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Obsessed
: I just finished reading Obsessed and let me begin by saying it was excellent. I love the cross overs between past and present until they combine perfectly into the same time, ending the novel in a way you never expected. I also love how Dekker has once again so beautifully touched on some major Christian themes while keep the story real and exciting enough to not beat people over the head with religion. An excellent read. However, having just finished Three and the Circle Trilogy, i do have to say that Obsessed isn't quite as captivating as its predecessors. Still, if this is one of Dekker's slower novels, I will be reading him for years to come.
 Obsessed - Ted Dekker's newest release that combines the obsession of a middle-aged realtor, the harbored prejudices of a German murderer's son, and the concentration camp horrors of World War II to make a book worth every second spent on reading it.
The decade is the 1970s. The main character, Stephen, the child of Rachel, recently deceased widow and concentration camp escapee, is tracing his past to find the treasure that his mother left for him. Little does he know that someone is tracing him...
Roth, son of a ruthless concentration camp murderer, is searching for a way to restore the power stolen years ago at the hands of his blundering father. But to restore the power, blood must be poured. Not that this is anything new for Roth...
As the story unfolds and the plot grows more intense by the sentence, the true danger of obsession is revealed, and the consequences of this particular obsession keep you guessing until the very last page.
This story, which incorporates suspense, romance, mystery, murder, and, of course, obsession, can be equated with the relationship we humans have with God. He is obsessing over us; He loves us so much. When people hurt us, it hurts Him twice as much, and when we can't seem to find or submit to Him, He is hurt beyond anything we have ever felt. His love is so great, that He sent His only Son to die for us; we are the people who spit in His face, mock Him by going against everything He's ever commanded, and ignore the fact that He truly cares. In reality, all God wants is us. Just like Stephen. All he wants is his true love. And all God wants is us - His true love. If we submit to His will and ask for His cleansing, we can experience the love of Someone so obsessed they would give Their everything for us.
Obsessed is a book I highly recommend - Ted Dekker definitely does not disappoint!
In 1973 Hamburg, Germany, Gerhard Braun is upset because of an article in the American newspapers that refer to the five Stones of David. He has wanted the stones since they escaped his grasp during World War II because he believes that the female Jew who sucked his soul would finally die. His son Dekker could not care less about a concentration camp survivor or the stones, but knows that near the stones is the incriminating journal that lists the names of the "Elders" and the two hundred plus women they abused and killed. He wonders who this Rachel Spritzer is.
In Los Angeles realtor Stephen Friedman lives the good life, but always wondered about his family who probably died during the war in Poland. Though obsessed to know what happened, he gave up a long time ago until now. His Rabbi informs him that Rachel Spritzer had branded her concentration camp newborn with half of a Stone of David; she could have been Stephen's mother. He digs into the life of Rachel, but is unaware that Roth is coming to clean up another of his father's mistakes as he has done for much of the last three decades.
This engaging suspense thriller rotates back and forth between 1973 and the War using the 1940s as a base for the 1970s cat and mouse game between the second generation offspring. The concentration camp scenes are graphic, compelling and realistically sadistic (not for everyone) leaving readers with empathy for the victims and a bad taste as the Elders use an organized sponsored ism to condone what they do to the Jews. This is a taut thriller in which the grounds for torture, rape and murder is Nazism.
Harriet Klausner
 I have to admit that I did not expect to pick up a book from a Christian publisher and find a novel peopled entirely with Jewish and Nazi characters. In fact, I don't think I've ever read a book from a Christian publisher before, as I don't like proselytizing fiction. However, an excellent publicist steered me in the direction of the new novel from Ted Dekker -- the author behind The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, and White) and Three -- with the statement that "while [Dekker] is well-known in the Christian community, I believe that [Obsessed] has enough mainstream/historical thriller content that it should not offend readers of any (or no) religious faith."
That and the trailer available on the Obsessed page on the WestBow website (the first trailer I've ever seen for a book) convinced me to try it out. It's a good thing I'm open-minded, because this is a solid thriller. Unfortunately, it's not much more than that.
Stephen Friedman's life has changed forever. He has just discovered that local resident Rachel Spritzer is his biological mother ... right after she died. Through a friend, she left a clue to his birthright, which is located in her old house. Her old house that was just bought, by an owner who is looking for the same thing he is: The Stones of David -- five stamped and gilded rocks that are fabled to have been used by a young shepherd named David to kill a giant Philistine called Goliath.
That new owner is Roth Braun, a German anti-Semite serial killer and son of Nazi commandant Gerhard Braun, whom Roth has seen as weak ever since Gerhard allowed Spritzer to escape from a concentration camp with her newborn child. Stephen is in pursuit of the Stones, and Roth will do anything to keep Stephen from finding his treasure. The trick is that, to Roth, the whole thing is just a game, while Stephen is looking for the answer to the big question mark that is his life.
While the Stephen/Roth storyline takes place in 1973, author Dekker parallels it with the World War II story of Gerhard and his relationship with two women in his camp, Martha and Ruth. How the two plotlines are connected is unclear at first, but it slowly dawns, offering a true surprise at its revelation. But it is Stephen's obsession that makes up the bulk of Obsessed. Any sane person would have given up after a few tries, but Stephen proves to be more interesting than sanity, continually taking further steps towards his target. Still, Dekker's skill ensures that his story never crosses into implausibility. The same cannot be said for his characters. Roth becomes less and less a real human being and more a Villain!! as the novel progresses and Stephen is little more than his obsession. Choice of character is a strong point, but the development of those characters is not, giving us essentially a passel of plot-pushers (Gerhard comes the closest to tri-dimensionality). Luckily, the plot is strong enough to stand it.
Obsessed moved along like a popcorn flick and kept me turning the pages even when I was questioning the logic of some of the situations (I said plausible, not believable). Nevertheless, there was the nagging feeling that it could have been significantly shorter. One aspect that could have easily been trimmed were a few instances of unnecessarily preachy prose, because it doesn't really affect the plot and only serves to weakly develop an already weakly-developed character, as well as knocking me right out of the story. All in all, though, Dekker's latest offered plenty of fun and excitement with its thought-provoking -- if a little exploitive -- storyline, but I wouldn't call it literature. It's more the ideal read (or listen) for a morning and evening commute.
Obsessed: To have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single object. How far is far enough? Would you go to the ends of the earth to obtain one thing a treasure maybe? This is something two men have in common Roth Braun and Stephen Friedman. Both are obsessed with one thing, the stones of david. Used to kill the giant goliath and worth millions! Roth Braun son of a Nazi concentration camp commandant is hoping to end something his father started long ago. Stephen Friedmen is hoping to end something that's been plaguing him all his life. Who is his mother?Where are the rest of stones of david? Two men. Five stones. One Deadly Obsession
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