Posted in 0: 2010 Reviews, Biographical/Autobiographical, Growing Up, Humor, Satire, Absurdity, Literary, 2010 reviews, Poland, Post World War II on Jul 5th, 2010
Set in 1963 in Wisla, the rural Polish town where author Jerzy Pilch himself grew up, A THOUSAND PEACEFUL CITIES feels as much like a real memoir as a satirical, fictional retelling of life in Poland in the years preceding the Student Revolt of 1968. In 1963, the Communist party is in power, and the country is under Soviet influence but not control. A strong, independent spirit and the residual respect of the populace for First Secretary Wladysaw Gomulka, who successfully challenged Nikita Khrushchev in 1956, has encouraged the populace to live as they have always lived, though economically they are becoming poorer. The churches, both Catholic and Protestant, are still open and are a major part of life, not just in terms of religion but in the communities’ regular social gatherings. Under the increasing influence of the Soviets, however, Gomulka has become more dictatorial, imposing further limits on his people. At the outset of the novel, the reader immediately discovers that Jerzyk’s father and his father’s friend, Mr. Traba, an alcoholic former clergyman, plan to kill First Secretary Wladysaw Gomulka in Warsaw. What follows is a wild ride through rural Poland in 1963—a novel that is, by turns, hilarious, thoughtful, filled with metaphysical and dialectical argument, and embellished with lyrical details from the natural world.
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From the opening pages of this kaleidoscopic debut novel, Canadian author Jaspreet Singh works his magic, setting the scene on a train from Delhi to Srinagar, in Kashmir. A born story-teller, gifted with the ability to describe the sights, sounds, and smells of his many Indian settings, Singh also creates, at the same time, lively characters and interconnected plot lines which span two generations. Anyone who has read other novels concerned with the partition of India and the perennial conflicts between mostly Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan over the fate of Kashmir knows how complex and emotionally fraught these conflicts are, but Singh explores the conflict through the eyes of Kirpal (Kip) Singh, a chef who once worked for Lt. Gen. Ashwini Kumar, formerly chief of the Northern Command in Kashmir. Since a chef has a limited focus, Kip is able to convey all the tensions and conflicts of the area without getting bogged down in the logistical technicalities. His vision is personal, and because he is an honorable person, he becomes the conscience of the novel.
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In this heart-thumping experimental novel which bursts the bounds of the usual genre categories, British author David Peace creates an impressionistic story of a real Tokyo bank robbery and the deaths of twelve bank employees on January 26, 1948. A man representing himself as a doctor investigating a case of potentially fatal dysentery in the neighborhood appears at the Shiina-Machi branch of the Teikoku Bank just after closing time. He says he must inoculate all the employees in the bank against this disease, and decontaminate all the documents and money that an infected man may have touched. He explains how he will give each person two different medicines and demonstrates how to roll up their tongues for the first liquid so that the medicine will not hurt their teeth or gums. After one minute, he gives them all the second liquid. Two minutes later, sixteen victims, writhing in agony, have fallen unconscious, and twelve of them die, poisoned with cyanide. The physician then removes the day’s receipts and disappears. A kaleidoscopic literary style make this a unique and challenging mystery.
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When Shunsuke Ho, a Japanese detective recovering from a gunshot wound, is asked by a young relative to try to find his missing fiancee, Shoko, this “simple” request quickly evolves into much more. Honma also finds himself dealing with issues of credit card debt, bankruptcy, identify theft, and possibly multiple murders. Cleanly written and straightforward, the novel is also unusual in that Miyabe develops character more successfully than many other mystery writers. Honma is a real person who seems older than his 42 years, with real worries and real domestic problems, and we come to know him, his life with his 10-year-old son, and his hopes for the future. This mystery is a welcome change of pace, still lively and absorbing even ten years after its initial publication.
