Joël Dicker's 'The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair' Reviewed
Joël Dicker's novel 'La verità sul caso Harry Quebert' (Bompiani, 2013) is a meta-literary thriller where both the accused (Harry Quebert) and the investigator (Marcus Goldman) are writers, with overt homages to Nabokov's 'Lolita'. The review highlights the novel's excessive plot twists and its intersection with visual arts through characters like Luther Caleb, a disfigured gentle soul who paints, and Elijah Stern, a patron who believes art should create discomfort. Another minor character, Stefanie Hendorf, an art history professor at Harvard turned gallerist, also appears. The review praises a passage on page 399 about the power of words.
Key facts
- Joël Dicker is the author, Swiss from Geneva.
- The novel is his second work, following 'Gli ultimi giorni dei nostri padri'.
- Published by Bompiani in 2013, 784 pages, €9.90, ISBN 9788845276965.
- The plot involves a writer accused of murder and his former student investigating.
- Homage to Nabokov's 'Lolita' is noted.
- Character Luther Caleb is a painter and driver for Elijah Stern.
- Elijah Stern is a patron who believes art should create discomfort.
- Stefanie Hendorf taught art history at Harvard and runs a gallery.
Entities
Artists
- Joël Dicker
- Luther Caleb
- Elijah Stern
- Stefanie Hendorf
- Marcus Goldman
- Harry Quebert
- Nola Kellergan
- Marco Enrico Giacomelli
Institutions
- Bompiani
- Harvard
- Artribune
- Giunti
Locations
- Geneva
- Switzerland
- Milan
- Italy
- United States