I was pleased to hear that Serpent’s Tail have published Pawel Huelle’s new book, The Last Supper. I have previously enjoyed Huelle’s collection of short stories, his novel Who Was David Weisner? and also his prequel to Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain, Castorp, all of which show Huelle to be a substantial European literary figure. Whereas Huelle’s other books are immediately accessible to non-Polish readers, it quickly became apparent on reading The Last Supper that some background was required. Fortunately Google was able to point me to two interviews with the author which helped me understand about the context of this novel.
It is important to remember when reading the book is that it is set a few years into the future, when some of the trends Pawel sees in contemporary Polish life have come to fruition. The book will speak primarily to Poles who are intimately involved in the cultural controversies which the book addresses, although it is interesting to anyone who wants to understand the Polish cultural scene, and in any case, many of its concerns are European in scope rather than being wholly confined within one nation.
Huelle’s story is about twelve men who have been invited to a theatre in Gdansk by the artist Mateusz, to pose for a photograph depicting a modern interpretation of The Last Supper which he will use as a reference for a major new painting. Mateusz is tired of the modern art scene with its avant garde approach, and wants to show that there is still a place for a painting which will move and inspire people through a finely-executed and inspiring theme. Each chapter concerns one of the men who have been invited to pose for the photograph and the book comprises a selection of word pictures around these men, each one in some way being characteristic of an aspect of contemporary Polish life.
Continue reading Review: The Last Supper – Pawel Huelle
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Sometimes you read a book by new author and immediately want to read every other book they wrote. Reading Pawel Huelle’s Castorp (reviewed here) had this effect on me and now I have been able to buy used versions of Moving House and Other Stories and Who Was David Weiser?, soon to be followed by a new copy of Mercedes Benz.
I am rediscovering a liking for short stories and it is interesting to read that I may not be alone in this. As reported in The Times, there is a an upsurge of interest in this genre, and the BBC for example now has an excellent short story website complete with a fascinating search feature. Pawel Huelle’s short story collection reviewed here is an almost a classic example, reminding me of short stories by Anton Chekhov, Guy de Maupassant, Gustave Flaubert and others. It dates from 1991, or for English readers, since 1994 in this flowing and natural translation from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd Jones.
Although apparently dating from about 15 years ago, these stories are rich with the atmosphere of post-World War II communist Poland. The characters are still suffering from poverty, their food is simple, they use buses rather than cars, and replacing household items often requires a long search and the assistance of useful contacts.
Continue reading Review: Moving House – Pawel Huelle
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In Castorp we revisit the life of Hans Castorp, of Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. As many readers will know, in The Magic Mountain, Hans Castorp visits his cousin, a patient in a Swiss sanatorium high up in the Alps. He is persuaded to have a medical examination, and drifts into a prolonged course of treatment during which real-life passes him by as he is drawn into the intense, over-heated relationships in the sanatorium, only brought to an end by the start of the First World War.
Pawel Huelle has written a highly effective prequel to The Magic Mountain, in which we see the young Hans Castorp leave his uncle’s home in Hamburg and go to Danzig (Gdansk) to study ship-building.
Castorp’s new life commences on board the ship Mercury as he sails to Danzig, in the company of three other passengers with whom he is obliged to spend an uncomfortable few days, dealing with their eccentricities and awkward conversations. On arrival at Danzig he is persuaded to delay his onward journey to his lodgings by a Dutch tradesman, Kiekiernix, who despatches his bags on to his new landlady and drags him into an elaborate and time-consuming lunch. Castorp eventually arrives at his rooms to find no sign of his land-lady or his bags, and determines to avoid all further distractions during his stay in Danzig.
He enrols at the Polytechnic and commences his studies, returning each night to his lodgings where the behaviour of his landlady and her maid cause him some consternation. He finds comfort in his beloved Maria Mancini cigars and an ample supply of Burgundy wine, and life carries on, amusing and entertainingly for the reader, as the young Hans explores his new surroundings.
Continue reading Review: Castorp – Pawel Huelle
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