I really enjoyed this read, and I'm not usually a huge short story fan.
Although all centering around the topic of 'punishment' each story was told with grace and sympathy, and without judgment.

2.5 rounded to 2 stars for NetGalley.
I just found this a bit odd, and there were some very disturbing stories.

It's fiction based on Ferdinand's time as a criminal defence lawyer and there were some interesting elements.

However, I mainly felt that there wasn't enough time for the characters to be fleshed out, a lot of stories didn't seem to end properly, and mostly seemed to show that the justice system isn't fit for purpose.

I'm not sure if some detail was lost in translation, but that would have had no effect on the plots themselves. A bit odd and a bit of a disappointment I'm afraid.

This is a collection of short stories and I loved how it was told exactly how it is with no messing around and I found it to be a quick and interesting read. The stories are great thrillers and I would like to read a full length novel by this author. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this ARC all opinions are my own.

Ferdinand von Schirach is one of Germany’s most prominent defence lawyers based in Berlin and a successful author of legal crime fiction. Perhaps best known for his novel The Collini Case published in English in 2012 which was followed by The Girl Who Wasn’t There, he has also written some short story collections. The latest of these Punishment quite aptly follows Crime and Guilt

Set often in the author’s home state of Bavaria, these twelve stories are fictional, yet there is little doubt that these tales have been inspired by Schrirach’s legal career

While always entertaining, I suspect that in some of these stories Ferdinand von Schirach is doing more than creating imaginative stories based up his experience and imagination. At times he is revealing difficulties with and intricracies of the legal profession. The opening story identifies that the call up of a member of the public to assist a judge in a trial can be a burden for that particular person; elsewhere there are little unexpected quirks that apply to convictions that many of us would not be aware of.

The opening of first story The Lay Judge demonstrates the author’s ability to begin to tell a story that develops the intrigue of the reader as to how it might unfold. Despite a legal context running through many of these stories, one more common theme prevalent to many the stories is loneliness which is much more identifiable. Examples of this include Katharina of The Lay Judge, the man abandoned by his wife in Lydia and another who lost his wife through cancer in Neighbours; the latter is a particularly devilish tale of the unexpected. The Diver would be a story Roald Dahl would be proud to call his own where the main protagonist is determined to preserve a respectable public face while concealing secrets at home. Despite the apparent failings of many of the characters it is surprisingly easy to identify with Schlesinger who was once a promising defence lawyer haunted with guilty for a successful acquittal that led to a horrific tragedy or even for the woman termed by the press “The Mother Monster” who is the key character in A Clear Blue Day. Whether through a downward spiral and unsavoury associates or several years of incarceration there are ways that each can be redeemed. The tentacles of these stories extend far beyond Germany, representing a worldly viewpoint and many contemporary issues as well as ethical dilemmas such as the one that trainee defence lawyer Seyma has to face in the novella Subbonnik.

Punishment is a compelling set of stories of ordinary people that offers a real understanding of human desires for fairness, recognition and appreciation as well as great insight into society’s ills. Credit should also go to translator Katharina Hall who ensures that the prose is clear and effective giving each of the stories a natural flow. If you have never sampled the written work of Ferdinand von Schirach before, Punishment, at just under 200 pages is a superb starting point. Look out too for Coffee & Cigarettes, a mainly non-fiction collection of essays and vignettes from the same team next May.

A gripping thriller that starts on simmer and builds to a boil. Dazzlingly clever, twisting and constantly surprising. An unputdownable rollercoaster of a read. The opening is atmospheric and completely absorbing. Immersive, pacy and unputdownable. Like a chess game with multiple layers and complex characters, all leading to a shocking, explosive ending.

12 short stories about justice, and I really enjoyed all 12. Each focuses on a central character, the committed crime and motive, and the punishment received. They were all very easy to read, and left me wanting more.

Overall, a very interesting and enjoyable read. Highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

A nameless defence lawyer garages the fates of twelve characters who cross his path and asks, does the punishment fit the crime?

This turns out to be a collection of short stories about justice. I found the stories varied in appeal but as they were short, it made them easy to read. They are supposed to be based on cases drawn from the authors own experiences as a lawyer. Once I got used to the writer's style I really enjoyed it. I would recommend this to anyone who likes short stories to read on a commute or those who are short of time.

Thank you to Netgalley and John Murray Press who kindly furnished me with a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A solid 3.5 out of 5 overall.

I initially struggled to connect with the first few stories in this antho, primarily due to the prose style. I'm unsure whether this is down to the writer's voice or something that was picked up in the translation process. I'm tempted to think it was the former as it feels like the 'reported verbatim', 'just the facts' approach of a court room stenographer. Which, given these stories are set mostly within courtrooms and the corridors of the German judicial system, would be entirely appropriate. Once I'd got over my reticence the stories unfurled to show a greater depth and nuance.

