The Appointment: A Novel

Do you have a friend who likes to monologue? Say shocking things in the midst of her rant to bring you back to attention to her? This long one-sided conversation is such verbal diarrhea. The main character talks through an appointment for a procedure attended by a taciturn doctor. Like the author, the character is German, living in London. Her conversation is blunt, shocking, and unstoppable. Hitler’s sex life features in many of her fantasies which she details as time passes. She muses philosophically about the reparation that every German must make in atonement for the holocaust. She also tells of her adulterous affair and the degradation which is the major part of it. As she transitions through the procedure, the reader waits for her to catch her breath, emotionally collapse, or for the quiet Dr. Seligman to respond to the unbelievable nonstop confession.

If it is true that one is only as sick as one’s secrets, this character has managed to out herself in every conceivable way. This book may fascinate some, but if you do have such a friend, it may prove a long read.