Items related to The Pledge
Set in a small town in Switzerland, The Pledge centers around the murder of a young girl and the detective who promises the victim’s mother he will find the perpetrator. After deciding the wrong man has been arrested for the crime, the detective lays a trap for the real killer—with all the patience of a master fisherman. But cruel turns of plot conspire to make him pay dearly for his pledge. Here Friedrich Dürrenmatt conveys his brilliant ear for dialogue and a devastating sense of timing and suspense. Joel Agee’s skilled translation effectively captures the various voices in the original, as well as its chilling conclusion.
One of Dürrenmatt’s most diabolically imagined and constructed novels, The Pledge was adapted for the screen in 2000 in a film directed by Sean Penn and starring Jack Nicholson.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Product Description:
Rare Book
Review:
"Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990) was best known as the author of clever, morally inquisitive plays such as 'The Visit' and 'The Physicists.' In the early 1950s he also wrote three short, spellbinding mystery novels, which the University of Chicago Press has reissued in paperback with new translations from the German by Joel Agee: The Pledge and The Inspector Barlach Mysteries: The Judge and His Hangman &Suspicion. The latter includes a thoughtful foreword by Sven Birkerts, who praises Dürrenmatt's talent as a captivating entertainer who could also 'play through complex moral issues with a speed-chess decisiveness and inexorability.' . . . These are slender tales. But they have the weight and texture of classics. Mystery readers should be grateful to the University of Chicago Press for bringing these gems back to life."-- (02/04/2007)
"A stark essay in crime and pursuit, as terse and assured in construction as the best of Simenon.-- (09/11/1959)
"An unusual and arresting novel of crime and detection. Mr. Dürrenmatt is an accomplished and dramatic storyteller, and he has tucked into his short narrative some tantalizing moral questions."-- (04/10/1959)
"The Swiss essayist Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-90) was a prolific writer of detective novels with a low regard for detective fiction. 'You set up your stories logically, like a chess game: all the detective needs to know is the rules, he replays the moves of the game, and checkmate, the criminal is caught and justice has triumphed. This fantasy drives me crazy.' Dürrenmatt's tale doesn't so much alter the rules as sweep all the figures to the floor. Three young girls, each with blond braids and red dresses, are found dismembered in the woods. A pattern seems to emerge, yet the attempt to catch the killer develops into a fruitless obsession which drives the head of the investigation insane. Dürrenmatt incorporates fairy-tale archetypes to distort the typical conventions of a psychological thriller--when little girls in red dresses skip off into the woods, should the investigation team focus their enquiries on a big, bad wolf? Not a book for anyone who likes a tidy conclusion, but as Dürrenmatt says: 'The only way to avoid getting crushed by absurdity, is to humbly include the absurd in our calculations.'"
-- (11/25/2006)"A stark essay in crime and pursuit, as terse and assured in construction as the best of Simenon.-- (09/11/1959)
"An unusual and arresting novel of crime and detection. Mr. Dürrenmatt is an accomplished and dramatic storyteller, and he has tucked into his short narrative some tantalizing moral questions."-- (04/10/1959)
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
- Publication date2006
- ISBN 10 0226174379
- ISBN 13 9780226174372
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages176
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
£ 17.18
Shipping:
£ 2.36
Within U.S.A.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
The Pledge
Published by
University of Chicago Press
(2006)
ISBN 10: 0226174379
ISBN 13: 9780226174372
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Brand New Copy. Seller Inventory # BBB_new0226174379
Buy New
£ 17.18
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pledge
Published by
University of Chicago Press
(2006)
ISBN 10: 0226174379
ISBN 13: 9780226174372
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0226174379
Buy New
£ 17.41
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pledge
Published by
University of Chicago Press
(2006)
ISBN 10: 0226174379
ISBN 13: 9780226174372
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Buy for Great customer experience. Seller Inventory # GoldenDragon0226174379
Buy New
£ 19.63
Convert currency
Seller Image
The Pledge by Dürrenmatt, Friedrich [Paperback ]
Published by
University of Chicago Press
(2006)
ISBN 10: 0226174379
ISBN 13: 9780226174372
New
Soft Cover
Quantity: 10
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780226174372
Buy New
£ 22.95
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pledge Format: Paperback
Published by
University of Chicago press
(2006)
ISBN 10: 0226174379
ISBN 13: 9780226174372
New
Softcover
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 9780226174372
Buy New
£ 21.54
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pledge
Published by
University of Chicago Press
(2006)
ISBN 10: 0226174379
ISBN 13: 9780226174372
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0226174379
Buy New
£ 22.03
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pledge
Published by
University of Chicago Press 2006-10-10, Chicago, Ill. |London
(2006)
ISBN 10: 0226174379
ISBN 13: 9780226174372
New
paperback
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780226174372
Buy New
£ 21
Convert currency
Seller Image
Pledge
Published by
University of Chicago Press
(2006)
ISBN 10: 0226174379
ISBN 13: 9780226174372
New
Softcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 4293469-n
Buy New
£ 23.92
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pledge
Published by
University of Chicago Press
(2006)
ISBN 10: 0226174379
ISBN 13: 9780226174372
New
Softcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0226174379
Buy New
£ 23.84
Convert currency
Seller Image
The Pledge (Paperback or Softback)
Published by
University of Chicago Press 10/1/2006
(2006)
ISBN 10: 0226174379
ISBN 13: 9780226174372
New
Paperback or Softback
Quantity: 5
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. The Pledge 0.48. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780226174372
Buy New
£ 28.02
Convert currency