Bunker.

by Andrea Maria Schenkel

It had been a normal day at work. Monika was locking up, ready to head home, when the man arrived. She didn't even see his fist until it was far too late...

Bundled into a car, tied up and taken in darkness to an old mill in the thick of a forest, she has been flung into a bunker. It is only now, as time passes and she sees her attacker in the light, that she notices the startling resemblance to someone from her very dark and buried past, someone she never wanted to see again.

Was this a robbery gone wrong?

Is he Hans returned for revenge?

Is she even the victim at all?

Genres: Thriller, Crime, Fiction, Roman, Mystery, Ebooks, German Literature

122 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich fand die Erzählweise sehr interessant und gut. Ich fühlte den dunklen Bunker.

[Armin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Als Hörbuch praktisch unverdaulich, musste mir die gedruckte Fassung besorgen, um einigermaßen durchzusteigen. Es gibt drei Erzählebenen mit zugehörigen Schrifttypen und streckenweise keine Chronologie.
Mit dem Voyeur und dem depperten Außenseiter werden zwei Motive wieder bearbeitet, die es auch im Erfolgsbuch Tannöd gibt. Ansonsten übelste Zeilendrescherei als hätte der Markt jedes Jahr ein Büchel von Frau Schenkel nötig.Die Story steht im Klappentext, beim Lesen erfährt man, dass Entführer Dimitri von seinem kriminellen Vater misshandelt wurde, Monika den Mord an ihrem Bruder Joachim dem Dorfdeppen Hans in die Schuhe geschoben hat. Während ihrer Haft in der alten Mühle identifiziert sie ihren Entführer als Hans und stiftet ihn zum Mord an ihrem Chef an, der in die alte Mühle gelockt wird. Als Hans/Dimitri dessen Leiche im Bunker entsorgt, fällt die Tür zu, der Schlüssel steckt außen. Damit beginnt das Buch,am Ende kann sich der Eingesperrte befreien, weil sein Vater immer schon ein Pfuscher gewesen ist. Er sticht Monika, die er in besseren Moment für eine Art Reinkarnation seiner vom Vater in den Selbstmord getriebenen Mutter gehalten hat, nieder. Die Chronik der Operation einer verletzten mit Stichwunden ist zwischen die beiden Erzählstränge gequetscht.

[Oktober · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eines der schlechtesten Bücher, die ich seit langem gelesen habe.
Der Perspektivenwechsel ist anfangs verwirrend, später nervig. Die Innensichten der Figuren sind weder tiefgründig noch ziehen sie den Leser in ihren Bann. Die Handlung ist, gelidne gesagt, dämlich, zuweilen unlogisch und unverständlich. Die Autorin versucht krmapfhaft, Spannung zu erzeugen, was ihr nicht annähernd gelingt. Ich muss jetzt meine Meinung über "Tannöd" ändern - im Vergleich zu diesem Geschreibsel war das nobelpreisverdächtig!

[Mirah Kosmala]

Sombre. Intéressant de voir les limites entre la victime et l’agresseur se superposer de plus en plus.
Ne Justifierait pas, mais au moins nous aiderait à comprendre un peu plus et à nous mettre à la place des attaquants.

[Karen]

You could not, ever, accuse Andrea Maria Schenkel of wordiness. Her books are masterpieces of succinct, pointed fiction, leaving a lot to the readers imagination, conclusion or simply confusion. Which is part of what I love about these books - that feeling, when finished reading, that you might just not have the whole picture. That there are things that you may have to think about, that not everything is black and white, and that the grey is often very dark, very cloudy, very textured grey.

BUNKER is a particular example of that wonderful act of leaving the reader to decide, to extrapolate, to conjecture, to muddle through. We're given the details of a kidnapping (or is it), we're given multiple viewpoints, and we're given precious little detail. In exchange the reader does have to work, there's a lot of different possible interpretations in here - unreliable narrator perhaps? In which case which one? Past catching up with the present? Mistaken identity? Pointless act? Act of revenge? You decide.

