SORRY by Zoran Drvenkar

By Zoran Drvenkar, translated from German by Shaun Whiteside




Sorry is an ingenious and thought-provoking thriller that should be read for the reasons that make it hard to read.

First is German writer Zoran Drvenkar's use of the second-person point of view. In the beginning, this seems a clumsy conceit meant to make readers sympathise with the serial killer antagonist. Later, it proves to be a brilliant red herring that masks the speaker's identity until the very end.

Second is the book's theme. Like authors from Reginald Hill to the late Stieg Larsson, Drvenkar has an agenda. He writes mystery as a mirror of the world, reflecting in fiction the dark truths readers often choose to ignore in real life.


Here he tackles with painful honesty the echoing effect of child abuse and how hard it can be to protect the young from predators determined to have them.
The book follows an almost Wagnerian cycle, moving from light adventure into morbid tragedy and a satisfyingly weighty end.



The simple and lucid concept at the heart of the tale will doubtless inspire some entrepreneur soon.

The day copywriter Kris loses his job, he also learns that apologies pay dividends. So he joins forces with his brother Wolf and their friends Tamara and Frauke to create Sorry, an agency that will help people with a guilty conscience.
For the right price, they apologise to slighted mistresses on behalf of married lovers; they make payouts to employees unjustly fired so that middle managers can both avoid lawsuits and feel good about themselves.

Then comes the murderer-client who wants the firm to apologies to his victims. More, he wants the four founders to understand that there are some crimes that are impossible to forgive and forget, especially when the victim was a child.
This is a book about apologies, but makes none for ripping a painful swathe through the reader's psyche. Read it anyway, for the fiendish plot twists and the thoroughly gripping narrative that raises far more questions than it answers.
 If you like this, read: order Sorry from Amazon.