Obsessed

It’s after 12:00 and I just finished reading this book - in one day - it’s THAT good! The characters and the storyline draw you into the story. Humor, great sadness, intrigue, love and God are all included. Ted Dekker is a fantastic storyteller and this book has to be one of his crowning gems.

Keeps you in suspense and like the connections between two different time periods. I've been a fan of Ted Dekker for years.

OBSESSED [2006] By Ted Dekker My Review 3.5 Stars (Rounded To 4 Stars) I finished reading this novel last night (December 1st), and in the spirit of full disclosure I have been if not an ardent fan, at least a steady fan of Dekker's who had loved several of his books, including Adam (2008), Boneman's Daughters (2009), The Bride Collector (2010), The Priest's Graveyard (2011), and The Sanctuary (2012). Having said that, this earlier work OBSESSED (2006) was not in the same league. It did not meet my (admittedly high) expectations of this truly talented author who had repeatedly demonstrated his ability to write one outstanding psychological thriller after another beginning in the latter part of the first decade of the 2000's. I would have to say that being a Ted Dekker fan, I feel it was worth reading, but I would place it at the bottom of the list of his works that I have previously read (including a few (like Blink) that I didn't mention above because I really liked it but it was not on par with the others). If you are not already a Ted Dekker fan, I wouldn't recommend you read it. The main reason is because Ted Dekker really IS an amazing writer and I would not want any reader to base what this author is capable of creating based upon this particular book. TED DEKKER was not a famous New York Times bestselling author at the time he wrote and published OBSESSED. I was fortunate enough to have discovered him fairly early on and loved his novels. Dekker's wheelhouse is thrillers that combine intriguing, riveting plots with incredible if not frightening and chilling confrontations between good and evil. Predictably I fully expected that this early novel would be consistent with his other works. Not so much. First of all, OBSESSED is at its core pretty much pure historical fiction. There wasn't a spiritual plot to the novel that I could see, and similarly there was also the disappointing absence of the supernatural component that was suggested to be prominent in the story line as well. The protagonist in the novel is Stephen, a Jewish orphan who immigrated to the United States and achieved the American Dream by the time he was in his 30's. His closest friend is perhaps a man known by those close to him as "Rabbi", but he ascribes to the Christian faith. Stephen does not accept his Jewish heritage and in fact, strives to "put the past behind him" (i.e. the Holocaust) and move forward. His character is depicted as basically an optimist, impetuous, spontaneous, and enjoying his life in America as a secular capitalist. One day Stephen learns that his birth mother was a local affluent Jewish recluse (Rachel Spritzer) who has died and donated her possessions to the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles. He finds out through an interesting connection with a rare art and heirloom dealer that he may be the heir to the world famous, legendary "Stones of David", the collection worth a hundred million dollars. Stephen visits the former home of his birth mother in his capacity as a realtor, and accidentally stumbles upon what is later revealed to be a floor safe concealed cleverly in the boiler room of the basement. He is able to find a photograph of Ruth, the mother of Esther, in his mother's belongings. He becomes "obsessed" with accessing the floor safe to retrieve what he thinks of as his treasure, but gradually Stephen is equally "obsessed" with the photograph of Ruth. The narrative follows the path of Stephen's obsession as he is pitted against the son of a Nazi commandant named Roth Braun (who purchases the house before Stephen can retrieve the contents of the floor safe). Fortunately, this work of historical fiction seamlessly transitions from modern day Los Angeles circa 1973 to a Nazi concentration camp in 1944. The author's depiction of what life was like in a Nazi work camp for three young Jewish women in particular is both fascinating and heart-wrenching. These women (Ruth, Martha, and Rachel) and their experiences at the hands of a sadistic murderer (Roth's father Gerhard) form the foundation for the plot that unfolds nearly three decades later as Gerhard's son Roth and the son of a concentration camp survivor (Stephen) match wills to fulfill their own very different obsessions. As a reader, I was simply unable to "connect" with Stephen, the hero of the tale. I didn't perceive him to be particularly sympathetic, although he did accept the love of his late mother's dog (albeit not immediately). I found it frankly incredible that his obsession for obtaining the untold riches of the Stones Of David (believed to be in the floor safe in the basement) would transform him into the nut case that he became as a result of the obsession. More incredible still, his fixation on the photo of Ruth was not plausible. It recalled the plight of Christopher Reeve's character in the film Somewhere In Time. Keep in mind that his "obsession(s)" did not stem from any religious beliefs on his part. Therefore we must accept that a successful realtor who is intelligent and responsible would well "wig out" as a result of the aforementioned revelations. The despicable Nazi Roth Braun was driven by an evil obsession (a certain damning journal and the priceless "Stones of David" neither the main "prize"). He was far more believable as a caricature of evil incarnate. The occult angle of this novel was loosely based upon the reports that Hitler was prone to dabbling in the occult, as were members of his high command. Commandant Gerhard was a "believer" in the occult and the power to harvest souls. Hundreds of Jewish female prisoners died at his hands using what was referred to as the ritual of the red scarf. His 12-year old son Roth is converted wholly and enthusiastically to belief in the devil and what power could be obtained through the black arts. Although he is believable in the role of a ruthless narcissistic sociopath who was willing to do anything to deliver "the goods" to Satan, there was nothing "supernatural" about the shenanigans that I could see. One could argue that there was spirituality displayed at the conclusion of the novel, but the triumph of good over evil felt more like an anticlimax or a sigh rather than a thunderous victory. Finally, on a positive note, the portions of the novel that were set in the horror of the concentration camp were riveting and powerful. Additionally I would have to give the author kudos for his ability to evoke such a wide range of emotions. I literally laughed out loud at the sheer comedic idiocy of Stephen's actions and his attempts to breach the security of the evil Germans to access the safe. Conversely, the scenes in the Nazi work camps made me shed tears on several occasions. I would give this book 3.5 Stars. It's a well written piece of historical fiction but is not on par with any of his other works that I have been privy to reading.

