Collision

by Merle Kröger

A raft with eleven Algerian refugees, running low on fuel. A cruise ship with a small town's worth of international passengers and crew members. An Irish freighter. A Spanish rescue vessel. One single point of convergence in a vast wash of blue water. Miami-based The Spirit of Europe, the third largest cruise liner in the world, plows through the Mediterranean every summer, offering its passengers a temporary escape from their everyday lives. But even the bloated tackiness of the ship's much-hyped belly flop competition is not immune to the chaos of the European migration crisis. When a disabled raft nears The Spirit of Europe, the ship's captain is forced to do something headquarters in Miami wants to avoid: cut the engines. Collision is a maritime thriller by one of Germany's most celebrated crime writers, building suspense through the eyes of a diverse array of memorable characters, among them Karim Yacine, the Algerian captain of the raft disable; Lalita Masarangi, member of the massive cruise ship's security team; and Sybille Malinowski, an elderly passenger on holiday with her sister, which, as the drama at sea continues to unfold, seems to be turning increasingly sinister. Central to all of it is Nikhil "Nike" Mehta, the cruise ship's ambitious head of security who, like an illusionist, makes the ship's relentless problems disappear. As Collision races toward its surprising conclusion, Nike's particular solution for the Algerian refugees at sea might be his greatest slight of hand yet.

Genres: German Literature, Thriller

240 pages, ebook

First published May 4, 2015

About the author

Merle Kröger is a German author, screenwriter, filmmaker, and producer.

Reviews

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this book for the first round of book speed dating I did in 2018, and picked it back up to finish for Women in Translation month.

This was a book with a lot of compelling pieces that didn't really ever coalesce into a satisfying whole for me. It is made up of stories surrounding the events of a boat with Syrian refugees in the Mediterranean, with the man in charge of cruise ship security being a key player, also a Spanish fisherman, a fiance of one of the men on the boat, an old woman, and so on. Part of my issue is that some of the translation felt like translation, with some awkward phrasing, and far too much use of the N- word (I was surprised to see that word used when translating from another language anyway, not realizing it was used prominently in German? But I am referring to a review copy and not final copy so it's possible it was removed in the end.) It does intersect with current events, I just wish it were more cohesive, contained more of an ending for the various storylines, etc. I'm not sure it offers anything new.

I had a review copy of this book from the publisher, Unnamed Press. It came out in translated form in September 2017.

[Karl Diebspecht · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nordirlandkonflikt, Annexion der Krim, Euromaidan, Syrien-Krieg, Terror in Algerien, Tod auf dem Mittelmeer. Kröger versucht so ziemlich jedes katastrophale Weltereignis der vergangenen 50 Jahre auf 200 Seiten Thriller zu pressen. Dass Kröger das Massensterben aber eher als austauschbare Hintergrundfolie für die multiperspektivische Erzählweise instrumentalisiert, darüber kann auch die (vermutlich sehr gewissenhafte) Recherche nicht hinwegtäuschen. Im Vorwort bezeichnet Else Laudan den Stil als "distanzlos, ungestüm und enorm welthaltig" und meint das vermutlich als Kompliment. Im Endeffekt betreibt Kröger aber mit ihren "elf Wirklichkeiten" den selben Leidenstourismus, den sie den voyeuristischen Kreuzfahrtpassagieren vorwirft, die dem manövrierunfähigen Schlauchboot aus der Ferne zuwinken, bevor sie sich dem "nächsten Spektakel" zuwenden.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smart, topical adventure involving four boats that collide, in a sense, off the Spanish Mediterranean coast. There's no single plot line, just a sequence of events seen through the perspectives of a surprisingly broad cast of characters, each of whose life has been shaped by modern history and current events. Well, that applies to everyone, but let's say these lives have been conspicuously shaped by modern history and current events. It's not a literary masterpiece -- closer to the category of "something to read on the plane" -- but it is more interesting and more ambitious than most other work in its class.

[LInda L · Rating 1 out of 5]

Apparently, I understood very little of this book, because I read the synopsis and it didn't even ring a bell. Except I DID remember the names. Didn't know who they were or what they did, but at least I knew I had seen them before. Since I didn't understand much of what was going on, I have to say stay away from this book. Made me feel pretty stupid, but I'll be interested to hear what someone else thinks.

[Josen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meine Erwartungen an Krimis sind das klassische "Whodunnit" - das gibt's hier nicht. Dafür viele parallel laufende Stränge, deren Hauptpersonen alle für sich ihre ganz eigene, spannende Geschichte mitbringen.
Somit gibt's auch keine klare Auflösung.
Regt definitiv zum Nachdenken an und hat mir auch das letzte Fitzelchen Lust auf Kreuzfahrten, was sich noch irgendwo in mir befunden hat, erfolgreich rausgebrannt.

[SofiaHof · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read with loads of twists and turns about the passing by of a cruise ship and a refugee raft. The characters were great, but the shortness of the book left some character development to the wayside.
My favorite thing about this book is the immense diversity. Each person involved had their own background and culture that the author shared with us.
I felt it was confusing at times to remember who was who though, because of such a large character group.
I really enjoyed the read!

[Karmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is an amazing accomplishment for 2 interlocking reasons.

To begin the book is only 221 pages. The author via her translators managed to communicate so much in very tight and short chapters.

I was anxious through my reading of this book.

Interested to see the author’s movie on the subject.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complicated characters, interesting backstories, all culminating in crossing paths in the Mediterranean. Timely in today's current political and cultural strife.

[Ali Salimi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Average , just average and nothing more than average !

[Flori · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Liebe Mama.
Ich glaube, der Tod ist leichter zu ertragen.
Es tut mir leid"

Ein Massengrab im Mittelmeer...

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich bin mit dem Buch nicht warm geworden. Vier Schiffe, elf Wirklichkeiten...damit kommt die Autorin nicht klar. Und was soll es sein? Ein Krimi, ein gesellschaftskritischer Roman? Es ist von allem zu viel und von allem zu wenig. Dabei halte ich Merle Kröger für eine gute Schriftstellerin, aber mit dem Geschichten erzählen hapert es hier. Die Autorin schafft es nicht, Gefühle zu wecken. Schade. Die Thematik ist sicher interessant, daher gibt es dafür zwei Sterne.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vielschichtig und spannend - ein Roman (warum das ein Krimi sein soll, erschließt sich mir nicht ganz), der neben der Flüchtlingsthematik auch weitere Aspekte kurz anreißt (z.B. Umweltverschmutzung, prekäre Arbeitsbedingungen, Nachwehen der Kolonialisierung).

[Timo · Rating 4 out of 5]

extrem cool, schnelle schnitte, klare bilder und topaktuell