Dein oder mein

by Adam Davies, Hans M. Herzog (Übersetzer)

Entweder bekommt er die Frau, die er liebt, oder er behält die Arbeit, die er liebt. Und welche Entscheidung er auch treffen mag, sie könnte sein gesamtes Weltbild zerstören. Ihm das Herz brechen, irreparabel. Ihn ins Gefängnis bringen. Ihn töten.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Thriller, Novels, Contemporary, Crime

366 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2008

About the author

Adam Davies was born in Louisville, KY. He is the author of three novels: The Frog King, soon to be a major motion picture starring Joseph Godron-Levitt, with a script by Bret Easton Ellis; Goodbye Lemon, a family drama; and Mine All Mine, which was purchased for film with the author to write the screenplay. Adam's non-fiction has appeared in the New York Times and he has made many appearances on radio and television programs, including NPR and the A&E Channel's Breakfast with the Arts. His books are in print around the world in places such as Europe, Thailand, Russian, and Australia. He lives in Savannah, Georgia.

Reviews

[Darrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

After having finished 3 of Adam Davies novels, one thing has remained consistent-- his prose is crisp and his characters while not always likable, are flawed enough to feel human and real-- like people who could exist.

Mine All Mine, while predictable at times, remains an enjoyable read. Otto Sparks despite his self-developed immunities to a wide array of pharmacological poisons, is still flawed enough to be believably human.

This is Davies first attempt at a suspense/crime caper style novel and while it's not the best novel of this type I've read it certainly shows promise and it does have considerably more believable characters than many mass market suspense novels.

If Davies plot development continues to grow to eventually match his strong character development his future novels will be further improvements above and beyond his existing novels which have grown better with each successive tome.

[Johnny Story · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adam Davies is a humorous author, presenting funny protagonists like Otta Starks, a pulse, guardian of fine art. He's the forgettable henchman Tom Cruise incapacitates in those Mission Impossible movies. So what is the Stark's problem? Well, he has two. Once a rising star the Rat Burglar has rolled him four consecutive times, making him the key suspect. Also, he can't seem to propose to his girlfriend, Charlie, who believes he's a baseball scout for the Mets.

Though Davies tries too hard to flex his vocabulary and the plot is rather predictable the book is still funny and entertaining. Since the strong point is the humor, the book makes you pay attention to each line because there could be a punchline around any corner. Take your time with this one.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. My first Adam Davies book. It seemed like chick-lit for guys. I don't know what I expected. Not quite this. There were some funny parts. There were some clever parts. I was even a little stressed out by this book which at the time I knew was wasted emotion. I even thought to myself sometimes "Why am I reading this book?"

Why indeed? The story premise sounded interesting - a top-notch security guard (and I mean, really top-notch) is bested by the Rat Burgler. The Rat Burgler steals whatever object of art the pulse is guarding that month. So, he's in danger of getting demoted. And then his personal like is all messed up - he's got a loan shark after him, not to mention serious issues with his girlfriend and A LOT of debt. He is really messed up. And then when it can't get any worse, it gets worse.

There sure were a lot of footnotes in this book. Actually, they were funnier than the main novel.

So, I'm mixed as to what I thought of it. Not exactly my style, maybe a little bit too silly for me. It's light reading - real light. Even the torture scenes are rather light. And maybe that's a bad thing? Or a work of genius? And talking to my husband about it, he said "That's not a guy book, that's a girl book!"

Maybe so?

[Miramira Endevall · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first mystery I ever read was "A Study in Scarlet" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I had my first girl-boy thing for Sherlock Holmes at the age of 9. I devoured my father's scholarly copy of The Complete Annotated Sherlock Holmes, rapidly becoming a fangirl for the very first time. (A few years later I read every Nancy Drew book ever written to that point on a dare from my father and was outraged by the fact that dear-ol' Nancy's IQ wasn't dropping precipitously after her fourteenth concussion-by-blunt-force-trauma - but I digress.)

You see, I'm very, very good at figuring things out. Friends and lovers have been known to throw book after book my direction in a vain attempt to foil my annoying habit of having every plot nuance figured out by chapter three so they could mock me when it took an extra chapter. I loved the Holmes stories for their outrageously stupid nobody-but-Holmes-could-possibly-see deus ex machina moments that almost always kept me from guessing the ending.

