book review - Secrets in the Cellar

This book isn't for the faint of heart. Josef Friztl grew up with a domineering single mother during WW II in Austria - not far from a death camp and just down the street from a "clinic" that committed war autrocities. Even with this backdrop to his childhood, it is no excuse for the horrors he inflicted on his family and others. Convicted of rape in the late 60s, he served only 18 months before being released and after 15 years, his record was expunged. In public he became a model citizen, but behind closed doors he was a monster. Although his friends knew of his sexual appetite in Thailand, they never looked closer at what may be happening at home. The local prostitutes refused to service him, but never went to authorities about his devient behavior - letting this monster imprison his daughter in a cellar dungeon for 24 years and fathering her 7 children.
The book is mortifying to say the least and Glatt is pretty straight forward in his recounting of the story. He doesn't go into detail about the attacks, or Friztl's perversions. I did find that he repeated himself at times - sometimes within pages. I'm not sure why these repetitions weren't taken out during the editting. They weren't necessary to move the story forward nor were they key points. Although the story was horrifying by it's very nature, I, personally wanted more detail - more humaness to make me hate him more. The book went to print before any final conclusion has been reached - I hope that Fritzl gets his just punishment - but this book won't tell you if he does, unless Glatt puts an addendum on it.