Dear Mr. M
About this ebook
Dear Mr. M,
I'd like to start by telling you that I'm doing better now. I do so because you probably have no idea that I was ever doing worse. Much worse, in fact, but I'll get to that later on.
Mr. M is being watched. As a famous writer, he is no stranger to the limelight, although interest in his work has been dwindling of late. His print runs are smaller than they used to be, as are the crowds at his bookshop signings . . . Our narrator clearly takes a keen interest in M.'s work, and indeed in every aspect of his life. But what exactly are his intentions? And to what does Mr. M owe the honour of his undivided attention?
Our narrator seems to be no stranger to murder, while his own story appears to bear more than a passing resemblance to the plot of Mr. M's most famous novel: a teacher has an affair with a student, only to be brutally murdered by the girl and her teenage boyfriend. The body is never found.
That's the problem with fiction: in real life, bodies have an awkward habit of turning up. Mr. M has used some artistic licence, and our narrator is not pleased, not pleased at all. And just before he fades into obscurity, he's prepared to give Mr. M one last review. And it's unlikely to be a rave.
Dear Mr. M is an unsettling and irresistibly readable literary thriller, set in the world of writing and bookselling, by Herman Koch, the author of the international bestseller, The Dinner.
Ratings and reviews
About the author
Herman Koch was born in 1953. He is the author of a number of novels - including The Dinner and Summer House with Swimming Pool - short stories, has acted for radio, television, and film, and was a co-creator of the long-running Dutch TV comedy series Jiskefet (1990-2005). The Dinner has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide and spent a year on the New York Times bestseller list. Richard Gere, Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, and Chloë Sevigny will star in the film adaptation, forthcoming in 2017.
Praise for Herman Koch:
'Gripping . . . For fans of thriller such as Gone Girl, this should be essential summer reading' Guardian (Summer House with Swimming Pool)
'Utterly entertaining. There is a manic clarity and gleefulness to its writing . . . You'll be gripped and chilled' Independent (Summer House with Swimming Pool)
'A clever, dark confection . . . absorbing and highly readable' New York Times Book Review (The Dinner)
'Slick, thrillerish and highly enjoyable' Sunday Times (The Dinner)
'The Dinner proves how powerful fiction can be in illuminating the modern world' The Economist
'One of those must-read novels about nature vs nurture, like The Slap and We Need to Talk about Kevin, with a series of dark twists and turns' Independent (The Dinner)
'Perfect . . . A virtuoso achievement' Financial Times (The Dinner)
'Utterly absorbing' Mail on Sunday (The Dinner)
'A feast of a novel' Evening Standard (The Dinner)
