The Columbia Literary History of Eastern Europe since 1945 by Harold B. Segel
2009; University of Oklahoma; Volume: 83; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/wlt.2009.0246
ISSN1945-8134
Autores Tópico(s)Polish Historical and Cultural Studies
Resumo> Z w D H < w H hJ D O iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniii Goncourt Prize in 2006. His new book, neither a novel nor a conven tional essay, is a curious literary offshoot resulting from the lengthy background research he carried out forLes bienveillantes.In he sec etVhu mide (The dry and thewet), Littell considers thecase of a Belgian fascist politician, Leon Degrelle, who joined and came to command the Waffen SS "Wallonie" legion that fought alongside German troops on the Eastern Front.Degrelle survived the war and unapologetically recounted inhismemoirs why and how he had chosen to fight forNazi Germany. Littell,who had originally intended to subtitle his book "Anatomy of Fascist Speech," provides a detailed stylisticanalysis (sometimes lineby line) of Degrelle's predictably self aggrandizing account of his partici pation in thebattles of theRussian campaign: "Ce n'est pas en fait de la politique de Degrelle qu'il sera question ici,mais de son langage" (What is considered in thisbook is in factnotDegrelle's politics, but his language). Littell derives his categories of "dry" and "wet" from Male Fanta sies (1987), Klaus Theweleit's study ofwhat might be called themental structuresof the fascist sense of self (Theweleit contributed an afterword to he sec et Vhumide).These catego ries are applied toDegrelle's meta phor-laden text,yielding the care fully constructed self-image of the fascistsoldier encased ina dry,hard, impenetrable shell, as he manfully struggles against the wet, slimy,and somehow feminizedmuddy terrain inwhich his enemy feels at home. Even Degrelle's lengthydescriptions of the innumerable cadavers thatare strewn about the landscape reflect thisdichotomy: thedesiccated, bone dry rigidity of his dead comrades as opposed to the smells and dull 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 colors of a muddy swamp, which, true to form,he associates with the shapeless corpses of "Asiatic" Rus sians. Littell uses several pictures, some from wartime propaganda, to illustratethe ways in which Degrelle sought to represent himself and his activities,both during and after the war. Whether Le sec et Vhumidefinds a lastingplace in thevast historiog raphy of fascism remains tobe seen. What makes thisbook interestingis not somuch itsinvestigation into the delusions of a pathetic remnant of the most murderous regime in his tory, but rather the window itopens into one author's creative writing activity. Littell now lives in Spain, where Degrelle calmly and unrepen tantly lived out the rest of his life (hedied in 1994 at theage of eighty eight). While Degrelle seems toshare few common traits with Maximilien Aue, themain character of Littell's impressive novel, Les bienveillantes, there is something chillingly familiar about theplacidly detailed retelling (from a safe, comfortable vantage point) of how a shrewd opportunist managed to survive?and at times thrive?during a period of uninter rupted mass slaughter. EdwardOusselin WesternWashingtonUniversity Harold ?. Segel. The Columbia Liter ary History of Eastern Europe since 1945. New York. Columbia University Press. 2008. 424 pages. $75. isbn978-0 231-13306-7 Harold B. Segel's Literary History of Eastern Europe since 1945 is a fasci nating book. Despite its remarkable scope, itisawork of a single scholar, who is professor emeritus of Slavic literatures at Columbia University. The book is divided into eleven chapters that follow literatures of 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 fifteen Eastern European countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, theCzech Repub lic,East Germany, Hungary, Lithu ania, Macedonia, Poland, Roma nia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. Segel focuses on topics that he regards "characteristic and impor tant within a chronological struc ture beginning in the post-World War II period and continuing to the present." Organized thematically,which allows Segel to discuss an author in more than one context, some of the most interesting chapters are "The Reform Imperative in Eastern Europe: From Solidarity toPostmod ernism," "The House of Card Col lapses: The Literary Fallout of the Yugoslav Crisis of the 1990s," and "Writers Behind Bars: Eastern Euro pean Prison Literature, 1945-1990." Correctly contending, for instance, that Eastern European postmodern ism is an "expression of the grow ing demand for liberalization and democratization" of the society and culture, as well as that the imprison ment ofwriters was practiced in all of Eastern