UNESCO Part XIII

When I read a book like Arthur Schendel's L'homme de l'eau, I say to myself that it is for such books that I read the UNESCO list. It is the story of a Dutchman of the last century, who finds his personal sense of religion amidst the Calvinist fundamentalists in his family, falls in love with a Catholic girl and raises a son with him, repeatedly gives away his inheritances to live according to the values he professes, and dies drowning after rescuing his dog. There are unforgettable scenes here, of people evacuating after the dikes are breached ("What have we done to offend God!" cry the old women), of poverty and steadfastness. Schendel truly has immortalized the stoicism and strength of his countrymen. I found it moving and I also felt I understood even the modern day Dutch better for it.

I also read Prus' La poupee, a serial that reads like a 19th century Polish soap opera. Contrary to the expectations I held through just about 1000 pages, the guy dies and the girl enters a convent. It certainly defined my expectations. There was also anti-semitism aplenty, something I would have thought the Polish government of the era (this was translated in 1961) would have been at greater pains to conceal.

Finally, I also read to day Osman Lins' Le fleau et la pierre, a novel about rural Brazil. I thought the opening terrific, and it is filled with psychological truth, but I can't say I was gripped.