Hard work undoubtedly. Not a book for fans of the carefully laid out plot, or for a clear who / what / when / why type resolution. But I've personally been a fan of Schenkel's writing from the very first book, although to be honest, they aren't books I recommend to others easily. I find their obtuseness rewarding, the amount of work I have to put in to considering what just happened an exciting part of the overall experience... but they aren't straightforward. There are hidden depths in BUNKER that you might find you have to work for.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...

[Bill Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read all three Schenkel books published in the UK to date and enjoyed them all. The detail was disturbing and fascinating and the juxtaposition of alternate points of view creates different feelings and senses of the two key characters and their interpretation of what is happening. It maybe thin, but there are hidden depths.

[Edwin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Een boek in de Ik vorm. moeilijk te lezen. Geen touw aan vast te knopen. Een van de slechtste boeken die ik in lange tijd heb gelezen, en dat wil wat zeggen. Veel verandering in het perspectief. Eerst verwarrend, later gewoon hinderlijk. Het plot is gewoon te dwaas voor woorden. Er wordt krampachtig geprobeerd om spanning op te bouwen, maar dat faalt jammerlijk.

[David Borthwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this was some read. I wasn't sure I was going to like this book as it is written in the stream of consciousness method. But I was proved wrong, this book is unputdownable. I found the point of view changes a little disconcerting at first but once you get into the flow of the narrative you just go with it. I would recommend this book.

[Jacqueline Jansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read it in Dutch and I'm still confused, because I have no idea what this book was about.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Monkia is kidnapped and by the name of the book kept in a Bunker? But in the book shes mainly kept in a loft style room? Why has been kidnapped? I honestly have no idea even by the end of the book. There is talk about Monikas brother who in her memories is dead. Was it Monika who.killed him or was it the local village idiot who they all exploited as kids but who was Mokinaks brothers only friend Hans. Hans goes to prison on Monikas testimony as being the last person the see him alive. She believes its Hans who's kidnapped her.

Multi point of view from three different minds of what happened and what was going on. The only thing was between two of them it was kind of confusing 🤷‍♀️. No real indication of who's mind we were in most of the time until you were at least half way through the specific chapter as it didnt always change each chapter. There was no real storyline to follow and it was just a jumble of confusion for me. By the time I got to the end some of it made sense but there was so much in it that still left me thinking WTF?

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nachdem ich die beiden Werke der Autorin "Tannöd" und "Kalteis" wirklich gut fand, war ich von "Bunker" enttäuscht. Die Perspektivwechsel und Zeitsprünge wirkten teilweise unsortiert, die Handlung und vor allem die Hintergründe erschlossen sich mir nicht ganz. Die Passagen mit den Halluzinationen fand ich langatmig und ebenfalls für die Handlung nicht in dem Maße richtungsweisend, wie die Länge der Passagen vorgab. Die weibliche Hauptfigur verhält sich teilweise so unlogisch, dass es mich fast schon geärgert hat...
Am Ende weiß ich zwar ungefähr, wer lebt und wer nicht, aber das große Ganze bleibt mir nebulös. Gut, dass das Buch recht kurz ist.

[Alyce Hunt]

Bunker is originally written in German and may be better in its original language, but it certainly doesn't translate well. Despite the fact that it's only just over 100 pages, I couldn't bring myself to read more than a couple of chapters. The definition of lost in translation.

[Lauralie · Rating 1 out of 5]

L'intrigue de ce livre aurait vraiment pu être intéressante. Hélas je n'ai pas été transportée par l'écriture... Peut-être est-ce à cause de la traduction, dans tous les cas j'ai trouvé l'histoire un peu brouillon.

[Victoria Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was an interesting read but not really my cup of tea.

[Cirrus Minor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Für die paar Seiten habe ich sehr lange gebraucht und weiß doch nicht, was ich schreiben soll. War nicht mein Fall.

