Fear by Dirk Kurbjuweit

FEAR

Dirk Kurbjuweit 

Family is everything.

So what if yours was being terrorised by a neighbour – a man who doesn’t listen to reason, whose actions become more erratic and sinister with each passing day? And those you thought would help – the police, your lawyer – can’t help you.

You become afraid to leave your family at home alone. But there’s nothing more you can do to protect them.

Is there?

This was rather different from what I was expecting. The title implies threat and horror - of which there is plenty, but this is also a book reflecting on the concept of fear; why we fear what we fear and how different people handle fear. As much as it is a story about a stalker who terrorises his neighbours, this novel is also a story about the relationship between a father and son, siblings, marriage and growing up in Germany in the 60s. 

The main character, Randolph, is our narrator and he has decided to write down what happened to him and why his father is now in prison for manslaughter at the age of 77. We are told from the outset that his father committed the crime and that neither he, nor his father, has anything to hide or feel any regret for the what happened. Because the narrator is so upfront and honest about what has happened, this novel is a 'why dunnit' rather than a 'who dunnit' and let's face it, these are often the more chilling and unnerving stories; they are often the more haunting and fascinating. 

Randolph's narrative is dense and detailed. He talks about what happens to his family while they are living in the flat and the unpleasant, unkind and then deeply unsettling things that the tenant who lives in the apartment beneath them does, but there is also plenty of time spent reflecting on Randolph's childhood. Even his recount of the present day is not rushed. For a tale about stalkers and crime, this is not a typical edge of your seat, fast paced read. But it is gripping.

Our protagonist is reserved in character. He is reluctant to confront, intervene and take action - his wife is more feisty and he mentions the word 'screaming' alongside her name frequently so maybe the narrative style matches his personality. Perhaps also, it reflects the way situations can slowly build up and suddenly become problematic, how events can accumulate and behaviour or comments that can be ignored or explained away, suddenly build into something much more sinister and becomes too big to stop. Perhaps also it keeps the reader a little removed from the intensity of what Randolph and his wife have to endure. The way they are plagued, hounded and tortured is terrible- and the (false) insinuations of child abuse are particularly upsetting and highly emotive, so maybe this narrative style prevents the reader from finding the story too overwhelming. Maybe the fact that we hear the story from the husband, rather than Rebecca who sees this tenant daily and is the main focus of his attention, helps to put the reader another step away from the fear and threat. It's an interesting perspective to choose. This would have been a very different story had it been narrated by Rebecca, but this is also what makes this novel stand out. 

Fear is a quick read because it is as if we are reading diary entries. It is easy to relate to Randolph because of his first person voice, intimacy and honesty. He admits his failings, his flaws, his inadequacies and this makes it easier to forgive him for his apathy at certain points in the novel. He admits feelings that he knows are wrong, he identifies weaknesses within his marriage that others would want to ignore and he lays the moral and emotional framework on which he was raised out for scrutiny. It's interesting to focus on the psychology of the victim as much as the perpetrator. 

This is still a compelling read because it is about stalking, about a family who are terrorised and a couple who find themselves pushed to breaking point and placed under more and more pressure in this style. The pace is slow and measured with time for deviation and back story, interlude and time lapse. This adds realism to the story and reminds the reader that these events take place over a period of time and therefore it is more realistic than melodramatic. 

Fear was not what I expected, but I did feel the character's voice was strong and easy to relate to. The comments and observations about Berlin in the 60s were really interesting and the observations about marriage also honest, realistic and adding further complication, depth and interest to the characters and the situation. 

I think this book might receive a mixed reaction but it was engaging and I was hooked until the end. It raises broader questions and touches on broader issues than might be expected from a story about a deranged neighbour. The use of a kind of diary entry rather than dialogue and action was effective and original. I think this might be a book which lingers with me. There were some very vivid scenes and provocative questions raised, the dynamics between the characters were fascinating and there is probably much to discuss if this was a book club read. 

Fear is published on January 25th 2018 by Orion.

*My thanks to the publisher for an advance copy of this novel via NetGalley*

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