I received an advanced review copy of this title from Archipelago Books through Edelweiss. This was published in the original Norwegian in 1957 and this English version has been translated by Torbjørn Støverud and Michael Barnes.
My Review:
This book was an unexpected surprise that pulled at my heart strings. Mattis and his sister Hege live in the Norwegian countryside in a simple cottage by a lake. Mattis is mentally challenged and he is constantly attempting to navigate a world that he doesn’t understand and that doesn’t understand him. He has the mind of a child; he becomes excited at the simplest things like the woodcock which flies over their cottage. He has a deep fear of abandonment and is afraid that his sister, who is his only caretaker, can be snatched from him at any moment. And when he cannot make others understand him he becomes bewildered and frustrated. I became completely absorbed in Mattis’ simple and constricted world.
The hardest parts of the story to read were those in which Mattis goes out into the surrounding countryside to look for work. His sister supports them both by knitting sweaters so money is always tight and they live very simply. Even though Mattis has a hard time doing the simplest tasks, like thinning turnips and stacking hay, his sister still insists on sending him into town to find a way to make some income. His mind cannot coordinate with his hands and he becomes easily confused and frustrated. Whenever he goes to beg for work he is humiliated because everyone in town knows who he is and they call him “Simple Simon.” The people in town, however, are never cruel to him; they came up with what is supposed to be a harmless nickname for Mattis who is a well-known figure in town. But every time someone calls him Simple Simon he is embarrassed and frustrated because he hates being defined by this phrase which he can never escape. There is a deeper lesson in this book about being careful with our names or labels for others even when we are not intentionally being hurtful.
One day at the suggestion of Mattis’ sister, he decides that he will use his old, worn out boat to ferry people across the lake. Rowing is something that he is good at and he loves spending time on the water. On his first day of work, Mattis is lucky enough to come upon one customer, a lumberjack who has arrived in town looking for work. Jørgen is the first and only person to take a ride on Mattis’ ferry service. That fateful ferry ride brings Mattis’ sister Hege joy and companionship while it brings Mattis frustration and loneliness.
Although the story is mostly told from Mattis’ point of view, we do get a glimpse of what Hege’s life has been like trying to take care of Mattis. Hege is forty years-old, has never married or had a family of her own and she doesn’t seem to have any friends either. She has pretty much devoted her whole existence to taking care of her brother. Hege becomes easily agitated with Mattis’ constant questions and emotional neediness. When Hege has the chance to find love and companionship with Jørgen, she begins to act differently towards Mattis because her time and attention are no longer completely devoted to him alone. One the one hand Hege has the right to her own life and her own happiness, but on the other hand she still has an obligation to care for and protect her brother.
This is a quiet novel that deserves much more attention. As a teacher I am confronted with students who have a vast array of mental, emotional and physical disabilities. But seeing the world through the eyes of Mattis has made me even more sensitive and acutely award of what it is like to be labeled as “different” by the rest of the world.
About the Author:
The most upsetting aspect of this fictional biography of George Eliot was the message forced upon her by her family that she was not a beautiful person and never would be. From the time she was a five-year-old girl she was told that she was physically ugly and that no man would ever marry her. Her mother favors her other two children over her; her father dotes on her but it seems that he pays her extra attention out of a sense of pity for his ugly child. It was difficult and sad to read that from an early age the emphasis on her physical appearance greatly affected every aspect of her life. Her father provided her with the best education because no man would marry her and she would have to be able to support herself.
This book can only be described as a literary Odyssey, a roaming adventure through the crumbling town of Voroshilovgrad and its surroundings in the post-Soviet period. The plot offers so much more than Herman’s bizarre story as he attempts to run his brother’s gas station; we are confronted by a poetic journey through the landscape of Ukraine and a up close look at the unique people who inhabit this part of what once was Soviet territory.
Serhiy Zhadan is one of the key voices in contemporary Ukrainian literature: his poetry and novels have enjoyed popularity both at home and abroad. He has twice won BBC Ukraine’s Book of the Year (2006 and 2010) and has twice been nominated as Russian GQ’s “Man of the Year” in their writers category. Writing is just one of his many interests, which also include singing in a band, translating poetry and organizing literary festivals. Zhadan was born in Starobilsk, Luhansk Oblast, and graduated from Kharkiv University in 1996, then spent three years as a graduate student of philology. He taught Ukrainian and world literature from 2000 to 2004, and thereafter retired from teaching. Zhadan’s poetry, novels, and short stories have been translated into over a dozen languages. In 2013, he helped lead the Euromaidan demonstrations in Kharkiv, and in 2014, he was assaulted outside the administration building in Kharkiv, an incident that gained notoriety around the world, including a feature article in the New Yorker. He lives and works in Kharkiv.
This book is a collection of autobiographical essays from the renowned, female Russian author Teffi. The essays were all written during the early part of the twentieth century and reflect Teffi’s own struggles with having to flee a turbulent and oppressive Russia. The collection is divided into four parts, the first of which is entitled “How I Live and Work.” These first few essays in the book capture her inner thoughts and self-doubts as she becomes Teffi “The Author.”
My tour of post-Soviet literature continues with a book that describes the last few months of life in the German Democrat Republic (G.D.R.). The story is told from the point of view of Maria, a seventeen year old girl who is trying to find her way in the world while living through some very tough circumstances. This book has three important aspects to explore, the first and foremost of which is a coming-of-age storyline. Maria is on the cusp on adulthood and has never had much guidance or supervision in her life. She has never known her father very well because he keeps leaving on trips to Russia throughout her childhood. She finds out that this distant father is about to marry a Russian woman that is Maria’s own age.
The Book Binder's Daughter 