[Vera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Een heel klein beetje spannend en interessant omdat het geschreven is vanuit verschillende gezichtspunten (het slachtoffer, de dader, de dokter) maar het plot is onvoldoende psychologisch onderbouwd.

[Aada · Rating 1 out of 5]

Joo mitä… ei ehkä ihan mun cup of tea, vaikkakin sinänsä ymmärrän, miks tätä pidetään mielenkiintosena 🤝🏻

[Cerisaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ambiguous crime novel that left me uncertain I'd understood what was going on. I've read other books by this author and this one was a bit slight. Not a bad read, however, and I like how the reader had to do the work to put together the puzzle, with scope for different interpretations.

[Char · Rating 2 out of 5]

For my full review please visit my blog: Bunker review @ From the Shadows I Review


I really don't know what to say about this one. It's difficult to sun it up but if I don't do it now, I never will. Although it's not my number one genre I really like crime/thriller type novels. This one never really captured me though. I found the set up confusing. There was too much being told in too short an amount of time. The more I read, the more confused I got. I realise this book is a translation from German but I'm not sure that's the problem. Another thing I found was that the English was very simple. I've seen more elaborate words in YA. Maybe that is a translation issue and it sounds more adult in German. Saying that I don't want to blame everything on the translator, por woman.


I didn't really find myself relating to either of the main characters. I found their personalities quite dull. I get that they were in a difficult situation but that could have brought certain character traits to the fore. This didn't really happen though and so I felt like I was missing something with them. Especially as they had no connection with each other.


Overall I feel kind of disappointed, this book could have been awesome with Monika becoming attached to her kidnapper (yes I'm thinking Stockholm syndrome) but I think the book lacked depth like that. This book is a bit of a jumbled mess, it's confusing and it tries to cover too much in too short a time though. I will say that the cover I have ties in well with the novel, helping you to visualise the area where the story takes place. I don't think I'd recommend this book and I doubt I'll ever read anything else by this author.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! I honestly get bored with the countless thriller books on the shelves that seem to offer several linking and twisting subplots that all tie up neatly at the end. This book follows a different structure in that it is told from three viewpoints - the hero's, the villain's and the description of the present day / situation. It took a while to work out where the story was headed to begin with because of this, but after half way thorugh it finally clicked and I thought it ingenious! I loved both of the characters - they were not the usual 'sympathetic hero with a strength that will pull her through', and the 'usual villain who is the total bad guy'! The author was brilliant at capturing the atmosphere and images of horror. I can see the relation of this book to many of my favourite horror movies; and I am not sure, but I would say the author is an avid fan of horror movies also! I was reading the story as though I was watching it on screen - and that to me speaks of great writing. The Murder Farm is now on my 'to read' list.

[Tsuhonets · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a somewhat conflicted feeling about Bunker. Being a thriller, it wasn't very thrilling. There wasn't much to hold one's breath onto. The book just unfolded in a rather laconic manner, leaving behind annoying trails of confusion.

The charaters were very poor as well. The protagonist, being a woman who has been abducted by a stranger, behaved in a completely irrational matter which did not help me sympathetise with her. The abductor in return, was slightly more sympathisable but still a very weak character. Bunker being so short as it is, the text should have been much more punchy to give depth to the characters, and to the entire plot really.

Thrill was meant to be created through reoccurring flashforwards but the execution of that (even font had to be changed as if the reader would be too much of an idiot to understand what it is about) just gave a really cheap vibe.

I didn't get much out of this book.

[Phlaemmle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Das Buch mag zum Lesen recht angenehm sein, da dann der Perspektivenwechsel vielleicht besser gelöst ist. Wobei, eigentlich sollte dies auch beim Hörbuch kein Problem sein, werden die Passagen doch von verschiedenen Personen gelesen. Aber das ist anstrengend und fordert die volle Aufmerksamkeit des Zuhörenden. Wenn dann auch noch Frau Sawatzki anfängt "Wienerisch" zu parlieren ehwieso. Gehörte das zum Konzept? Mich hat es immer wieder irritiert. Dazu noch die Vielschichtigkeit der Handlung zu folgen, war mir zeitweise nicht möglich. Mache Tracks musste ich zwei, drei Mal hören, bis ich wüsste, wer gerade über was warum spricht. Das passiert mir eher selten. Spass war das keiner, auch wenn ich bis zum Ende durchgehalten habe, um endlich mit Frau Schenkel abgeschlossen zu haben. Bestimmt gibt es noch schlechtere Bücher, bessere aber sicher auch!