So, as a general rule, I hate reading mystery stories. If the whole point is to guess whodunit and I guess whodunit immediately, then all the author's machinations, plot twists and misdirections bore me.

I figured out Mine All Mine by page 14. Not kidding. The "Big Reveal" didn't happen until page 193, which meant 179 pages of "why do authors always make their protagonists so stupid?" and "don't trust the big guy who won't take off his shirt, you idiot!" But there was one thing this book was good for: a half-assed workout.

You know those days when you just don't want to work out but you make yourself go to the gym anyway? Yeah, this was one of those days. They happen about once a month. I reward my getting-off-my-ass efforts by allowing myself to read something mindless while getting my heart rate up. This totally qualified.

Oh, and there's a unique scene with a dildo - I'll admit I've never thought of that particular use for one before.

[Glen Tickle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adam Davies is one of my favorite writers. I'd put The Frog King up there with Catcher and Gatsby, and I loved the story in Mine All Mine, but loathed the footnotes. If I didn't love Frog King and Goodbye Lemon so much I'd have stopped reading this after the first few pages when I realized the footnotes are throughout.

It isn't that I hate all footnotes just most of the ones in this book.(1) And there were too many. It was like listening to a CD and having it skip through every song, but you love the songs too much to turn it off.

The story was great, and it was a huge departure from Davies' first two novels focusing less on character and more on plot and he handled it well. There's, I guess, a twist that's obvious from the first chapter.(2) But it was still interesting waiting for Otto, the main character, to figure it out for himself.



(1) It's that so many of them were unnecessary. If they were just in the body of the story instead of the bottom of the page they would make just as much sense and be less interrupting to the narrative.

(2) Spoiler: Hell, the cover even. Look at it.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really not his best attempt. Kind of an interesting concept: a high profile security guard versus an elite art thief that only seems to pick on him. Plot was a bit thin however. I guessed the identity of the "villain" within about 50 pages and was only really surprised by the unnecessary inclusion of contemporary political critique (ie. the Iraq war). It's funny how so many contemporary authors feel the need to overtly contemporize their books, dropping things like iPods and the present political climate into their novels. Unfortunately, this probably marks them as fluff books, books not designed to last longer than the memory of the events and items themselves. Still, Davies is a really great writer, including many witty, thought-provoking and evocative turns of phrase which leave the reader wanting more. Though not his best effort, maybe a decent introduction to his work. Though I still prefer Goodbye, Lemon or The Frog King to this story. They somehow ring truer and more enjoyably.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim at the library, because the cover looked interesting, and I really enjoyed it, well almost. The book follows Otto Starks, who is a pulse. A pulse is someone with extraordinarily sensitive senses, who sits with valuable goods. If the goods are threatened, the pulse hits the alarm. The detail that Davies gives to the life of a pulse is really impressive and enjoyable, definitely not overly technical. Anyway, back to Otto. Otto has recently been victimized by the Rat Burglar on three occasions, and is on the verge of losing his career. Having been pushed to the edge Otto now decides that instead of sitting around and waiting for the Rat Burglar to finish him, Otto will be proactive, going totally against his nature and training. The book is essentially a humor novel, and is really quite funny. The plot becomes tremendously predictable at points, and that is really the only drawback. Still, worth reading for the humor.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lucky find! I only picked this book up at the library to try to hide the "How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire" I was picking up for my wife.
It took a few chapters for me to get into this book. It's written that quasi-flippant first-person voice that I don't enjoy, but I'm glad I stuck with it
Adam Davies seems like he's having a fun time with the English language while he's telling his story.
The main character's profession and talents were interesting and he was lovable all the way through the story.
I will be picking up more books by this author.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book felt like one of those summer, popcorn, action-packed movies that we all know won't win any oscars but we still watch for the enjoyment factor. it's a relatively simple read with a few plot twists (albeit predictable) that'll keep the reader interested. 'mine all mine' is entertaining without too much substance.

[Stephen Raguskus · Rating 2 out of 5]

The surprises were telegraphed way in advance. And the author’s near-constant use of footnotes was really annoying. It got better near the end, but not my favorite read.