Not only did I read this book I also purchased the audio book. This is--in my opinion--the single greatest Christian Fiction novel I have ever read! Dekker takes a sensitive subject--such as WWII--and not only humanizes the villain but he also carries the pain that was suffered by the captives of the camps and their families. Offhand I do not recall who read the book on the audio cd but there could not be a better voice to portray the voices of Dekker's characters. I read through some of the "1 star" reviews and I could not disagree more! Although spiritual warfare is a theme in this book I do not find it to be exclusively about spiritual warfare. There are a few scenes in the book that are a little graphic but most defiantly not over the top! The subject matter in this book is not only realistic it is captivating! DEKKER'S BEST BY FAR!

I absolutely loved reading this book. I had it finished within twenty-four hours from the moment I picked it up. I understand that Ted Dekker is considered to be a Christian writer, but other than the verse at the end and a few things mentioned throughout the book, there wasn't much that made it "Christian." This is a book that I would recommend with hesitation only due to the content of the book as it might be too much for some sensitive readers, Otherwise it was a great read.

I’m hoping this 3-star rating is an anomaly and won’t prove to be the standard. I wanted to like this book so much, and while I did enjoy the first 3/4 (especially the story line among the women in the Torún labor camp), it want flat rather quickly and never pulled me back in. I intentionally chose a standalone title, but now realize it’s probably a good idea to heed the reviews of other’s and go with one of his popular series like The Circle series.

This was about the 12th Ted Dekker novel I have read and by far the BEST! I loved the characters; the surprises; and the pace of the parallel stories. The two stories were masterfully developed and bounced back and forth without losing the reader. I loved how the theme of hope and faith still ran through a story where hope was impossible without God. I hope Mr. Dekker will write MORE stories with the setting in factual historic events and bring his skills to inspire others to hang on to their faith.

Obsessed by Ted Dekker 4 stars This is the first book I’ve read by Dekker. It was a serendipitous experience. He’s definitely talented in allegorical writing. This book had be laughing, crying and frustrated. At one point I had to stop reading because my heart was pounding. If there ever was a book that I wanted to transport myself into a scene and grab the character to pull him away from a situation, it was this book. He just wouldn’t get out of the building fast enough. And even on further into the story, Stephen frustrated me to the extreme and he caused my heart to race. But his heart was in the right place in spite of the circumstances. The storyline can come across a little far fetched so one needs to read it with understanding that it’s an allegorical story based on Biblical foundations....good vs evil and how we as humans obsess over one or the other. I enjoyed the story vacillating from 1945 WW II concentration camp in Poland to 1973 Los Angeles. The story builds for about the first half of the book and then careens to the ending full of twists, turns, thrill and suspense. Stephen literally stops at nothing to fulfill his obsession...finding the girl for whom he was born. During this pursuit, lives were in danger and many others were hanging by a noose, literally. For the sensitive reader be aware that there is mild gore (blood drinking, though not too detailed), concentration camp hangings, and psychological thrill elements. There is no vulgar language or sexual content. From the story, the reader can recognize that we, humans, either obsess towards the Creator of hope that brings eternal joy or we obsess towards the creator of evil of false hope who diminishes any joy we could experience. May we all obsess for the Creator so we may live that hope and joy will always defeat any evil that befalls us.