First published in 1979, The Safety Net addresses the concept of security versus privacy, namely the individual disclosure of privacy in the name of public security, as causing as much harm (via isolation, social stratification, scrutiny, rumours etc) as it is supposedly supposed to prevent. This is an idea that has become a reality for many of us in the post-9/11 world, yet was quite ahead of its time when Boll put pen to paper. I enjoyed how Boll explored this theme, and the scenarios that he used to test it. I also found that the cast of characters were well-formed, varied and sympathetic. Best of all, I liked some of the small details within the story of how German society was restructured and how Germans began to recover their national identity after the world wars. That identity at the time was also undergoing a debate between socialism vs capitalism, which is reflected in the novel. Although this was a minor feature of the story, post-war Germany from a German is a perspective that I have never come across before, and I am interested in reading more about. It should be mentioned that The Safety Net is not a strict account of the political scene in Germany however, as the story mentioned "The Association" as a political power that is clearly not from the real world.I have a forest of post-its inserted noting passages of interest on several diverse themes, which I will cull and simplify here. The topics of most interest to me were the examination of security vs. privacy, the concept of redemption granted via public approval and the way that Sabine, a wealthy and attractive woman, was described and thought of vs. her actions.Security vs. privacy: The Tolm family is put under heavy surveillance when Tolm Senior is elected as President of the Association. As a result, all of their actions are monitored and recorded, their friends, family and neighbours spied on, and their interactions and autonomy severely limited. The family members become paranoid, distrustful, cabin-fever-crazy and rebellious, undertaking risks and actions that perhaps they might not have sought out if they had not been put 'under protection.' The idea that a hyper-vigilance causes a backlash in rebellion, and that this is not isolated to hormonal teenagers, was an interesting one. Overall, this theme was very well done.The concept of socially granted redemption (or for that matter, damnation) is played out via a number of avenues, but finds its main medium through the oldest Tolm son, Rolf. Rolf and his friends were protesters in their youth and spent time in jail for their violent behaviour. There is a disturbing association in the book between 'protester' and 'violent person' that suggests that they are one and the same, or at least are considered so by the characters in the story. Rolf spends the majority of his adult life attempting to lead a quiet and law-abiding life despite the constant distrust and suspicion that is cast his way, and the rejection that his friends face when trying to find employment. He argues that keeping dissenting voices from participating in society will only further disenfranchise them, and that dissenting voices aren't inherently dangerous (it could be well argued that they're vital to a functional democracy) - people only become truly dangerous when they are cast out of society and their voice is removed. This aspect of the book was thought-provoking, though I admit to being a bit lost when they mentioned anything about the socialist movement in detail.Sabine Fischer nee Tolm is the blonde and blue-eyed daughter of the President of the Association, and is considered a prominent, wealthy and desirable woman. She is also described as a model wife, is bashful about sexuality and generally fulfills the "good girl = passive" trope... that is, until she becomes pregnant by someone other than her husband. Her attraction to him is framed as largely an intellectual one - she is attracted to his quiet and serious manner - and any physical or raw animal attraction is muted and played down, because good girls don't have lusty sex drives. Even when the information of her illicit pregnancy begins to circulate, her mild and passive manner, along with her wealth, is held up as evidence for her virtue. Men also make comments alluding to their desire for her due to her perceived passivity and directly say that they wish to control her in certain ways. They reward her with attributes of virtue and a pleasing "childlike manner" when she obeys them, such as the chief security officer does when Sabine agrees to tell him all of her plans in advance. In direct contrast, one her her neighhours, Erna, who married well but does not come from money herself, is dark-haired, outspoken and frank about sex and her desires, and is treated as a pariah by the community when a sexual indiscretion becomes public knowledge. The way that the public reacts with scorn to Erna's sexual behaviours is also compared against the general attitude of disinterest toward her husband's equally eyebrow raising leanings (it is suggested that he is a willing cuckhold), and her lover's actions. Similarly, any sexual misconduct by the policemen, or disgusting attitudes toward the women that they are caring for, are forgiven and excused as natural and acceptable male reactions. (But of course the women should know better than to [insert sexual situation here].) Even male strangers were acting badly towards Erna, propositioning her for a "swinging time" and harassing her as she used a phone booth by suggesting that she was a call girl. It is not a stretch, based on these precursory attitudes toward her, that if she were to appease these men by performing sexual acts with them, thereby giving them what they wanted from her, that they would ridicule her. That's like calling Santa Claus an asshole because he gave you the choo choo train you