The perfect hell

In his novel, Gerold Späth describes a familial hell. Four self-contained chapters depict a day in the life of a family member, each one unfolding differently than all the other days. The father commits a sexually motivated murder, the mother acknowledges her long-suppressed lesbian inclination, the daughter-in-law indulges in a callboy, and the son takes his own life. With his characteristic linguistic precision, Späth uncovers the abyss beneath the surface of a seemingly orderly bourgeois life, revealing hidden fears, unacknowledged desires, and cravings. By maintaining the unity of place, time, and character, he is able to illustrate the tragically heightened alienation in interpersonal relationships through the model of this family.