Engaging story of a cranky pair: elderly mother and grown son on a final jaunt only revealed in the end. Wittily told, the story takes them to several
exotic spots, well known to them or about to be discovered, and we are along for the ride, which turns out surprising. Much pathos, many giggles and intriguing characters.

This was an odd book, but it was good. It was unique and it had some craziness in the plot, not gonna lie. A bit too farfetched but it was entertaining. I got through this book quickly, the randomness of the timeline and thoughts of our main character were interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

DNF - I thought this might work for me, it had, in theory, all the makings of a book I would adore. Unfortunately, I found the approach to storytelling jumbled & it didn't work for me.

This book was a weaving tale through one characters mind and life. There was a great deal of historical detail and anecdotes that made characters feel real, and even with that the book often managed to convey strong emotions. As someone living in Zürich I particularly found the setting and locations fascinating and familiar.

With prose - and angry disgust - that would strip paint from walls, Kracht unloads his disdain for Nazism, Switzerland, money and more in this brief yet devastating book. How much of the family reminiscence is true? And does it matter? What emerges is a fractious yet important mother/son bond and a wish to both skewer and reject a European inheritance. The details are sublime. Sometimes the plot is a little too whacky. Yet overall this is an unforgettable piece of work that is delivered like a blow to the jaw.

3.5 stars
I admit that my dislike for the two unsympathetic, unreliable and annoying characters, Christian and his mother, might have affected my rating.
From one perspective, this is Kracht’s mastery in creating such characters that evoke disgust in the reader.
Kracht’s writing is good, and I am interested in reading more of his books.
The style, mood and the quirkiness is stronger in this book than the plot.

Eurotrash by Christian Kracht and translated from German by Daniel Bowles is not your average road trip/family redemption novel. It’s a work of autofiction that takes you on a ride through Switzerland and the history of the Kracht family from the sometimes hypocritical, often condescending point of view of the character also named Christian Kracht. Throughout, Kracht is drawn in unsympathetic hues that are goofy enough to make you laugh with and at him. The novel begins with him returning to a city that he hates, Zurich, to fetch his mother for a road trip. She is limited physically by a walker and colostomy bag and psychically by copious amounts of vodka and pills. This is a woman who says things like, “I never leave the house without water,” and yet the only potable within her reach is vodka. These two unsympathetic characters may be the most appealing members of a family lineage of Nazis. Kracht describes both grandfathers as men who were closeted sadomasochists. In the case of his mother’s father, this is laid out very clearly by the discovery of paraphernalia in a wardrobe after his death. Kracht ruminates on this by saying, “it wasn’t an indication of mental health to be able to adapt to such a deeply disturbed family.” That he considers himself well adjusted is part of the joke.

Before heading out on their last hurrah, the mother and son take all her money out of the bank to give away while on the road. On one of their charitable attempts the money ends up floating down a mountain because of a gust of wind. It’s an apt metaphor for their attempted act of charity. Every other person they meet is seen as lesser than, both to mother and son, showing that their epigenetic obsessive heritage is not easy to shed, even for Christian. Any opportunity to give away the money reminds me of watching Content Creators or Livestreamers give away money to a marginalized person on the streets. The money is usually only handed over after the person gives a de facto interview (ie content) and only then does the creator walk away, smiling into the camera to find the next piece of content to get clicks. Similarly, any money offered to strangers comes with some sort of terse exchange or degradation. Kracht and his mother believe that their money makes them superior, and the people they encounter treat them as such. Kracht sees his mother’s ability to talk anyone into almost anything as a sort of magic. Throughout Eurotrash we see flashes of both deep hatred and deep love of the son for his mother.

While on their road trip they roam around in a taxi with a driver who mostly drives silently while he listens to their conversations, at one point suggesting that he may write about what has transpired in his backseat. At this, the mother and son put on a unified front to make it clear that this absolutely will not happen. They give him a little more money, but not too much more. Eurotrash is so devastating in its conclusion, it is a slow descent into realizing the reality of the lengths the son will indulge the mother’s delusions. Eurotrash was a feast to read even in the callousness of its two protagonists, who may not be redeemed to the world but certainly are to each other.