The Ditch

The mayor of Amsterdam stumbles through a thicket of domestic dramas in the disappointing latest from Koch (Summer House with Swimming Pool). After mayor Robert Walter sees his wife, Sylvia, chatting amiably with an alderman at a New Year’s reception, he becomes convinced they are having an affair. Robert goes on to spend many pages ruminating on whether Sylvia is cheating on him and what she and the alderman may or may not say or text to one another. Robert is a pleasant enough narrator, but his refusal to actually do much of anything (other than ponder) gets old quickly. Meanwhile, Robert’s nonagenarian parents have decided on elective suicide, the timeline for which keeps shrinking; a reporter confronts Robert with damning evidence of alleged wrongdoing from his past (Robert’s reaction is exceedingly hard to believe); and Robert’s old friend faces a stark decision about his life. This comes across as a case of a narrator in search of a plot; some passages are real head-scratchers (anyone who has ever wondered about the recent history of Amsterdam’s municipal glass recycling program is in for a treat) and the narrative’s late tilt into metaphysical matters is ill-advised. Less definitely would have been more; hopefully Koch returns to form next time. [em](June) [/em]