The individual stories are filled with details and events that are just off-kilter enough to be genuine, proving the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. The best stories in the collection are sometimes profound and occasionally shocking, they live in state of moral ambiguity that forces the reader to address heady topics and think long and hard about how they might react in similar circumstances.

A short and worthwhile read.

This novel had immediate appeal to me as I recently saw the play 'Prima Facie' which at its core is a deep interrogation of the difference between truth and legal truth and how the space between the two is often exploited in court.

Such a theme is also ever present in Ferdinand von Shirach’s Punishment which draws on the writer’s own career as a criminal defence lawyer. In this short story collection, which is highly digestible in very few sittings for it is written in such clean and uncomplicated prose (as rendered in English by Katharina Hall), we are faced with numerous situations in which the truth and the legal truth diverge.

Stand-out stories, for me anyway, were: A Light Blue Day which has two plot twists, The Small Man which was quite humorous, and Subbotnik which follows a recent law graduate’s first trial.

Of particular interest to an international reader is that the opening story The Lay Judge gave some insight into the German legal system i.e. in the use of Lay Judges rather than Jurors.

In the short stories, Neighbours and Lydia von Schirach really gets into the reader’s head: for here, we see von Schirach generate initial empathy in the reader for lonely characters who then go on to vacillate on committing crimes - do they carry them through or not? You’ll have to read it for yourself!

Finally, I think it is worth adding that whilst von Schirach has stated that the collection — Strafe — completes a trilogy he began with Verbrechen (lit. Crime) and Schuld (lit. Guilt) it is definitely not necessary to read these beforehand and that Strafe (Punishment) does indeed work as a stand-alone.
Overall, it is a very enjoyable, fast-paced and thought-provoking read!

Thank you to John Murray Press for the eARC via NetGalley!

I loved ‘The Collini Case’ by this author so was keen to read this collection of short stories. The stories are well written and interesting and feature the author in his life as a criminal defence lawyer. Like a lot of short stories they can leave you feeling a little short changed suddenly finishing when you were just getting interested. I found this a very quick read and was a perfect book to read while sitting enjoying the recent good weather.

I prefer full length novels but this was still an interesting and enjoyable read.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and John Murray Press for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an incredible read! It had me on the edge of my seat, second guessing what i thought I knew. Highly unpredictable and highly satisfying. It is so intelligently written, which makes it impossible to put down!

Writing aside, i fell in LOVE with the cover. The vibrant colours really draw the eye! It will take centre stage on my shelf! The blurb doesnt give too much away, but perfectly sets up the story, and is intriguing enough to make you read it straight away!

Wow! What an amazing book!!
Would love to read more from the author.
Thankyou netgalley for the Arc!

I would like to thank Netgalley and John Murray Press for an advance copy of Punishment, the third collection of short stories set in the German legal system.

I must admit that I didn’t realise that Punishment is a collection of short stories when I requested to read it, because if I had, I wouldn’t have read it, as short stories don’t really interest me. That would have been a waste as I devoured them and already want more.

Most short story anthologies in the crime fiction genre that I have read tend to try and condense a big story into a short space. These stories are different in that they take a moment in time and explain the actions and consequences of that moment. The resolutions are varied, but that, I think, is hardly the point. They’re all about the motivation and that’s eye opening, but they also have a kink or a neat irony that makes the reader take notice. I would love to give examples, but the stories are so short it would mean spoilers.

I love the writing style, which is a terse recitation of the facts, as it seems to make the tragedy and malfeasance more striking and, in some cases, more heartbreaking. No matter how each story turns out the starkness of the writing brings a focus to the dilemmas and decisions involved. The twelfth story is slightly different. It is written in the first person whereas the others are third person narratives, and suggests that personal tragedy requires a change of course.

Punishment is a short, sharp read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you John Murray Press, Baskerville for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are always honest.

SYNOPSIS

Uhh...?? An anthology of odd little stories focused around the question: does the punishment fit the crime?

MY OPINION

First things first, my fellow thrillerheads, this one is probably (most likely) NOT for you. Especially if you enjoy the popcorn/commercial thrillers, you will definitely find this book or short stories odd and boring. This is definitely for someone like Chantel, who said "I like books that make me work for it" so take that as you will LOL. Also, this was originally published in German, so it is your usual Euro writing with some potential translation issues.

Some of the stories are straightforward, and others (I'm looking at you scuba suit man), are extremely odd. They all feature murder and a brief exploration of what drives people to commit arguably the most cruel act humans are capable of.

