FICTION

Agnes

by Peter Stamm
Other. Sept. 2016. 160p. tr. from German by Michael Hofmann. ISBN 9783442725502. $18.95. F
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Award-winning Swiss author Stamm (All Days Are Night) here returns to his best-selling debut, which features a man writing an increasingly and dangerously embroidered narrative about his lover, Agnes. "'Write a story about me,…' she said, 'so I know what you think of me,' " the cheerfully open Agnes begs after meeting him at the public library, where he is doing research. His account of their love affair is initially true to life, but soon he is stage managing events and manipulating her ruthlessly for grander and riskier effect. Limpidly told, the plot rushes forward, reading like a domestic thriller while unearthing questions about power, relationships, and the trouble we have distinguishing truth from fiction.
VERDICT Even though we know what will happen to Agnes—it's announced on the first page
Reviewed by Barbara Hoffert , Oct 01, 2016
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