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| Sunday, June 27, 2004 |
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| Sunday, June 27, 2004 |
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IN a literary landscape dominated by Anglo-American voices, it is easy to overlook other cultures which have contributed greatly to the history of thought. A foolish mistake, that, especially since many of the ideas that have shaped mankind were articulated in languages other than English and had their genesis in Europe and Asia. The European First Novel Festival held in Budapest earlier this year provided a rare opportunity to young European writers to reach out to a wider audience. It also opened for readers in other countries a window to the rich and diverse works of writers whose voices may otherwise have drowned in the cacophony of the publishing world. The festival brought together the first novels of 15 writers from countries like France, Germany, Finland, Denmark and Poland, among others. These novels cover a wide range of experiences from adolescent angst to religious fanaticism, from animal rights to philosophical dialogues. A slim volume brought out at the festival features short excerpts from these novels translated into English. By turns meditative, funny, passionate and insightful, these excerpts are a rewarding ride through terrain that is at once familiar and alien. Among the writers is Maria Gronlykke. Her novel The Fish Thief is a collection of comical stories of people whose lives are bound together by blood or social ties. One of the stories takes the reader to "back then", a time when turning to the state for welfare dole was considered a fate worse than death, brown-skinned immigrants were yet to make an appearance in insular neighbourhoods, and bra-burning women’s libbers were only just beginning to surface.
Manuelle Iskare, a novel by Laurent Jouannaud, tells of a wonderful romance that ends in heartbreak. Manuelle and her impulsive lover risk all they have for the sake of money and the pleasures it can buy. The na`EFve young couple finally comes up against reality with tragic consequences. Jan Lauwereyns takes up the issue of animal rights in Monkey Business. Set in a laboratory in Japan, the story makes an unusual departure by using a monkey as the narrator. The monkey, nothing more than a guinea pig for scientists, registers the pain and fear it feels as it waits for its end, which it can sense is near. Deeply compassionate, Monkey Business brings to the fore the inhumanity and cruelty of using animals for conducting experiments. Akos Teslar, who at 24 is the youngest among the writers whose works made it to the festival, writes about the painful uncertainty and awkwardness that often plagues adolescence in The Ones I Chucked Out. Written with zest, the novel tries to make sense of teenage dilemmas. Love, or what passes for love in the teen world, is the pivot around which the protagonists’ lives revolve. Humorous, passionate and teen-philosophical, The Ones I Chucked Out is a chance to look back at high school with a smile. These and other excerpts whet the appetite of the readers for more. However, the volume could do with some toothcomb editing. Grammatical faux pas like "`85book publishers are conscientious of their image`85" and proof reading howlers like ‘businesssense’, ’ and ‘puther’, can be definite turn-offs. |
The story is about Palle, who later earns for
himself the title of Palle Sleeper Sofa, an alcoholic who beats up his
wife but finally dies from too much drink, much to the collective relief
of the other characters in the story. The Fish Thief won two
major Danish prizes.
