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˗ˏˋ n a j v a ˊˎ˗'s Reviews > The Pledge
The Pledge
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˗ˏˋ n a j v a ˊˎ˗'s review
bookshelves: made-me-cry, mysteries-i-enjoyed, novellas, classics, literature, 20th-century, 5-stars, german-literature, existentialism, tragedy
Apr 07, 2022
bookshelves: made-me-cry, mysteries-i-enjoyed, novellas, classics, literature, 20th-century, 5-stars, german-literature, existentialism, tragedy
Read 2 times. Last read May 25, 2022.
“A Requiem for the Detective Novel”
What can possibly dust who we are away from us little by little? Maybe someone, maybe death. Maybe love, maybe anything. Maybe a pledge —a promise.
Detective Matthäi, former Zurich police, is almost retired. But unlike his fellows, he would spend this retirement a bit different. He would wait. Patiently. Or sometimes impatiently. He spends decades of his life on a promise he had made, to a grieving mother who had lost her child —A beautiful little girl, with a red skirt. The promise -the pledge- changes his whole life, only for a sense of responsibility and commitment.
Mister Dürrenmatt’s startling novella, The Pledge, is about the fine line between good and evil —the perpetuity of battle confirmed. Is it good or evil to do evil for good? Is the good achievable by doing evil? Sometimes, apparently, there’s no other choice. No other choice than to prepare the bait and wait; to wait, and wait.
(view spoiler) But Dürrenmatt doesn’t stop there, doesn’t acquiesce to only clutching our hearts with sadness and goes farther. He brings up something strangely sadder and maddening issue. Morality, sanity, and patience. Or simply, waiting. Waiting for a hint. Waiting for proof of your words. Waiting for the truth that brings back a shred of the lost dignity. Waiting for eternity. Waiting and waiting...
It doesn’t matter who’s this mysterious serial killer anymore... what matters is the pledge, the promise that Matthäi had sworn upon his eternal salvation. Therefore, after seeing children at the airport, he grants away his life over the pledge he had sworn on.
The Pledge is a mesmerizing literature masterpiece. Dürrenmatt uses such an enchanting yet confusing way to tell the story that it’s impossible to consent oneself to put down the book before finishing.
What can possibly dust who we are away from us little by little? Maybe someone, maybe death. Maybe love, maybe anything. Maybe a pledge —a promise.
Detective Matthäi, former Zurich police, is almost retired. But unlike his fellows, he would spend this retirement a bit different. He would wait. Patiently. Or sometimes impatiently. He spends decades of his life on a promise he had made, to a grieving mother who had lost her child —A beautiful little girl, with a red skirt. The promise -the pledge- changes his whole life, only for a sense of responsibility and commitment.
Mister Dürrenmatt’s startling novella, The Pledge, is about the fine line between good and evil —the perpetuity of battle confirmed. Is it good or evil to do evil for good? Is the good achievable by doing evil? Sometimes, apparently, there’s no other choice. No other choice than to prepare the bait and wait; to wait, and wait.
(view spoiler) But Dürrenmatt doesn’t stop there, doesn’t acquiesce to only clutching our hearts with sadness and goes farther. He brings up something strangely sadder and maddening issue. Morality, sanity, and patience. Or simply, waiting. Waiting for a hint. Waiting for proof of your words. Waiting for the truth that brings back a shred of the lost dignity. Waiting for eternity. Waiting and waiting...
It doesn’t matter who’s this mysterious serial killer anymore... what matters is the pledge, the promise that Matthäi had sworn upon his eternal salvation. Therefore, after seeing children at the airport, he grants away his life over the pledge he had sworn on.
The Pledge is a mesmerizing literature masterpiece. Dürrenmatt uses such an enchanting yet confusing way to tell the story that it’s impossible to consent oneself to put down the book before finishing.
“There is no greater cruelty than a genius stumbling over something idiotic.”
― Friedrich Dürrenmatt, The Pledge
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
March 6, 2022
– Shelved as:
made-me-cry
March 6, 2022
– Shelved
March 6, 2022
– Shelved as:
novellas
March 6, 2022
– Shelved as:
mysteries-i-enjoyed
March 22, 2022
– Shelved as:
classics
March 22, 2022
– Shelved as:
literature
April 7, 2022
– Shelved as:
20th-century
April 7, 2022
– Shelved as:
5-stars
April 7, 2022
– Shelved as:
german-literature
May 25, 2022
–
Started Reading
May 25, 2022
–
Finished Reading
May 26, 2022
– Shelved as:
existentialism
May 26, 2022
– Shelved as:
tragedy
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by
Kevin
(new)
Aug 09, 2022 01:00AM
Excellent review, Beatrice. You are going to be an author one day.
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Superb review, Beatrice! It really is mesmerizing and so much waiting. Did you see the movie with Jack Nicholson? Ebba
Kevin wrote: "Excellent review, Beatrice. You are going to be an author one day."Wow really?! So glad to hear that 😸 Thanks for your kind words <3
Ebba Simone wrote: "Superb review, Beatrice! It really is mesmerizing and so much waiting. Did you see the movie with Jack Nicholson? Ebba"THANK YOU! I'm flattered. Yes, I have seen the movie. It was quite good; but the acting was fantastic!
I was forced to read this in the original for German class in school, which made me slightly hate it, but I guess it's a good one. I ended up cheating and buying the translation, but owing to the pressure of schoolwork I barely remember any detail. I'm happy you could enjoy it outside the bounds of imposition.