[Ethan Sirles · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Ricco Schwarz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This app is called goodreads. This book wasn’t

[Scott Plantje · Rating 5 out of 5]

3rd or 4th reread. Guilty pleasure read.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mine All Mine is an excellent novel. It is a smart, GRE word toting, guy's Stephen Plum. Like the fru-fru bounty hunter from Jersey, Otto Starks, a security guard with extra sensory perception (not the psychic kind, just the more than average of the regular senses like smell and sight kind), is both especially equip for the criminal underworld and woefully un-prepared for it. He protects priceless pieces of art. And he was very good at it until the Rat Burglar began targeting items Otto was protecting. There for his job and the smitten man's love life, in fact all of his life, begins to spiral out of control. In the end Otto finds that to save his life, literally and in the 'i'm not in jail' sense, he must catch the Rat Burglar. What follows is a sad comedy of errors that will remind Evanovich fans of some of the craziness inherent in a Stephenie Plum novel. From elephant laxative, a giant dildo to a zaine over sized and over sexed co-conspirator the book has some of the same out of this world flavor.
But unlike a Janet Evanovich novel,author Adam Davies uses good writing as much as absurd situations to get laughs out of his audience. He perfectly captures the mood of his character and infuses it into every sentence of the book. As apposed to being a light-hearted farce, the story, while humorous or witty, is often bleak. The result is that a comparison between a Janet Evanovich title and Mine All Mine is like talking about a hamburger at McDonalds, and a hamburger made of pure organic beef made on a homemade roll with real vegetables available to top it. They are somehow the same kind of novel, and yet at the same time, they 'taste' very differently and inspire a different kind of post consumption feeling, guilt vs. satisfaction.
The one, almost off-putting part of the novel is it's use of footnotes. I am generally opposed to the use of footnotes in a fictional novel. If it is important, write it into the narrative. If it isn't, don't print it. It also feels like a cheat. The author wants to express two different things at one point, but obviously can't so he goes with what advances the story and slaps the other item down at the bottom to have his cake and eat it too. I think that is cheating most of the time, but in this novel, by the end I liked how the foot notes worked out for the most part. But I hate it when they are are in the middle of the sentence and I have that moment of uncertainty, should I stop and read the foot note or wait for the period? But maybe that's a strange me thing.
Long story short, this book is a great read.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Adam Davies. How I love you Adam Davies. You are easy and interesting and use fantastic words and go down my gullet like a part of me I didn't know I was missing. You are specially tuned to my sweet spot of tone, and I will read anything you write and it appears just really, really like it. Three for three and counting.

Mine All Mine is in ways a break from the previous two, in that it is a whodunnit thrillery type thing. And yet it is once again set in NY with a 20somethingish male protagonist who, despite his personal imperfections and foibles, is just so very appealingly in love.

This one is about Otto Starks, a pulse, which it turns out is a live person employed to guard expensive things because no matter how fancy your automatic security system is, nothing trumps a human there to press the button calling in the authorities when a bad guy is about to make his play.

Who knew this career existed? Who knew it was anything more than half brain-dead security thug, but actually a competitive field that requires serious intellect and skills. Well, not me, which could mean that I just didn't know that or could mean that Davies made this whole type of universe up. Totally possible.

Anyhow, Starks was the creme de la you know what, until the skilled Rat Burglar has started targeting him and penetrating his previously impenetrable pulse skills and now he is at risk of losing his job, life, girl, mobility, everything.

But if you ask me, the question isn't: what is the plot? It is: did Davies write it? Because in ways the plot is secondary. The characters and their feelings and funny dialogue and whatnot are what matters in a Davies novel. Although that said the plot is vg.

To which I also say: Adam Davies, how come your novels aren't all books yet? And furthermore, how come I feel like you are an undiscovered secret when you should be Stephen King? I know that your first novel was optioned and theoretically one day may have Joseph Gordon Levitt in it as the lead, but that was years ago and according to IMDBPro there's no news on that front so there's obviously something holding it up. And that maybe Paul Giamatti's wife is maybe adapting this one with you, but that was years ago, too, and why don't you just let me do it? Because I clearly have more juice than Paul Giamatti and Joseph Gordon Levitt and you.

