Dürrenmatt, Friedrich - A Dangerous Game

I offer the readers the crime story “A Dangerous Game” (Die Panne, 1956) by Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990), likely known to many from the film adaptation made and shown in Soviet times. Dürrenmatt managed to bring a measure of originality even into this somewhat overused genre. “How does an artist exist in an educated world, in a world of literacy?” he wrote. “It is a question that troubles me, one to which I do not yet have an answer. Perhaps it is best when he writes a detective novel, creating art where no one expects to find it.”

It is difficult to say to what extent this idea reflects the ironic Dürrenmatt, with his love of artistic provocation. But one thing is certain: he elevates the detective genre—through his concept and his ability to interpret a particular “case” as a social phenomenon—far above the level at which this genre, often burdened by mediocrity, is accustomed to exist comfortably. Dürrenmatt’s ability, through numerous ironic twists, to illuminate human behavior without prejudice down to its hidden depths makes “A Dangerous Game,” which he calls “a still possible story,” a masterpiece of satirical prose of our time, with its absurd, grotesque games played with human beings. As the protagonist Traps says: “…the special charm of our game lies precisely in the fact that it makes a person uneasy, unsettled, and frightened. The game threatens to turn into reality.” - Vasil Siomucha