Allegedly this is told by an unnamed omnipresent third-person narrator who reveals little about himself. And, allegedly again, this is based on the author's years of experience as a criminal defense lawyer. I did learn a lot about how the German justice system works, which was very interesting as well as enlightening. It's always nice to walk away with a new nugget of info I can dispense on someone in an attempt to look smarter ;)

I don't want to give my review on each story because they are each pretty short, so I feel it would give too much away. It's best to go in blind and see how you feel LOL. I liked this enough, but again I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. There weren't any life lessons you could take away from this, but it could rouse spirited discussion with a buddy about the outcome of each story and what you feel would be a fit punishment for said character.

Anywayz. I will reiterate that this book is NOT for everyone. If you find yourself gravitating toward more mainstream thriller authors, stay far, far away. If you like quirky anthology reads and want to learn about the German legal system, be my guest and give it a whirl.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: totally unique, if you're not familiar with the German legal system you will certainly learn a lot, some of the cases were interesting

Cons: written for a very niche audience

I absolutely tore through this is one day it was excellent. I suspect the exceptionally short nature of each story helped with this. The stories are fast paced and I found the narrators voice very authentic and believable, probably due to writer previously being a lawyer. I felt myself questioning the morality of the situations in every story and circumstance. I’d definitely pick up something else from this author!

This was a really interestingly formatted collection of short stories all focusing on the author who was also a criminal defence lawyer. Each of the stories is gripping, fast paced and doesn't fluff anything but just gets stright to the point. A great collection.

Punishment is a collection of short stories with a theme of legal cases - mostly homicide. Most have a common factor in a disconnect between the outcome and what we might term 'justice'.

The writer, Ferdinand von Schirach, is a German lawyer and many of the stories revolve around loopholes that allow the perpetrators of the crimes to go unpunished, although sometimes they are punished for things they did not do. Then sometimes we see how these legal quirks pan out.

The final story is a little different and perhaps autobiographical, explaining how a lawyer came to become a writer.

I suspect many of these stories occurred to von Schirach as "what if" hypotheticals - looking at a point of criminal law and asking whether, if a very specific set of circumstances arose, it could operate in a way that had not been intended. This could have been dry, it could have felt forced, but the concise and deadpan style of narration allows each case to remain interesting.

I really enjoyed this collection, although, as can happen with themed stories, there is a risk that if you read too many of them in quick succession they start to blend into one.

Ferdinand von Schirach’s Strafe, now being published in an English translation (“Punishment”) by Katharina Hall, brings to a close a trilogy of short story collections based on the author’s experiences as a criminal defence lawyer. The series started with Verbrechen (Crime), Von Schirach’s first published work of fiction, soon followed by Schuld (Guilt). Punishment is the logical conclusion, reflecting the normal course of criminal proceedings.

The short stories in Punishment are short indeed. Most run only for a few pages. The style is terse and to the point, concentrating on the key facts, not unlike the contents of a legal brief. The subject is generally some horrific crime and involves references to the trial (and punishment) which follows. Wives kill their husbands. A retired businessman goes on a shooting spree. Young boys get embroiled in youth gangs. Some are found guilty. Others not. Some sort of punishment always follows, not necessarily meted out by a judge.

The stories contain little to no philosophical digressions, and only rare displays of emotion, except possibly in the very final story – The Friend – where the detached third-person narration suddenly switches to the first person, bringing us face to face with the criminal lawyer who is, likely, the hidden protagonist who has accompanied us throughout the book.

What is striking about this collection is the fact that, without explicitly entering into philosophical debates, the stories explore the dilemmas behind the criminal justice system. They continuously nudge the reader into thinking hard about the distinctions between law and justice; statute and morality; private conscience and public order. There is much to digest here, and yet the stories can also be enjoyed simply for their narration – which is thrilling, edgy and often carries a twist in the tail/tale.

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2022/07/punishment-by-ferdinand-von-schirach.html

Thank you to NetGalley, Ferdinand von Schirach and John Murray Press for access to Punishment early for an honest review.

Punishment consists of 12 short stories that follow 12 crime cases. Some are murder-based, drug-based, abuse based, etc. The author's voice is easy to follow and read. The stories are quick-paced and leave little information about the character that they are following during their short story, but it works completely. Each short story allows just enough information for you to know the situation, what the character is thinking and why they have done/are doing the crime. Some stories are more interesting than others, but with how short this book is, it is a very quick and enjoyable read. The stories in the beginning really grabbed my attention and some of the one-liner sentences hit my gut with how powerful they are and I felt some sorrow for the character involved.

I went into this book expecting the stories to connect and for there to be more about each character, but I was surprised at how much I didn't mind that they didn't and that they were fast-paced. Overall, I am very pleased with this book and the way that it flows. This is my first novel by Ferdinand, and I hope it won't be my last.

There are many trigger warnings to keep in mind while reading this novel: abuse of a wife/girlfriend, child abuse, murder, drugs and alcohol/alcoholism, and suicide.

Rating: 4 stars