The Ditch

Marriages. All is not well in the life of the mayor of Amsterdam as presented in the novel by Herman Koch titled, The Ditch. While the mayor gives us his name as Robert Walter, that is not his name, nor is his wife named Silvia. Koch explores the interactions of couples in marriage and exposes the consequences of what is not expressed with clarity. Robert has suspicions. Sylvia has been and will always be a foreigner. Robert’s own parents are another study in being both together and apart. A formative experience of Robert’s is revealed late in the novel, as well as the meaning of the title of the novel. Koch riffs on trust and distrust in many aspects and patient readers are rewarded by the end of the novel with insights about what has been going on in this entertaining novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Ditch from amazon.com.