A gripping political thriller about how bad things can really get in the hands of dumb politicians, technology that can be used for bad things and how things can get uncontrollable. Unlikable protagonist is written very well, but except for her the other characters are more black and white than shades of gray.

3.5 rounded up to 4. Quick-reading, intriguing, and unexpected. While I found the characters somewhat flat and a bit of the context opaque, the concept and the writing style kept me interested from start to finish. I'd definitely read another book by Zeh.

While I appreciated the social/political commentary that was the main objective of this book, I felt like it was a little too obvious and direct. The world Zeh creates is too near in the future - it would be more believable if there was just one or two more decades in between the political transitions that make up this world. The idea of Britta and Babak's business, The Bridge, is wonderfully creative though, and I enjoyed the plot that was driven by short chapters that kept me reading. And I really enjoyed the realistic ending.

Empty Hearts is set in 2025, in a world where things have gotten worse - the UN is being dissolved, more countries are leaving the EU, and Germany has elected a party that is trying to eliminate democracy. Britta, meanwhile, is running a successful therapy business that helps suicidal people. Britta is an interesting character - she is complacent with the status quo and doesn't seem to have any morals. I read the blurb before reading the book, but it would have been very interesting to let the book, rather than the blurb, reveal what Britta really does. For me, this was definitely effective satire - Zeh tries to show us where we could end up in a very short time if we don't wake up. And in some ways it's really compelling - I wanted to know what was going on and what would happen to Britta. It did take me a while to get into the book, though. It was pretty slow going until the last half. I also think some of it felt a little too distressingly real. I'm always excited to read books in translation, though, and recommend it to people looking for speculative satirical fiction.

Empty Hearts: A Novel by [Zeh, Juli]

I'm not clear why everyone is raving about this--I thought it was quite dull.



Review copy provided by publisher.

Great psychological thriller! Juli Zeh paints a great dystopia vision with Empty Hearts! Worth the read

I've made a goal of reading more books in translation, so I was glad to be able to check our Juli Zeh's much-lauded Empty Hearts. The book is political satire with bite. It's certain to hit home for many readers, as well as terrify some with it's razor edge between dystopian world and prescient vision of reality. Readers will keep thinking: "But, this could happen..." The novel functions on the macro-level and the micro-level. At large, it looks at global politics - economics, hyper-populism, terrorism, etc. On the more intimate level, it is a story of a family. Britta and her family live a double life - preventing suicide and enabling it. It works until a rival group comes for them. This paradoxical way of being is a hyperbolic mirror for society at large, and it is a fascinating character study.

AUTHOR
Zeh won the Literaturpreis der Stahlstiftung Eisenhüttenstadt for this novel, and was also awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in May 2018, the government’s highest distinction bestowed to citizens who have made an outstanding contribution to and shown exceptional commitment in fields including science, politics, and culture.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Nan A. Talese for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

What is most striking about this book is how utterly darkly absurd the world is portrayed in the near-future....and how said future seems not only feels 100% realistic, but all too possible. This is a fun (and also at times sobering) read whose relentless satiric bite is perfect for the present-day..