[Justme · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this very hard to follow, and the storyline was unfulfilling. I kept on waiting for the plot to thicken, or at least begin to unravel, which it did in a very confusing manner! The more I read, the more sluggishly the book seemed to move, and the more confusing it all became.
I didn't find myself becoming interested in either of the main characters; perhaps the book is better in German, as I know it has been translated, but I felt that the writing was very simple, and that the characters seemed quite undeveloped.
Not necessarily a book I would recommend - the praise for the author on the cover seems like a little bit of an exaggeration to me.

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

One accepted way to write a "good book" nowadays seems to be to tell the plot kaleidoscope wise. You have the possibility to understand the complete picture only after reading the whole story. Schenkel seems to be one of there writers.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it feels like artificial artistry. This time the story was so simple and the book so short that it did not irritate. I did not like it too much though.

The message of the story was perhaps the old one: "Remember to beat you wife every week. If you don't know why, she does."

[Janne Paananen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Schenkel tarjoaa aiempien kirjojensa tapaan kurkistuksen ihmisen synkempään puoleen. Bunkkeri on kidnapatun ja kidnappaajan välinen psykologinen vuoropuhelu, jota värittää väkivalta ja pakokauhu. Tapahtumia viedään eteenpäin kummankin toimiessa vuorotellen kertojaäänenä. Tämä pään sisältä toiseen hyppääminen toimii tehokkaasti. Tapahtumia ja taustoja paljastetaan pikkuhiljaa ja Schenkel onnistuu pitämään tällä kertaa lukijan mielenkiinnon yllä loppuun asti. Ei tämä Schenkelin esikoisteoksen tasolle yllä, mutta on ehdottomasti parempi kuin Tapaus Kalteis.

[Peter Blom · Rating 3 out of 5]

In het nederlands gelezen.
Wel erg mooi geschreven, maar niet echt spannend.
Ook al die dromen (die ik vast behoor te duiden) vindt ik af en toe vermoeiend.
Herlezen op 22 dec 2012. Vorige recentie wat negatief. Mooie opzet met de wisselende perspectieven. En de dromen passen toch mooi bij het verhaal.
Boek eindigt als zijn rol is uitgelegd terwijl zij de hoofdpersoon leek, ietwat onbevredigend.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman is held captive in a bunker.

A good idea for a story, as the viewpoints / motivations / thoughts of the kidnapper and kidnapped woman are shown. But the narrative (and writing) was muddled towards the end, some of the actions of the characters didn’t make sense, but this may have been due to the translation.

I rated this 3 but it was really a 2.5.

[Vanessa Vallos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mmmh ... I don't hate it but I don't like it either.

So long, not enough dialogue. We are inside the head of the character but I don't like it inside.

Around the middle I thought I will like it but no. The end was terrible.

Of 100 pages I liked about 10 pages.
I didn't feel anything I was even bored. I fall asleep once ...... in the bus.

[Cat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, I found the style of this book hard to follow and a little confusing. It was also kind of boring considering it was supposed to be a thriller. I didn't feel any tension or even care about any of the characters... Overall it just wasn't enough.

Full review here: pomegranatecatbooks.wordpress.com/201...

[Suketus]

Tiivistunnelmainen jännäri kidnappauksesta. Kuka on uhri, kuka syyllinen? Tiukat kohtaukset vievät tarinan vauhdilla eteenpäin. Jälkimaku on silti hieman penseä, tarinaan ei ehdi päästä sisälle, kun se jo loppuu, ja liikaa jää avoimeksi.