[Anna Keesey-Faúndez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Mine All Mine way more than Davies’ The Frog King.

You’ll still need your dictionary! But your narrator will be much more likable this time. Otto, the main character and narrator, feels human. He has issues: some he ignores, some he grumbles at, and some he faces, just like a person! He mostly understands and acknowledges his flaws even if he doesn’t show the agency to do anything about them until the end. And for this particular character, it felt genuine. I really liked how the book ended too. Otto doesn’t give a clear-cut “yes” or “no” to Charlie’s question.

For the plot, I had quite a bit of fun. I haven’t read any books about art thieves or books that frame said thief as more a masked vigilante doing what’s right instead of the more villain-esque personality. Personally, I really liked the concept of this art thief not stealing for themselves but to return sacred or important objects to their country of origin. The whole book reminds me of a line from Disney’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire: “If you gave back every stolen artifact from a museum, you’d be left with an empty building.” True! Also, said by the villain! Not a great look for museums. I’m all for cultural safeguarding so people from across the world can learn and gain deeper understanding of one other. What I’m super not for is stealing priceless, significant, or religious artifacts from their peoples and displaying them behind glass. And Mine All Mine very clearly shares this opinion, which may be one reason I felt more drawn to this story.

I think the only major complaint I have about Mine All Mine is the “big reveal” for a particular character’s identity was way too obvious. Even from Step One. However, if you didn’t catch on, the author did leave you a nice cheese trail to follow. That said, there was one reveal that totally caught me off-guard, and I loved every second of it! The betrayal was something else. It hurt.

Anyway, if you like modern stories with some good old-fashioned spy and mystery work, this book is probably for you. I’d say Mine All Mine is rooted in its characters, which makes the plot happening outside more compelling. It’s relatively fast-paced, and there’s a lot of drugs, guns, and general violence. One thing this story is not is upbeat! It’s emotional and grittier than I expected, but it’s a good read. Have fun!

~ Anna

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

MY TAKE:
I thought this book was a lot of fun – quirky, funny characters, twisty, well written, engrossing. It is hard to put down – one of my favorite parts was when Otto was practicing his proposal on the mask and was attacked by the elephant laxative. I thought it charming when the Rat Burglar slipped on the ring and admired it before escaping with the prize. It’s a good commentary on open communication with your partner – having true love despite their alter-egos.

I agree with the Publisher’s Weekly Review: The third novel from Davies (Goodbye Lemon; The Frog King) is a hilarious caper narrated by down-on-his-luck good guy Otto Starks. Having worked his entire life to become a top-notch "pulse" (highly specialized security guard), Otto falls from grace when several of the works of art under his watch are stolen by the Rat Burglar. Otto, who pops toxic pills in an effort to build immunity to paralyzing and lethal substances, starts to look like an accomplice when he repeatedly fails to apprehend the thief. Also grinding at Otto is his torment at keeping his job a secret from Charlie Izzo, the woman he loves but is too afraid to propose to. Charlie is as smart as she is beautiful, but to Otto's dismay, she praises the Rat Burglar, whose m.o. is to steal back plundered masterpieces and return them to their original owners. After the Rat Burglar steals a secret map to a massive plundered treasure, Otto's compartmentalized worlds collide. Otto's narration is biting and bitter, but also charming. Parts are laugh-out-loud funny, and there's enough suspense to keep readers riveted throughout this svelte page-turner.

[Brett Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, not great comedy / action / love story novel!

"Mine All Mine" starts out as a smart comedy, then turns into a full blown action novel throughout the second half of the book.

This book is not a mystery, look at the front cover, read about 10 pages into the book and you will already know who the "Rat Burglar" is. If your looking for a classic, hard to figure out "who done it", this definitely isn't it! But I get the feeling Adam Davies did that purposely, the point is to enjoy the story itself.

Alot of great characters, with great names: The Rat Burglar, Jimmy the Hat, Kong, Azar, Po-Mo, Frankie Nichols & Jagjeet Singh

The main character Otto Starks is great! Alot of very current references and themes. There are many laughs in this book and I never really came across any part of the book that I thought was boring.

