You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann (Book Review)

You Should Have Left
By Daniel Kehlmann
Translated by Ross Benjamin
Published by Vintage Books, 2018
Print Price: $15

An unnamed narrator has gone up to a secluded house in the mountains with his wife, Susanna, and his 4 year old daughter, Esther. He is under pressure to complete the screenplay for his hit movie comedy, Besties. His producer calls asking for updates. His wife thinks writing the screenplay is beneath him and isn't really "art". He feels inferior to Susanna because she got a university education and he didn't. They argue a lot over nothing. You can tell that this marriage is on its last legs. In addition to all the pressures and tension from his wife and producer, there are strange things afoot in the remote house.

He begins to have weird dreams and nightmares of a strange woman and imagining himself in two places at once. He is an actor and an observer at the same time. The narrator notices rooms moving and pictures appearing and disappearing off walls. Strange words begin to show up in his notebook. Needless to say, he's not making much progress on the screenplay!

There is a LOT of hype on this book cover. "Riveting" says Entertainment Weekly (A goldstar recommendation if I've ever read one). The Literary Review says its "A master class in economical storytelling". Old worn out establishment rag Harper's says "exquisitely terrifying" (yawn).  There are other blurbs but I'm tired. You get the drift. Another arrival of Jesus figure hype machine.

The novel is interesting. But it failed my shelf test. After I finish a book, I ask myself was it good enough to keep on my shelf, or should I donate it to my local public library. I'm donating this book. I get why these establishment types liked it. They can read it and say it has horror and sci-fi "elements" but it's not hitting you over the head with genre tropes. A conservative book critic can read this and THINK they are reading horror/sci-fi weird without lowering themselves to reading Stephen King or Dean Koontz.

Just because someone writes a short book, that doesn't make them a "master" of writing. I've read plenty of short books that are masterpieces and plenty of long books that are horrible. Most of the time when I read some short book that claims to be important, it ends up being a trifle. If it's translated it tends to be even more pretentious and hollow. Just look at what this author can do! He can write a short novel that is "kinda" interesting! He's the next Hemingway! Next! Exit stage left please!

Is this book worth reading? Maybe. It will probably only take you an hour or so to read it. It was ok. Would I try another book by this author? Probably not. If he can't even keep my interest for such a short length of time, how could I make it through one of his longer books? This one just comes off as a pale variation of King's The Shining. Now THAT book was great!

My Grade: D