--- product_id: 1357369 title: "Summer House with Swimming Pool: A Novel" price: "106.76 DT" currency: TND in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/1357369-summer-house-with-swimming-pool-a-novel store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # Summer House with Swimming Pool: A Novel **Price:** 106.76 DT **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Summer House with Swimming Pool: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** 106.76 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/1357369-summer-house-with-swimming-pool-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The blistering, compulsively readable new novel from Herman Koch, author of the instant New York Time s bestseller The Dinner . When a medical procedure goes horribly wrong and famous actor Ralph Meier winds up dead, Dr. Marc Schlosser needs to come up with some answers. After all, reputation is everything in this business. Personally, he’s not exactly upset that Ralph is gone, but as a high profile doctor to the stars, Marc can't hide from the truth forever. It all started the previous summer. Marc, his wife, and their two beautiful teenage daughters agreed to spend a week at the Meier’s extravagant summer home on the Mediterranean. Joined by Ralph and his striking wife Judith, her mother, and film director Stanley Forbes and his much younger girlfriend, the large group settles in for days of sunshine, wine tasting, and trips to the beach. But when a violent incident disrupts the idyll, darker motivations are revealed, and suddenly no one can be trusted. As the ultimate holiday soon turns into a nightmare, the circumstances surrounding Ralph’s later death begin to reveal the disturbing reality behind that summer’s tragedy. Featuring the razor-sharp humor and acute psychological insight that made The Dinner an international phenomenon, Summer House with Swimming Pool is a controversial, thought-provoking novel that showcases Herman Koch at his finest. Review: Like a disturbing nightmare. Complex characters, simple plot, impeccable prose. Brilliant. - Not a single attractive or sympathetic character. Not one. And you won't be able to put this book down. It's brilliant. I read The Dinner on the beach last year and saved Summer House with Swimming Pool for this summer. It's more conventional than The Dinner, but far more disturbing. I find myself thinking about it more than a week after finishing it. Herman Koch looks at real, contemporary characters in all their dimensions. He's Jungian in his approach--we see the dark and the light in each character. And yes, many are more dark than light. I can't say enough about this book. I generally avoid 'contemporary' or 'literary' books because they're usually so incredibly dull, tendentious, and pretentious. Koch's staccato style is brisk. He doesn't waste words or time. He writes in an unfussy, "chewy" style that reminds me of Orwell and Evelyn Waugh (who are, I think, the best prose stylists of the 20th century). The seemingly simple prose paints a complex portrait of characters who are just like us on the surface. Underneath, they're monsters, doing the things we dream about in nightmares. The plot does have a few holes and some dead ends, but these are nits. This is the work of a genius. Review: Good Beachside Read - First, the good stuff: Herman Koch is a gifted writer who has a talent for painting scenes and people in a lyrical style that is so good, that you think you are actually there with the characters. This is especially astonishing given that this is a translation (my hat is off to the translator), and I find that writing is sometimes stilted at best when it comes to many translations. In this one, we really feel like we're transported to this commercialized island paradise to the point where you can actually feel the heat and smell the suntan lotion, sweat and fear of the characters. About the only thing that humanizes these people is their scent, because otherwise, there is nothing at all very likable about any of them. From a narcissistic and emotionally remote physician, his one-dimensional wife and children who don't seem to be real at all, but are just there to move the plot along. Even the child who is the victim does not seem either real or likeable. There's a whole host of supporting characters, each of which is similarly unsympathetic to the reader. They were the kind of people you needed to get away from and take a shower after meeting. Honestly... in the midst of all of this are actors, physicians, hangers-on and such who manage to be peripherally involved in some type of mysterious attack on the main character's daughter. The remainder of the book consists of the doctor's revenge on the alleged attacker. Moral of this one: Think twice before antagonizing your family physician.... Still, despite the inability to create sympathetic characters (which, after all is not really the author's job), Koch does concoct an interesting plot that will keep you turning the pages on your ocean beachside vacation while reaching for the adult beverage of your choice. By the time you get to the end, you'll be thankful that you are laying on a quiet beach rather than in the middle of this contortion of a novel. I definitely think it is worth it as a beach read, and will be picking up Koch's first novel as well. