Schroder by Amity Gaige Review

Reviewed by Lindsey Knight

‘What follows is a record of where Meadow and I have been since our disappearance’ is the opening line to this gripping novel. It is a story told by Eric Schroder, a German born man awaiting trial for the crime of kidnapping his daughter as well as lying about his real name for most of his life.

At first I began reading, waiting to hear Schroder’s excuses for the abduction of his daughter, wondering how I could ever understand the reasoning behind it being a mother myself and knowing how I’d feel if such a thing should happen to one of my daughters. Yet I finished the book in tears, hoping that the charges would be dropped and he be completely let off!

Eric Schroder is a devoted Dad and throughout the book tells the exact story of how and why he did what he did, and it becomes apparent that it wasn’t a premeditated act of crime, but a desperate man just wanting some time with his daughter. Unfortunately the situation spiralled out of control and led to a dramatic arrest and desperate pleas to just explain to his 6 year old daughter what was happening!

Throughout the book, Schroder delves into his past and explains how he has lied most of his life, saying that he was in fact born in America and with the surname Kennedy. He talks about his family, moments shared with his wife Laura and instead of trying to justify why he did what he did, he simply explains his ‘adventure’ with his daughter, and interestingly doesn’t leave out the bits that shows he is not a perfect parent.

I found it a really easy book to get into and looked forward to a spare moment to pick it back up again. I only have two negative points to make. One being that there were a lot of footnotes, and quite lengthy ones at that. I’d prefer they were just incorporated into the main body of text instead of skipping about the page to read it all, and lastly that the book seemed to finish on such a cliffhanger and I was left wanting answers and to know the final outcome.

I would recommend this book to friends and family.

Rating: 3.5/5

RRP: £14.99 (Hardback) / £7.99 (Paperback)

Schroder is available to buy from Faber and Faber here.