Transitions

The youngsters have recently lost their mother; their father, busy with two farms, the Big Ditch irrigation project, and the school board, is overwhelmed by housekeeping duties. A saucy ad in the paper catches his attention: “Can’t Cook but Doesn’t Bite.  Housekeeping position sought by widow.  Sound morals, exceptional disposition…”  Energetic, cheerful Rose, who whistles while she works, is soon settled into the household.

Her brother Morrie, dapper, highly educated, totally ignorant of rural farm life, accompanies her. Why he is in such an incompatible place is a mystery. Again, fate intervenes, and Morrie finds himself the teacher in a one room schoolhouse which is the hub of the far-flung community. Doig vividly depicts the difference a gifted teacher can make, the value of education, and the importance of the school in an isolated, rural locale.  Morrie Morgan, like Halley’s Comet, which appears in 1910 and stars in the story, appears suddenly, shines brightly, then travels on. He can be found again in two later Doig novels.

At the end, this well plotted book with an unexpected twist has a nice exploration of honesty as the best policy.  Are there times when silence, omission, is better? It is thirteen-year-old Paul’s answer that affects so many other characters and makes this a very satisfying novel.

After working in the merchant’s store for several years, he is ordered to participate in one of the last trade caravans into the East African interior, where trouble awaits. The cosmopolitan caravan is comprised of men from India, Arabia, and Africa, all of whom continually joke and trade barbs about their respective religions, superstitious beliefs, and knowledge of the world.  They were the internet of 1900.

The villages they visit are controlled by sultans determined to protect their small dominions. They demand tribute and treat the traders and each other with trickery and brutality. But these “savages” of the interior are no different from the more “civilized” ones the young Yusuf has met in the towns where those with money dominate others, children are kidnapped in daylight, and the poor eat bone broth for dinner.

Travelling with the caravan, Yusuf is awed by the beauties of the natural world, waterfalls, lakes, and mountains, and a possible meaning for “paradise” emerges. But in this lovely world people are tormented by swarms of insects whose bites cause illness and death.  Wild dogs and hyenas prowl; crocodiles attack and kill.

He returns to the safety of the merchant’s house with its beautiful walled garden but soon learns that it is a garden built on misery and despair and a less obvious danger lurks there. Gurnah prods readers to evaluate their idealized views about nature as paradise.

As he matures, Yusuf draws close to other slaves in the merchant’s household and is stunned to learn that some have worked off their fathers’ debts, could leave if they wish, but choose to remain. What exactly it means for a person to be free is the second major theme of this deceptively simple story. Is the freedom to have independent thoughts despite one’s lot in life enough – or must one have the ability to initiate change?

This is a novel steeped in Eastern culture not Western. Allusions to the Yusuf/Joseph story (both sold into bondage) are from the Koran, not the Bible. A big city is Bombay, not London. But good literature is universal. Some of the nuances may be missed, but the main ideas are understood.  The philosophical inquiry into the meaning of paradise and how to search for it make a provocative read.

Abdulrazak Gurnah’s later book, Gravel Heart, was the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature.

The father, an immigrant, former professor of Russian literature, small time crook, lives in an enclave of other Russian Jews in a falling down condo rife with more than the usual Homeowners Association animosity.  At issue is a million-dollar budget, kickbacks, and a new white Lexus given to each board member. Bill’s investigative instincts kick in.

One of the things to like about this book is the main character who is at a transition point in his life and emerges successful. On the way, Bill shares his knowledge of Russian literature and love of good architecture and furniture design. One of the things not to like so much is the strong Russian Jewish “shtick” that underlies the story. Vodka and tragic poetry are ubiquitous. 

I was a little worried when I saw that the epigraph to the first chapter was a quote from Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal.  But when I read that the Russians pronounced the name Donal’d Tramp, I felt better.