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Friedrich Durrenmatt Message Board 10/31/2005 3:02:51 PM
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Durrenmatt has written!

Author Durrenmatt's Book Reviews

The Breakdown
THE BREAKDOWN (Die Panne) is a novel published in 1958. Alfredo Traps's car breaks down in the middle of the swiss country. Alfredo is invited to spend the night with four old men living in a small town nearby. They ask him whether he wants to take part in the game they use to play with their guests. Alfredo soon learns that he is sitting with a judge, a public prosecutor, a lawyer and an executioner, all retired. The food is gorgeous and Alfredo agre...
The Judge and his Executioner (Hangman)
A man found dead in his car is discovered to be a policman, and the small town policeman who finds him is ill-equipped to investigate the murder. The case is given to the dead man's superior, a man named Barlach. Barlach's boss, Lutz, loves the new crime-solving technology that he saw while in Chicago, but Barlach wants nothing to do with such things. He tells his boss, right from the start, that he has a suspect in mind, but won't say who that suspec...
The Physicists
This play is about three physicists in a mental hospital. At the start of the play, two of the three physicists have killed nurses, but, since they're insane, nobody can do much with them. One of the physicists believes he is Isaac Newton, another believes he is Einstein, and the third believes he is Mobius. As the play progresses, it is revealed that none of the physicists are insane: two are spies and the third is a genius physicist whose discoverie...
The Quarry
THE QUARRY (Der Verdacht) is a novel published in 1953. Police chief inspector Baerlach has just undergone surgery when his friend and doctor, Hugentobler, thinks he recognizes one of his own colleagues on a LIFE Magazine picture about Dr. Neyle, a nazi doctor who practiced surgery without anaesthesia in the extermination camps. This Dr. Neyle could be now the eminent owner of a private clinic for wealthy people in Zurich, Switzerland. Baerlach asks h...

Durrenmatt booklist

The Visit
The town of Guellen is in dire need of money, and the townspeople believe that they'll soon be getting some. Claire Zachanassian, a multimillionaire who used to live there about 45 years ago, is coming back, and everyone's sure they can convince her to give them money, since they've heard a great deal about the charitable things she's done. Ill, a shopkeeper in the town, was a friend and lover of hers when they were younger, and he's intent on using th...