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #3,302,060 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #4,818 in Psychological Fiction (Books) #10,086 in Psychological Thrillers (Books) #20,991 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 3.5 out of 5 stars 2,747 Reviews | ## Images ![Summer House with Swimming Pool: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81qifuDF8sL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Like a disturbing nightmare. Complex characters, simple plot, impeccable prose. Brilliant. *by T***N on September 4, 2014* Not a single attractive or sympathetic character. Not one. And you won't be able to put this book down. It's brilliant. I read The Dinner on the beach last year and saved Summer House with Swimming Pool for this summer. It's more conventional than The Dinner, but far more disturbing. I find myself thinking about it more than a week after finishing it. Herman Koch looks at real, contemporary characters in all their dimensions. He's Jungian in his approach--we see the dark and the light in each character. And yes, many are more dark than light. I can't say enough about this book. I generally avoid 'contemporary' or 'literary' books because they're usually so incredibly dull, tendentious, and pretentious. Koch's staccato style is brisk. He doesn't waste words or time. He writes in an unfussy, "chewy" style that reminds me of Orwell and Evelyn Waugh (who are, I think, the best prose stylists of the 20th century). The seemingly simple prose paints a complex portrait of characters who are just like us on the surface. Underneath, they're monsters, doing the things we dream about in nightmares. The plot does have a few holes and some dead ends, but these are nits. This is the work of a genius. ### ⭐⭐⭐ Good Beachside Read *by S***T on July 5, 2014* First, the good stuff: Herman Koch is a gifted writer who has a talent for painting scenes and people in a lyrical style that is so good, that you think you are actually there with the characters. This is especially astonishing given that this is a translation (my hat is off to the translator), and I find that writing is sometimes stilted at best when it comes to many translations. In this one, we really feel like we're transported to this commercialized island paradise to the point where you can actually feel the heat and smell the suntan lotion, sweat and fear of the characters. About the only thing that humanizes these people is their scent, because otherwise, there is nothing at all very likable about any of them. From a narcissistic and emotionally remote physician, his one-dimensional wife and children who don't seem to be real at all, but are just there to move the plot along. Even the child who is the victim does not seem either real or likeable. There's a whole host of supporting characters, each of which is similarly unsympathetic to the reader. They were the kind of people you needed to get away from and take a shower after meeting. Honestly... in the midst of all of this are actors, physicians, hangers-on and such who manage to be peripherally involved in some type of mysterious attack on the main character's daughter. The remainder of the book consists of the doctor's revenge on the alleged attacker. Moral of this one: Think twice before antagonizing your family physician.... Still, despite the inability to create sympathetic characters (which, after all is not really the author's job), Koch does concoct an interesting plot that will keep you turning the pages on your ocean beachside vacation while reaching for the adult beverage of your choice. By the time you get to the end, you'll be thankful that you are laying on a quiet beach rather than in the middle of this contortion of a novel. I definitely think it is worth it as a beach read, and will be picking up Koch's first novel as well. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A compelling insight into the darker side of human nature *by C***E on December 4, 2014* I had previously read Herman Koch's "The Dinner" and loved it. After reading the first few pages of this book in preview mode I noticed, again, how adept the author is at translating a character's innermost feelings, biases, perspectives, and observations into words. One of my literature professors once told us that a very good writer can express something in words so well that it resonates in our mind as if we had thought of it ourselves. We literally stand in the shoes of the author and view the world through his (or her) eyes, but it's so vivid it's as if we arrived at the same thought at the same point in time. Such an author is Herman Koch. His stories (at least the two I've read so far) are not pleasant - the characters are flawed, unlikable, and exhibit the worst side of human nature. But, we all know or have observed people like this - we recognize them instantly - in a sense becoming so immersed in the story that it's as if we are there, in those scenes, as an invisible observer. I can understand those reviewers who didn't enjoy the book - it is not a tidy book, with likeable characters, a well-framed plot, and a "tie up all the loose ends" ending. It is a character study of the darker side of human nature, taking us to where most of us have never gone before, but, given the right circumstances, one never knows what each of us is capable of doing. I found it delicious reading, enjoying the mastery of a not only a brilliant author, but a brilliant observer and interpreter of human nature, albeit the darker side of same. While I don't envision a steady diet of delving into the dysfunctional side of human behavior - the occasional read, done with the excellence of the author, is a fascinating journey. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/1357369-summer-house-with-swimming-pool-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/1357369-summer-house-with-swimming-pool-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-06-02*