The Sorrow of Belgium
Hugo Claus
Tusk Ivories - Overlook Press, Canada. 2002
|
|
The Sorrow of Belgium Hugo Claus Tusk Ivories - Overlook Press, Canada. 2002 |
Reviewed by Peter Petterham
This is a reissue of a 1983 blockbuster. The book is an epic, a family saga, a slice of the time. For those who only know of Belgium through Poirot, Jean Claude van Damme, this is a detailed introduction to a rich and real place. For that the book is invaluable. As said, an epic, a family saga, but also part tv soap. On original publication Belgian tv recorded a series as an off shoot; it has also been a Dutch language film.
The book is written in two sections, the first, The Sorrow, follows protagonist/anti hero Louis Seynaeve, through his last year at a Catholic boarding school. We experience the claustrophobia and small-mindedness, the microcosm of the school, and equally the small-townism and isolated yet extended family atmosphere. There are foreshadowings; and many are metaphors. The second part takes us through senior school and beyond; we witness the cracks in those closed worlds break open under the German Occupation.
The Third Reich had a corrosive effect on the political, social, ethical, and religious fabric of all the countries it occupied. Claus uses this to blur boundaries, including gender boundaries, in order to pose a questioning mode. This corrosiveness is felt long before the outbreak of war. As early as the opening 1930s Belgian politics was fissured by realignments on National Socialist bases. This Rex party itself broke down into a wide number of smaller nationalist parties, whether as Flemish nationalism, or fascist youth groups. The situation was further complicated by long-standing divisions into Flemish and French-speaking areas. Claus' great achievement has been to place believable characters within this complex situation and make it come alive enough to grip the reader's attention. We glimpse the dynamics of the period at work.
Louis' adolescence and exploration of ready-made identities, and infatuations, drive a reckless pace through this world. He uncovers his father's vulnerabilities, half-truths, mendacity, as well as surprising strengths. His mother is transformed from untouchable paragon, to sulky girl, through emotional turmoil, to flawed personality. Claus pulls no punches with Louis either, we witness his pettiness, primness, lying, thieving, his pretentiousness, as well as earnestness. The book's closing scene shows us a Louis who is both a product of his earlier selves as well as someone new. Like Claus, Louis gets out. For Claus it was to Paris as a late teenager, work with Artaud and open up to new ideas. The book is modernist in its treatment of authorial voice, but never confusing or cold.
The one constant in the break up of Louis' world, and hence Belgium, the one who would not equivocate, was Louis' school head, Classical scholar, monastic head, known as The Rock. It is shocking to see this great man disappear from school to reappear days later with teeth missing, increasingly dishevelled as the days of Occupation pass and the pressures on him increase.
The strongest characters in the book are the women. Louis' maternal grandmother, Meerke, and her daughters are fascinating. The slow reveal of Louis' mother's marital relationship overshadows a lot of the story. They live in a small farming community. On his father's side a town-based life makes them more up to scratch on events. His grandmother's scaldingly acrimonious relationship with her husband takes a surprising turn. His maternal uncle hero is a womaniser of wide experince, but fragile for all that, whislt his paternal uncle hero, goal keeper for a regional team leaves for England as War breaks out, abandoning all.
The issue of collaboration is explored deeply. His mother obtains a secretarial post in the new German Air-parts factory. She becomes deeply enmeshed with the Occupiers. At the same time her position gives her access to influential people, and maybe she can influence how low on the list for deportation to German factories local men stand. She becomes emotionally involved with a German Officer. With what we know of her marital base can we perhaps cut her some slack? His weak father, known for pre-war sympathies is allowed access to a stash of proscribed books. They smuggle them out and redistribute them. Nothing is straightforward; all have faults, and a potential for noble acts. Ourselves, as readers become implicated: can we allow them this, ought we not condemn outright?
Claus is a writer who never seems to sleep; he has a list of publications as long as your arm. Novels, short stories, poetry, plays, film scripts, documentaries. He worked with Artaud; he was married to French actor Sylvia Kristal at the time of the Emmanuelle films. This balancing of intense private work, and flamboyant lifestyle is a rare achievement in itself.