Other reviews mention Adam Davies tendency to use alot of words no one has ever heard of, that is true. You could keep a dictionary handy if you like looking up words you dont know, but there are so, so many in this book, you may never finish the novel. Ex. - alacrity, maenadic, stentorian, indurate, ataraxia

Good smart & funny book, a great change of pace book, if you read alot of one genre books!

"Mine All Mine" would make a great movie~

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has the plot and the pace of a Hollywood thriller, with the prose of an East Coast, smartassier, 21st Century Chandler. It's interesting to see this plot (which is similar to what you might find in a bestselling thriller) executed with masterful language. Davies might be one of those crossover writers whose authorship is matched by his sense of entertainment. He reminds me some of Jonathan Lethem (probably because I knew to think of this comparison beforehand), particularly Motherless Brooklyn.

The best part of the book is the narration, which, beyond the enjoyability of the language, explores sense perception to the extreme via the narrator's super-human senses. Particularly in moments of action the reader is treated to an overload of sensory data. On this level the novel is a study on perception, and it functions to contrast the personal and emotional isolation of the narrator.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Mine all Mine" is the third novel by Adam Davies, a fellow professor and sometimes drinking buddy of mine. The book is a pleasure, not for its characters (who are interesting, but not well developed) or its plot (which is carefully developed and enjoyable, but somewhat predictable), but for Davies' masterful command of the sentence. Each one is a nicely wrapped package that, when opened, reveals a surprisingly appropriate gift. Sometimes that gift is just a good laugh, but other times (and such times are frequent) the gift is more complex (as when he offers subtle and carefully crafted allusions to other works whose themes or structures expand upon his own). Overall: if you are looking for a "light" read that won't make you feel dumb, this is a good book for you.

[Stephen Dorneman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars might be a little generous, but includes bonus points for effort. Davies has written a romantic comedy action thriller about an implausible version of our world, where some people ("pulses") have incredibly powerful senses -- but where those abilities are used as, basically, expensive museum guards. One of whom is crossed and double-crossed and falls in love with (spoiler alert, but you would have guessed it way early anyway) a professor who turns out to be a master art thief. But the humor undercuts the action, the action undercuts the romance, and the hero is too much of a jerk to make his many, many, problems particularly engaging. A noble, but ultimately failed, experiment.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun but very predictable story of a hapless security guard who involved in a art theft ring that may or may not involve his girlfriend and best friend. Although there are no surprises, it's fairly amusing to see everything play out. Particularly amusing is the lead character's heightened senses which make him supposedly so good at his job and his habit of ingesting various poisons and chemicals to develop tolerance.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adam Davies' two previous books, The Frog King and Goodbye Lemon, are two of my all-time favorites. This was not as good. It was just completely different--instead of being a heartfelt coming of age type book, it was a thriller/caper type book. It was still good, but not as good as a thriller could be. I guessed the identity of the big criminal near the beginning, and I am not good at guessing.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a bit of trouble getting into this book, but I think it had less to do with the book and more to do with stuff that was happening in my own life. Once I got into it, it was a really quick read with the same delightful play with language that I've come to expect from Davies. I found the plot a bit predictable, but still enjoyable.

[Daniel Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, the story, the main characters and all of the twists and surprises that took place. I was torn on all of the footnotes though - they were interesting and relevant, but at the same time, a bit of a distraction. I started to ignore them eventually since it got in the way of the flow of the story. I am already planning on reading more of Davies' books.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. I thought it was much better than The Frog King which was slightly disappointing. I loved all the characters...even the ones who I ended up hating in the end. It was really fun and hard to put down.

[Elise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did I read this book? Some random person probably on NPR recommended it. It wasn't terrible, just mediocre. Predictable in certain ways with an improbable and uninteresting love story at the center. Just kind of a yawn.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Riveting. Fun to read. Characters were interesting. Left wanting more at the end. Will probably forget in a week. Better than his first book, worse than his second. But Davies is the new Coupland in my book.

[Allie]

Meh. Saw the twist coming before I finished the first chapter--and I'm not normally very good at spotting twists. It wasn't terrible, but it felt like he was borrowing from a bunch of other, superior books.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the way I like fiction: irreverent, a-typical, and sharp. The characters should be charming but mildly unlikeable. Adam does not disappoint. Love this book (although not as much as The Frog King).