike mystery novels. It was an interesting short read, but the way it transitions from The Judge and his Hangman to Suspicion was very compelling to me from the start. I like the continuity, and it made it feel as if the two together were one long, slow-burning story that led to a quick and overwhelming final third. The intensity comes from the nurse and, of course, the devil Emmenberger attacking Barlach and his worldview, waiting for him to collapse, especially Emmenberger, who tells him to declare his faith as equal to his. Barlach, his silence, and every mention of it hit hard, refusing to compromise. Gulliver and his proclamations (such as the opening quote and the first in my quotes section), paired with Barlach's silence and psychological suffering, were beautiful. Enduring the world being the last true adventure of our age got to me.
I am tired, and I got to this review late. I did really love it though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry for not expounding much on themes and whatnot.
Quotes times that I liked n allat:
“Was I supposed to let you rush off to disaster alone? We can't fight evil alone any more, like knights setting forth against some dragon. Those times are over”
“Man himself desires his hell, prepares it in his thoughts, and brings it about with his deeds”
“Nothing is itself in this world, everything is a lie. When we say law, we mean power; when we pronounce the word power, we think of wealth, and when the word 'wealth' passes our lips, we hope to enjoy the vices of the world. The law is vice, the law is wealth, the law is cannons, monopolies, political parties…Life was a pose, dying an empty phrase, the funeral an advertisement, and the whole thing a good deal.”
“Some of them make blasphemous jokes about their own decrepitude, others revolt and spit out wild curses against their fate, against the fact that they own everything and yet have to die, and still others whine the most revolting prayers in their rooms full of silk and brocade, begging to be spared the substitution of paradise for the bliss of living down here…They have forsaken God and found a new god…just so they can live a few more days, a few more minutes (they hope).”
“We can no longer know what we do, what actions will result from our obedience or our revolt, what exploitation, what sticky residue of crime clings to the fruit we eat, to the bread and milk we give our children. We kill without seeing our victim or knowing about him, and we are killed without the murderer's knowledge. Too late! The temptation of this existence was too great, and man was too small for the grace that consists of living and not being nothing instead. Now we are sick unto death, eaten by the cancer of our deeds.”
"Silence. A man of our time does not like to answer this question: What do you believe in? It has become improper to ask that. People don't like to make grand pronouncements, as they modestly say, and least of all to give definite answers, such as: 'I believe in God the father, the son, and the holy ghost,' as the Christians used to answer, proud that they were able to answer, Nowadays people like to keep silent when they are asked, like a girl when she's asked an embarrassing question. Basically, one doesn't really know what it is one believes in. It's not nothing, God knows, it's definitely something, though one's notions of it are rather vague, like some sort of inner fog-something like humanity Christianity, tolerance, justice, socialism, loving one's neighbor, things that sound rather hollow and people admit that, too, but then they think: It doesn't matter what you call it; what's important is that you live a decent life according to your best conscience. And they'll try to do that, partly by making an effort and partly by letting things drift. Everything they do, their deeds and their misdeeds, happens by chance, good and evil fall into their laps like lottery tickets; it's by chance that one of them turns out well and the other ill”
“Nothing is holy but matter: man, animal, plant, moon, milky way, wherever I look, I see accidental arrangements, all of them as insubstantial as foam, or waves on the water; it's neither here nor there whether things are or are not; they are interchangeable. If they are not, something else is…it is not possible to believe in anything other than matter and the I…Say it; it is an easy, decent faith that can still be expected of today's humanity. Say it, and you are free. I'll be satisfied with your faith, and I'll think, if you say it, that you have as great a faith as mine…
The old man was silent…
The only sound was the ticking of the clock…
Emmenberger's voice was like brass, like trumpet blasts bursting through an infinite vault of gray sky….
The old man was silent…”
“The Nazis wanted Stutthof; the millionaires, this hospital; others will want other things. We can't save the world as individuals, that would be a task as hopeless as that of poor Sisyphus. It is not up to us, nor is it up to any man of power, or any nation, or the devil himself, who is surely more powerful than anyone; it is in the hand of God, who makes his decisions alone. We can only help in particular cases, we cannot affect the whole. Those are the limits of the poor Jew Gulliver, those are the limits of all human beings. Therefore, we should not try to save the world, but we must endure it. This is the only true adventure left to us at this late hour.' And carefully, like a father with his child the giant lowered the old man back into his bed”
Well, it would seem I am getting to this much later than I thought I would! Actually, I think I completely expected to be this late. Thus, therefore, and althoughbeit, I will be quite short.
I felt a psychological intensity reading suspicion that I haven't felt in a while, since The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis! The Judge novella was not bad, a clean and smooth, unexpected take on mystery that was nice for me, as I generally dislike mystery novels. It was an interesting short read, but the way it transitions from The Judge and his Hangman to Suspicion was very compelling to me from the start. I like the continuity, and it made it feel as if the two together were one long, slow-burning story that led to a quick and overwhelming final third. The intensity comes from the nurse and, of course, the devil Emmenberger attacking Barlach and his worldview, waiting for him to collapse, especially Emmenberger, who tells him to declare his faith as equal to his. Barlach, his silence, and every mention of it hit hard, refusing to compromise. Gulliver and his proclamations (such as the opening quote and the first in my quotes section), paired with Barlach's silence and psychological suffering, were beautiful. Enduring the world being the last true adventure of our age got to me.
