hayden
Well-known member
Definitely—
Pahor's Necropolis had been on my radar for a while but I'd never been able to find a copy of it (not in Italian) until after his recent death (at which, he was believed to actually be the oldest living Holocaust survivor). I'd always assumed it was a work in the same realm as Wiesel, Applefeld, maybe even Kertesz, but the book only came into international light/recognition somewhat recently (last 15 years or so, despite being initially published in '67)— it's a harrowing memoir on the Holocaust, narrated in the autobiographical form of flashbacks in concentration camps (and yes, he survived multiple camps). It delves into an area of WWII I wasn't super familiar with (Italy/Libya, prosecution of the Slovenian community, those regions— I've never read Previ's If This Is A Man, but it's on my to-get-to list), and I figured the viewpoint would be unique compared to what I've already read.
It's told from perspective of a survivor (who, is Pahor) visiting the camps some twenty-odd years later, surrounded by tourists, recollecting the horrors of being there. He's haunted by his time there... (he was a medic in the camps, witnessed death firsthand daily), sees 'ghosts' everywhere, recounts burning bodies, piling up, the smells, the sounds... a lot of the imagery in the novel reminded me of the 2015 film Son of Saul, which I imagine found some influence in Pahor's recounted stories. Obviously it's a very painful work, and must have been devastating to write, but it's so important that these sort of raw testimonies explaining what reality was like on the inside exist. It's a very textural work despite the dreamlike-flashback approach— he recalls sounds, smells, psyches, the hopelessness, the images ingrained in his head forever, just how unfathomable it all was while it was happening— and, in recollection, an acknowledgement to scoping the insanity. And, as much as it's important historically, it also happens to be very well-written.
The imagery of ashes comes up quite a lot. I think it's what he remembers the most.
On a lighter note, Tower at the Edge of the World might just be my favourite Heinesen work. It's his final novel (published in the 70s), and is written from the perspective of an old man (presumably a paper-thin-veil of Heinesen) reminiscing of his youth in the Faroes. Despite that description, I found the novel unexpectedly modern. Could've been released today. The composition is in poetic vignettes, and the prose itself is beautiful (and exceptionally Scandinavian)— it even has surprisingly humorous moments, included some excellent animal names. Very few of the 'chapters' are longer than a handful of paragraphs— most are essentially paintings of nostalgia-lensed days, long gone, reminiscing whatever's left of them (in a very different way than Necropolis I might add). It's very musical, rhythmic, freeflowing— I'd be interested in learning how long it took to write, it comes across as a composer jotting down a song. It's slices of childhood, everyday life, and the landscape paintings surrounding those memories. I can say whatever praise, but nothing will do the novel any more justice than stating it's beautiful. The prose floats like butterflies.
On the flipside of all that—
Okri's recent poetry collection was maybe only a sliver away from landing in that 'bad' category. I don't think he's a poet at heart. It was like eating dry scones.
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— I know what you meant. Yeah, it's not like he's throwing a sci-fi epic at us. Just meant stylistically it's a change-up for him. Still plenty of cows, fruit, music and barns.
