Rapid Review: "You Should Have Left" by Daniel Kehlmann

In a movie, it's funny when a life falls apart because people say clever things while it's happening, but in reality, it's only dismal and repugnant.

I have just finished this spooky little book, my first from German author Daniel Kehlmann. Spanning around 100 pages, we follow the events through the narrator's journal, who is a screenwriter with writer's block, trying to come up with a follow-up for his previous successful movie. In the winter, the narrator and his family—his wife Susanna, and his 4-year-old daughter Esther—rent a house in the hills, hoping the screenplay would be finished quickly there in piece.

This story is about a man's emotional collapse, but there are many supernatural elements as well. He is being pressured to write the next hit while their marriage is also in bad shape. Soon, weird things in the house begin. Strange dreams, impossible geometric shapes, photos appearing and disappearing on the walls, journal entries the narrator doesn't remember adding, and rooms that shouldn't be there but are. 

The book was written in an epistolary format. I found the prose interesting; it is fragmented, with its short paragraphs, unfinished sentences, and one-word lines thrown around. These definitely helped to create uneasiness.

I've seen people on the internet comparing the plot and the vibe to House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski but I've yet to read it so I can't comment on this claim.

Overall, it a was fast-paced, creepy haunted house read, though I thought that the ending was a bit too abrupt. I recommend giving it a go if you want something quick.

My rating: ★★★☆ (3,5)