I am tired, and I got to this review late. I did really love it though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry for not expounding much on themes and whatnot.
Quotes times that I liked n allat:
“Was I supposed to let you rush off to disaster alone? We can't fight evil alone any more, like knights setting forth against some dragon. Those times are over”
“Man himself desires his hell, prepares it in his thoughts, and brings it about with his deeds”
“Nothing is itself in this world, everything is a lie. When we say law, we mean power; when we pronounce the word power, we think of wealth, and when the word 'wealth' passes our lips, we hope to enjoy the vices of the world. The law is vice, the law is wealth, the law is cannons, monopolies, political parties…Life was a pose, dying an empty phrase, the funeral an advertisement, and the whole thing a good deal.”
“Some of them make blasphemous jokes about their own decrepitude, others revolt and spit out wild curses against their fate, against the fact that they own everything and yet have to die, and still others whine the most revolting prayers in their rooms full of silk and brocade, begging to be spared the substitution of paradise for the bliss of living down here…They have forsaken God and found a new god…just so they can live a few more days, a few more minutes (they hope).”
“We can no longer know what we do, what actions will result from our obedience or our revolt, what exploitation, what sticky residue of crime clings to the fruit we eat, to the bread and milk we give our children. We kill without seeing our victim or knowing about him, and we are killed without the murderer's knowledge. Too late! The temptation of this existence was too great, and man was too small for the grace that consists of living and not being nothing instead. Now we are sick unto death, eaten by the cancer of our deeds.”
"Silence. A man of our time does not like to answer this question: What do you believe in? It has become improper to ask that. People don't like to make grand pronouncements, as they modestly say, and least of all to give definite answers, such as: 'I believe in God the father, the son, and the holy ghost,' as the Christians used to answer, proud that they were able to answer, Nowadays people like to keep silent when they are asked, like a girl when she's asked an embarrassing question. Basically, one doesn't really know what it is one believes in. It's not nothing, God knows, it's definitely something, though one's notions of it are rather vague, like some sort of inner fog-something like humanity Christianity, tolerance, justice, socialism, loving one's neighbor, things that sound rather hollow and people admit that, too, but then they think: It doesn't matter what you call it; what's important is that you live a decent life according to your best conscience. And they'll try to do that, partly by making an effort and partly by letting things drift. Everything they do, their deeds and their misdeeds, happens by chance, good and evil fall into their laps like lottery tickets; it's by chance that one of them turns out well and the other ill”
“Nothing is holy but matter: man, animal, plant, moon, milky way, wherever I look, I see accidental arrangements, all of them as insubstantial as foam, or waves on the water; it's neither here nor there whether things are or are not; they are interchangeable. If they are not, something else is…it is not possible to believe in anything other than matter and the I…Say it; it is an easy, decent faith that can still be expected of today's humanity. Say it, and you are free. I'll be satisfied with your faith, and I'll think, if you say it, that you have as great a faith as mine…
The old man was silent…
The only sound was the ticking of the clock…
Emmenberger's voice was like brass, like trumpet blasts bursting through an infinite vault of gray sky….
The old man was silent…”
April 18, 2009
The first story is amazing. Second, not so much.
But no matter; you still have that cover.
A coffee table book if you really want to get people talking.
Who says Swiss minds are boring?
There is an odd movie adaptation (based on the first story) directed by Maximilian Schell starring Jon Voight, Robert Shaw, and Jacqueline Bisset, and the author of the novel that you can find on VHS in the US or in Europe at odd times of the night.
Worth getting a look.
It has great shots of where I live now.
Odd in the best way.
Also: The Washington Post had a nice write up about it, I only link this, as I could really give away the book, it’s that good, but this about sums it up:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...
But no matter; you still have that cover.
A coffee table book if you really want to get people talking.
Who says Swiss minds are boring?
There is an odd movie adaptation (based on the first story) directed by Maximilian Schell starring Jon Voight, Robert Shaw, and Jacqueline Bisset, and the author of the novel that you can find on VHS in the US or in Europe at odd times of the night.
Worth getting a look.
It has great shots of where I live now.
Odd in the best way.
Also: The Washington Post had a nice write up about it, I only link this, as I could really give away the book, it’s that good, but this about sums it up:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...
November 8, 2008
The first of these two novellas, The Judge and His Hangman, is excellent. Reads like one of the best noirs I've ever seen. Just a masterful translation. The second is decent, though more play-like and has less of the landscape descriptions that make the first so enjoyable. On this latter point, I was reminded of Cormac McCarthy's dark and beautiful prose. Also the use of genre for broader purposes, without losing sight of the appeal of the genre to begin with.
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