always wanted.The comparison between Sabine and Erna and between Erna and the men around her is well done and purposefully maddening. I got the impression that Boll finds these situations as ridiculous as I do. Some favourite passages are below:(view spoiler)[1) There was always something eerie about that tender, shrouded gaze, even when he looked at Katharina, in fleeting tenderness, touching her shoulder in passing, or her hand when he gave her a light or took a cup from her, that was worlds removed from the suggestiveness with which Kohlschroder imbued such gestures. It lay as deep as the mute utterances of a desperate man who knows what is in store for him - but what?2) ".... But let me ask you one more question, forgive me if I seem too personal - what surprises you most about this strange world?""What surprises me most," said Blurtmehl, as if he hadn't had to think about it at all, had kept the reply to such a surprising question always up his sleeve, so to speak, "what surprises me most is the patience of the poor."3) "I grant you Zummerling is charming, a charming person - and yet without batting an eye he would grab my whole clutch of newspapers for himself with a single stranglehold. It's the era of nice monsters, Kathe, and we must count ourselves among them."4) "She's the type whose heart is broken by loyalty..."5) Did one have to eavesdrop on one's children, take them by surprise, to discover their warmth, to gain insight into their lives?5) Old Dr. Zelger would smoke his pipe, muttering himself, refusing to agree that "the days of hostility are over," that no one in Hetzigrath bore a grudge against him, but no, he said: "Now I bear the grudge and will to the end of my days. To hell with their sympathy, their grudges, their confidence, or their suspicion. Night after night I've got out of bed for them, for every little twinge and every confinement, I've never refused my services, for thirty years and not even in those dreadful postwar years when it was dangerous to walk on the streets at night - and then they suddenly throw rocks through your windows, smash up your doctor's plate, smear up your walls - and no one, not a single person, came to us during that time to apologize or just to say a few kind words; not one."6) ....And started by telling her how he had gone with Erna Breuer to her parents' and that "prodigal daughters have a worse time of it than prodigal sons...." (hide spoiler)]
“…You can’t use the death of others to demonstrate for life.”Feeling safe and secure is one of the most important needs of everyone and many of our efforts and ambitions directly or indirectly are to achieve this. We study, work, compete or even fight in order to provide a condition in which ourselves, our family, friends and relatives could feel safe and secure. But what is the relationship between power, fame and feeling safe? And although political leaders looks secure in between their guards but do they really feel safe? In majority of cases power and fame coming with fear and vulnerability and most of the time powerful and famous people are dying for a moment of normal life of the normal people!Safety net is the story of a politician who although beat all the rivals in the election to get the highest political position in Germany but because of extreme obsession about security he locked himself with his family in a house waiting for the terrorists to come. Keeping in mind that Heinrich Boll wrote this book long before the current condition of terrorism in the society, it is really interesting that the way he describe paranoid reaction of politicians and societies toward terrorism is so similar to the current situation of the world!“We’re the very people who must know Monopoly and play it, it has to be played ruthlessly, that makes it the best introduction for children to learn about the cruelties of capitalism. The cruelties of socialism, of course, are something they learn in school.”
What do You think about The Safety Net (1983)?
So glad to have finished this, felt like an almighty slog. This book made me feel stupid (and perhaps I am); I had little grasp of what the hell was going on for the first third of the book and it didn���t get a lot better after that. So many characters, oblique references to size 38 shoes and milk errands and chapters that gave you no idea who was narrating until some way in. Pah.
—Andrew Doran
I found this to be a really interesting book to read. The safety net of the title is 24 hour police surveillance for an extended family of a newspaper tycoon as they are beset by a terrorist threat. The novel explores the effect this has on the family and the community. It has a complex cast of characters and I found the list of names and relationships at the beginning of the book an essential reference point for keeping it clear who was talking about who. Each chapter is told by a different character and without referring back to the list I was left confused. So, interesting premise, interesting format and therefore worth the extra bit of effort I needed to put in to keep things clear.
—Philip Lane
Finished today. An engrossing novel that I'd like to reread. Unfortunately I had to interrupt my reading to read another book for my book club. So much has surprised me, and I know my reading has not been the best. It is a challenging book, and I had to refer many times to the (incomplete) list of characters at the beginning, as well as to Wikipedia for background/historical information. The beginning is slow, with long chapters; the ending is quick, with very short chapters. In between is a lot of background story--so I was surprised at the end to learn that only three days have elapsed. Each chapter uses the point of view of a different character, without identifying the character, using only the pronouns he or she--the reader has to fill in the blanks.
—Joan Winnek
