Martin Sutter: Melody. Novel – The Pearl Diver

Review note for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, April 22, 2023

Reviewer Rose Maria Grubb describes Martin Sutter’s latest novel about an elderly and dying Zurich man who runs politics and society for decades as a narrative “masterpiece.” Now, she reveals that he is looking for a real estate manager and his job will initially be to destroy anything unpleasant about Peter Stutz and present a whitewashed image for future generations. But the real task seems to be in listening to the dying man when he talks about his great love, Melody, who left him shortly before the planned wedding, says the critic. This raises questions about the relationship between truth and fiction, between self-concepts and reality, which Sutter writes in an exciting and concise style as usual. Deserves a clear recommendation for Gropp.

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books.de

Review note for Die Welt, 22 April 2023

Critic Peter Braschel almost gave up in the face of this white man’s prose, but his persistence paid off in the end. The novel’s events revolve around a wealthy Zurich man, Dr. Braschel explains that Peter Stutz, who did not have much time left, asked his property manager to remove all kinds of critical and incriminating papers. The young lawyer has to deal with his employer’s self-congratulations, which even the sobbing auditor is not spared. When a mystery bride plays the role of the bride, who runs away from Stutz shortly before the planned wedding, things get even more interesting: He’s telling the story of the love of his life, but a resourceful real estate enforcer can spot Melody, as her name is. It is that one represents a completely different perspective, says the reviewer, who no longer expects this plot twist. Ultimately, Braschel finds a lot of fun in the questions of who is telling a story and how it can be twisted to their advantage.

Review note for Frankfurter Rundschau, 20 April 2023

Reviewer Cornelia Geisler finds high narrative quality, as one would expect from Martin Sutter, in his new novel. Aging d. Stutz hires a young lawyer to “clean up” his resume. Stutz is actually looking for someone who can tell him the story of Melody, the love of his life who disappeared shortly before the wedding. As “as attractive as he is sexy” and with little social criticism, Sutter recounts how Attorney Tom now begins his research, and praises the reviewer. As always, he nailed the game of fiction and fact perfectly.

Review note on Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 1 April 2023

What begins as a love story soon turns into a story about “self-expression and outward influence,” says reviewer Erin Bignall, who clearly enjoyed reading Martin Sutter’s novel with great pleasure. The film revolves around an elderly politician who tells his biographer about the love of his life, Melody, who has suddenly disappeared. Was everything really as he said? Benal leaves no room for doubt, but there is no doubt that she found the book an enjoyable read. It is not without depth either.

Review note for Süddeutsche Zeitung, 23 March 2023

Tom, the hero of Martin Sutter’s new novel, is searching for the truth, says reviewer Gerhard Matzig. Tom stumbles through life without any prospects until he receives the offer, according to Matzig, to become an estate manager for a wealthy Swiss man who wants, above all, to transmit a certain image of himself to posterity. Whether this, his life, his successes, his relationship with the mysterious Moroccan melody, is true or not, and what the truth actually means is carefully negotiated here by Sutter, the critic summing up and attesting that the author has mastered “the art of fraud.” What distinguishes these considerations.

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books.de

Deutschlandfunk review note, 23 March 2023

Reviewer Christoph Vormweg really likes the way Martin Sutter knows how to cleverly weave the different levels of his narrative, including in this book: First and foremost, it’s about the young lawyer Tom, who gets a job as an estate manager for a former high-ranking employee. A figure in the world of politics and economic policy in Switzerland. In return, he is expected to maintain the previously rumored image of this person. At the same time, he talks about his love for the bookseller Melody and his failed search for her. For Vormweg, this results in a story about truth, morality, and self-expression that is as instructive as it is entertaining, and one he is happy to recommend for reading.

Review note for Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 21 March 2023

Reviewer Roman Bocelli recognizes the appeal of Martin Sutter’s new novel in the fact that in the story about a wealthy management consultant who looks back on his life and his great love, nothing is as it seems. The fact that the book contains a lot of expensive things and a lot of money is spent – for free, says Bocelli. The descriptions of the magic between Zurich and Paris do not amaze Bocelli either, on the contrary, they seem a little strained, just like the stereoscopic drawings. However, the reviewer finds it interesting how the text eventually develops into a “study on the art of deception.”