Bunker Diary
The novel Bunker Diary (English original title: The Bunker Diary ) by Kevin Brooks is about six people of different ages and social backgrounds who were kidnapped and locked together in a bunker. The main character Linus Weems describes the events during the captivity in the form of diary entries.
action
The story begins with the kidnapping of the main character Linus Weems. He was stunned by a stranger and wakes up alone in a bunker. A short time later, a nine-year-old girl named Jenny joins them. During an exploration of the underground bunker, in which there is only a hall, a bathroom, a kitchen, an elevator and six rooms, Linus discovers that they are monitored around the clock by cameras and microphones.
In the course of the further action, other people are kidnapped and brought into the bunker: the real estate agent Anja, the heroin-addicted locksmith Fred, the economic advisor William Bird and the natural philosopher and physicist Russel Lansing.
None of the six people know why they ended up in the bunker. Together they try to sound out their possibilities and to organize the coexistence in the best possible way, which however does not always succeed due to the exceptional situation. The abductees can communicate with their kidnapper through slips of paper that the occupants put in the elevator and ask for everyday objects and food, which in some cases is granted to them.
Attempts on the part of the inmates to destroy the cameras and microphones or to flee, result in severe repression in the form of food withdrawal, gas leakage, noise pollution or extreme heat and cold. At one point the kidnapper even sends an aggressive Doberman Pinscher up into the bunker, seriously injuring William Bird. In addition, the kidnapper plays various "games" with his victims by manipulating the time, sending them alcohol and other drugs or even asking them to kill with the view to free themselves.
Ultimately, none of the people come out of the bunker. William Bird, who has gone mad because of the dog bite, strangles Anja and is killed by Fred while trying to kill Jenny too. Russel and Fred commit suicide, Jenny and presumably also Linus die of starvation because the kidnapper cut off the food supply and ultimately left. The diary ends abruptly.
people
- Linus: Linus Weems is sixteen years old and had been living on the street for a year after running away from home. The clever, caring, but ultimately also marked by strong self-doubt, was kidnapped by a man who pretended to be blind.
- Jenny: Jenny Lane is nine years old and a student. She lives at 1 Harvey Close, Moulton, Essex. She was kidnapped by a "police officer" on her way to school. According to her age, she is very small, slim and wears cheap clothes, but new sneakers with frayed laces.
- Anja: Anja Mason is in her late twenties and works as a successful real estate agent. She was kidnapped while visiting a property by the kidnapper, who was disguised as a customer. Mason has blonde hair, a narrow nose, a curved mouth and perfect teeth. Her husband works in the chemical industry, she is described as arrogant and self-indulgent.
- Fred: The heroin-addicted auto mechanic is estimated to be in his late twenties, is very tall and broad. He was kidnapped by being hit by a delivery truck and then knocked down with an iron bar. He looks hardy and tough and has a lot of tattoos and scars.
- Bird: William Bird is 38 years old and a London-based economic advisor. He lives near Chelmsford and was drugged with Rohypnol in a nearby bar. In the book he is described as very fat with black curly hair and scales on his shoulders. In general, he complains a lot and looks quite unsympathetic.
- Russel: The almost 70-year-old natural philosopher, physicist and author Russel Lansing has black skin, only one eye and is homosexual. He looks very friendly and is a person of trust for Linus. Lansing has a brain tumor and suffers more and more from the situation in the bunker in the course of the action. He ignorantly met the kidnapper in a bar, who eventually escorted him home.
Awards
- 2014: Carnegie Medal
expenditure
- Kevin Brooks: Bunker Diary , German edition 2013, 288 pages, ISBN 9783423716734 (paperback edition, dtv)