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Maaza Mengiste’s powerful debut novel, set in her home country of Ethiopia, brings to life the historical period from the death of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 through the communist revolution and the subsequent resistance movement to that revolution which followed shortly on its heels. The Emperor had failed to recognize and take action to mitigate the horrific famine which had cost two hundred thousand lives. A well-publicized 1974 television documentary, showing Ethiopians the graphic horrors of the country’s famine for the first time, was juxtaposed against films showing the excesses of palace functions, setting the country up for revolution. Initially planned by students who wanted the government to show more accountability and to allow for change, the revolution was soon pre-empted by the strong military, which had its own agenda. The novel is well constructed, with characters the reader comes to care about, but it is difficult to read. The violence, which increases in intensity during the novel’s three hundred pages, involves false arrests, beatings, rapes, psychological warfare, brutal tortures, and the mutilation of women and children.
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Set in the 1930s and published in 1945, Cairo Modern is, by turns, an ironic, satirical, farcical, and, ultimately, cynical morality tale which takes place in a country in which life’s most basic guiding principles are still undetermined. As the novel opens, four college students, all due to graduate that year, are arguing moral principles, one planning to live his life according to “the principles that God Almighty has decreed,” while others argue in favor of science as the new religion, materialism, social liberation, and even love as guiding principles. Among the students, Mahgub Abd al-Da’im is the poorest, living on a pittance, which is all his father and mother can provide him. His father, unable to work, has only enough money to survive for one month after Mahgub graduates on May, so finding a job is truly a matter of the whole family’s survival for Mahgub. When Mahgub contacts a former neighbor, Salim Al-Ikhshidi, for help, Al-Ikhshidi lays out the facts of life regarding government jobs like his own—certain people will help him in exchange for a flat fee or a portion of his salary over several years—unless he can find a wife among the daughters of ministers. Here Mahfouz pens a wicked satire of the lure of wealth, the arrogance of power, and the willingness to sacrifice principle for expediency.
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Written in 1958, when the author was only twenty-three, this debut novel is stunning for its depiction of two societies–the society of peasant villagers who live in a remote and nearly inaccessible mountain village, and a society created by young delinquents when they are abandoned and blockaded inside this small village. It is also reflects the author’s vision of the broader society of Japan in the aftermath of World War II. Oe, a student of Sartre and Heidegger in college, reflects those influences in his writing, instead of the delicacy, subtlety, and minimalist simplicity one usually associates with the Japanese arts. The novel is characterized by dense imagery, a strong narrative line and powerful emotions, violence presented as an understandable response to injustice, and an indictment of the communal mindset which can lead to expedient decision-making at the expense of the individual and his liberty. Anyone who has read LORD OF THE FLIES owes it to him-/herself to read this book, too, for its more complex characters and themes.
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Esteemed novelist Jane Gardam follows up on the success of Old Filth, her highly successful 2005 novel about the life of Sir Edward Feathers, with the companion story of Sir Edward’s wife, Betty. Each novel benefits from the other, the sum being significantly greater than the combination of the parts, and together they are a stunning study of a marriage–not ideal, but “workable.” Beginning with Old Filth allows the reader to set the story and see the marriage from the point of view of Sir Edward. That novel is sophisticated and subtle, much like Sir Edward himself, with a sly sense of humor which allows the reader to feel part of the scene. His extreme insecurity and fear of being left, however, inspire the reader’s empathy, even as s/he may want to throttle the man for not paying attention or refusing to take a stand. The Man with the Wooden Hat broadens the vision Gardam begins with Old Filth. Though neither Edward nor Elisabeth is “in love,” as we would describe it, when they get married, they manage to form a good relationship and strong bond, considering the limitations of each. The often hilarious (and ironic) dialogue combines with a wry satiric sense to produce a conclusion which is everything that such a novel deserves. Gardam’s brilliance is best seen if this novel is read following Old Filth, a novel which, itself, becomes more “human” if it is read as the prequel to The Man with the Wooden Hat. Surely, there is no one else but Betty who could possibly get away with saying, “Oh, stuff it, Edward.”
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