Fever by Friedrich Glauser

It looks like a season of bizarre mysteries for me. From Private Investigators who go looking for the killer of Least Terns, to the Coroner with thirty three teeth who hosts a thousand old spirit. And one were more than half the characters are called Koller. A Koller, who is a philosophy student, who murdered his girl friend, another Koller, a priest who narrates a strange story to Sergeant Studer, a third Koller, a geologist prospecting in Algeria who died of Malaria, the fourth Koller, a stockbroker, who has probably defrauded and goes missing. And this is also a story of brothers and sisters and taking up new identity. A Koller who calls himself Cleman marries Sophie and before a year divorces her and marries her sister Josepha. While Sophie lives in luxury, Josepha is in poverty. Josepha has a daughter Marie who lives with another Koller. There are two murders with cards neatly laid out on the table.There is a temperature chart and a treasure hunt. Oh! I forgot the clairvoyant corporal who starts the whole thing and yes two blue raincoats. Now will there be some light at the end of this tunnel? 

If you caught the drift of what I am saying, while the story is bizarre, the narration is bizarre too. I really enjoyed the conversation Studer has with his wife, I mean, the monologue, and what happens when he delivers his monologue. I couldn't help wondering if half of this is Studer in delirium or me in delirium. Whatever it is, strange though it is, it sure is fun. 

Translated from German by Mike Mitchell published in German in 1937

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