{This book is only available in Dutch or German, as far as I know.}
‘Beautiful in a very dark way.’
Summary
Ever since Moritz and his family had moved to the village up in the mountains of Austria, he and Raffael had been best friends. More than best friends. Bloodbrothers. Their friendship was unusual, everyone noticed that. How could a person like Moritz, gentle and introverted, ever become friends with someone like Raffael, a mean and almost twisted boy? Whenever the two of them were together, it was chaos. Moritz’ mom, Marie, feared the negative influence of her son’s only friend. But whatever she tried, she never got Moritz as far as giving Raffael up, no matter the cruelties they’d do. But then, when both boys were only seventeen, Johanna – a girl who’d just lost her parents – manages to get between the two friends. The whole dynasty of the group changed, and the friendship that lasted so long went out with a bang. Sixteen years passed. Sixteen years without hearing anything from each other. And then, one evening, Raffael shows up at Moritz’ doorstep, ready to mess things up one last time.
Review
Wow. I mean, I don’t read a lot of novels, but I mean… I liked this one! The plot of the book heavily relays on the chronological order -or the lack of just that- in which the storyline slowly unfolds. There’s a constant switch between the present (2017) and the past (depending on the character that is our protagonist). Yes, that brings me to another feature: ‘Donkergroen bijna zwart’ is told from three different point-of-views. This really gave the story another layer in depth because subplots are given a more significant role than you might expect, growing in importance and really spicing up the story.
As for the story itself, I thought it was really thought through. It’s a beautiful story about a friendship between two opposites, and how being someone’s friend doesn’t mean you should let go of who you really are. Also, I could notice that the author spent a lot of time working on the storyline. Dark truths revealed themselves one by one, always keeping the reader invested. Even at the very end, there were still some big plot twists.
But that is, at the same time, also my only peeve about this book. Though it did make the story go out with a bang, it also felt a bit rushed. There were very little to no signs earlier in the book hinting to what was yet to come. So, for me, it almost felt a bit unrealistically unexpected.
Conclusion
I’d recommend this book to people that are interested in dark and intense novels. This is a book that you certainly won’t put down while reading. All the suspense and all the tiny bits of truths will keep you on the edge of your seat! So, what are you waiting for?
| Product information: |
| Written by: Mareike Fallwickl |
| Pages: 384 |
| Publisher: Nieuw Amsterdam |
| ISBN: 9789046825181 |
| Interested? Buy it here |