Europe?and not only in the former SSSR, what is gen erally understood in theAmerican 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 78 i World Literature Today context?Segel emphasizes the main characteristic of Eastern European literatures: its politicization. Starting with the end of World War II, litera ture across Eastern Europe has been a response to communist dictator ship, as much as in the last twenty years it examines the intricacies of societies in transition and the chal lenges of postcommunism. The finalchapters, "Glimpses of theOther World: America through Eastern European Eyes" and the "Postcolonial Literary Scene in Eastern Europe since 1991," are the most appealing in thisexcellent and meticulous literaryhistory. In the penultimate chapter, Segel examines writers who succeeded in visiting the United States, mostly through the InternationalWriting Program initiated by theUniversity of Iowa in 1967. Writers, whose impressions of theWest are rarely addressed beyond the context of exile, are not always mesmerized by theUnited States, recognizing in itthesocial gap and racial politics that, at least nomi nally, are eradicated from the com munist regimes. The closing chapter offers a provocative thesis. Harold B. Segel understands the post-1991 Eastern European literatures as post colonial, which although might be theoretically justified for countries that were a part of the Soviet com munist empire (Lithuania,Ukraine), is no less than challenging?as Maria Todorova suggests?for the other Eastern European states. Damjana Mraovic-O'Hare Pennsylvania StateUniversity Mario Vargas Llosa. AI pie del T?mesis. Lima. Alfaguara. 2008. 82 pages, isbn 978-603-4016-48-4 In Mario Vargas Llosa's latest drama, a one-act play that debuted Vargas Llosa provides creative, dynamic dialogue that soon creates multiple levelsof reality, complemented by a freeand expanding use of time as the plot unravels. in Peru inMarch 2008 under the direction of Luis Peirano, two old friends, Pirulo Saavedra and Chispas Bellatin, unexpectedly meet in a luxurious suite of the Savoy Hotel in modern-day London after thirty five years of separation. Although Pirulo and Chispas were once good friendsgrowing up as youngsters in Miraflores in their native Lima, one day theirstrong friendshipabruptly ended when Pirulo tried to kiss Chispas at the beginning of their teenage years. The incident proves to be a decisive and traumatizing moment for both characters during their formative years. As adults, Chispas goes on tobecome awealthy banker, while Pirulo abandons his middle-class, conservative upbringing in Peru and moves to London. There, he comes to terms with his true identity and, after a sex change, transforms into Raquel Saavedra. As the two characters discuss their present-day lives in London, they soon discover that they still shareboth an affectionforeach other and many good childhood memo ries. But while reminiscing about growing up inLima, theyalso realize that they have never come to terms with the event that pushed them apart. Repeatedly, Chispas's macho and intolerant behavior clearly con trasts with Raquel's more compas sionate new identity as a woman, allowing formany moments of tense melodrama and sharp humor as both characters exchange opinions on who they were as youngsters in Lima and slowly begin to unmask who they are today. Vargas Llosa provides creative, dynamic dialogue that soon creates multiple levels of reality, comple mented by a freeand expanding use of time as the plot unravels. Eventu ally, memory becomes an important vehicle for creating greater insight into each of the character's individu al aspirations during theirformative years, while also revealing each of their present-day scars and frustra tions as adults. Social and sexual identity is at the core of Al pie del Tdmesis, two themes thatVargas Llosa has explored at length in some of his best novels, including Los cachorros (Eng. The Cubs), published in the 1960s. Brought to the stage, how ever, these topics face the inevitable challenge of visually illustrating the complex nature of human sexuality and individual self-identity in the face of conservative social dogmas. Al pie del Tdmesis,however, handily demonstrates that all paradigms of social and sexual identityprove to be relative concepts in contempo rary society, leading theway to the most intimate explorations of the self, with all Freudianisms included. Neither Chispas nor Raquel man aged to escape unscathed fromtheir respective rites of passage early in their lives, and it is precisely their efforts to disentangle individual wishes and desires that nurtures the richand overall ambiguous realityof Mario Vargas Llosa's highly engag ingplay. Cesar Ferreira Universityof Wisconsin,Milwaukee HMarch-April 2009 i79 H ...
Referência(s)