This is one of the strangest books I have read in a while.

It concerns two guards in an exclusive apartment block who see almost all the residents leave. They are sure that there is one left, but not certain. They continue their routines, of patrolling the basement, and stock checking whilst still not know what is happening outside. They have supplies delivered erratically, and.later in the book are joined by a third guard who disturbs the status quo.

The author (and translator) manage to build the suspense and the growing paranoia of the guards all the way through the book, and there is always a feeling of dread and confusion that the author conveys.

But at the end, I didn't quite get the final conclusion. Maybe it was delusion, or maybe not. And perhaps that is the the point. ( )

Other reviews give excellent summaries of the novel. Its setting is imaginative and atmospheric as are most of the happenings within it. As well, the transitions between one vignette and the next (the book is arranged in very short chapters) are skilful, and I suspect it must have taken a good deal of thought to avoid making these feel clumsy. And that Terrin fails to give answers to the questions a reader will have is for me quite satisfying; one never learns why the guards are treated as they are by their employer, why the apartment building and perhaps the city have been abandoned, and what will happen after the book's end. It seems to me that the story could have been even more atmospheric had it been told in a slightly less straightforward way but the writing isn't altogether conventional: the narrator's imaginings, memories, and his feelings about Harry are often given obliquely.

The Guard is divided into three sections. The first one is all but spellbinding and the third one is. The second, which is perhaps one-fifth of the book, fell flat. In it a new element is introduced into the story and we learn more about Harry. This part of the book is predictable--anyone who's seen a few Hollywood movies will know the outcome--and repetitious--the change in Harry is hammered home in several similar passages. Despite the dramatic tensions and events in this bit, I wasn't altogether certain as I read it that I'd bother to finish the book. It isn't that the novel suddenly becomes a bad one but it is for a while a slightly predictably disheartening one. Perhaps it's because all that occurs in that section is more clear-cut, nearly heavy-handedly so, and that the atmosphere and mystery are because of that dissipated. The final section though more than makes up for that.

I shall almost certainly re-read this and if I do I hope that I'll then find Part 2 to be not the sticking-point it seems now

Politieke allegorieën zijn over het algemeen niet mijn meug. Nochtans slaagde Terrin erin mij te boeien, zij het niet tot het eind. De werkelijkheidszin sijpelt hier en daar binnen, maar Terrin laat de teugels soms te veel vieren. Een kortere roman was wellicht nog beter geworden. De eerste 111 bladzijden vond ik quasi perfect. Roman voor fijnproevers (er staan werkelijk prachtige zinnen in, getuigen van een volleerd vakmanschap), die doet denken aan het absurde existentialisme van Godot en co. ( )

If I wouldn't have to put it down for a week and a half before I'll be able to finish it, I would, but I do, so I won't bother. (It was fine, but anxiety-inducing, and I didn't want to bring it along on vacation and I didn't want to think about it that long.)

This is a fantastic book that looks into many areas of the human mind at the same time. Written in spare prose that reflects both the setting and the lack of information the guards have about the outside world, the novel is truly a literary and storytelling triumph.
I received a copy from the publisher so that I could write a review of the translation, and was rivited by the work. I haven't heard about this author before but the concept was interesting. While I expected a dystopian style read, what I found was much more nuanced and stylistic than the usual novels in this genre.
The guard who takes the lead in the narrative is not the leader inside the two-person squad. That choice from the author opened up this story to telling a subtle yet powerful story about confinement, control, voluntary subjugation, and the dynamics of human relationships in personal and organizational terms. The same elements can be read on an extended level that touches on elements we're experiencing in different developed cultures today.
All these elements unfold in tiny ways that are no less powerful for the gradual movements involved. Some readers have responded to this work with confusion, claiming that they either didn't understand the work or that later events were not supported throughout. I disagree. This novel reveals itself to readers who pay attention. For those who want more from a dystopian story than the usual justice-is-served or all-are-doomed endings, The Guard is the one to read. ( )