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.
The book is very concerned with the state of the Catholic Church, which Huelle sees as becoming more nationalistic, fundamentalist and anti-Semitic, partly in response to the growing influence of Islam (Huelle actually forsees a Mosque being built in Gdansk and also terrorist explosions in the city). However, wider themes of art and culture are covered, and the writing is in many ways post-modern, notably when it describes the impossibility of finding a middle way between a reactionary traditionalism on the one hand and an absurd avant-gardism on the other. W B Yeats oft-repeated phrase applies here: “things fall apart, the centre cannot hold”, for when the fault-lines have been found in comfortable old truths, there is no going back to the security they offered. When the cultural context of the old truths has disappeared, they struggle like fish on the river-bank.
To Huelle, Polish culture is essentially Christian, but Christ somehow fails to find traction, and prophetic voices are lost among the general cultural chaos. This theme recurs throughout the book. Even when a Jewish scroll from the book of Zachariah descends above a Mass being conducted by an anti-Semitic priest, nothing really happens other than a suggestion that genuine judgement may be taking place in some other realm unseen by the participants. Huelle lives on the edge of dichotomy where faith does not bring peace, and contradiction is everywhere: the gay man who falls in love with a mystical Sufi dancer, the devotion of the masses somehow provoked by an exploitative and corrupt Catholic hierarchy, the “Islamic terrorism” which turns out to be the work of a recovering Polish alcoholic.
Huelle focuses on the work of the 19th century artist David Roberts who followed a devotional path of painting Biblical scenes while on location in Jerusalem. Roberts’ work is contrasted with avant-gardists who see the destruction of such “kitsch” works of art as an authentic artistic statement in themselves, as valid as the work of creation that went into the original painting.
At one point, Huelle criticises the Turner Prize and artists such as Damien Hirst, perhaps forgetting the success of galleries like London’s Tate Modern which are thronged with people young and old who are hungry to experience new forms of artistic expression. At this point, Huelle feels a little like the Stuckists who demonstrate outside the Turner exhibition proclaiming that it is radical and progressive to seek a renewal of spiritual values in art and contemporary culture (not realising that to adopt a position of opposition is merely to confirm the ascendancy of the dominant idea). A return to traditional values is always reactionary, whereas to find a synthesis with the new will result in growth and a new direction more appropriate to the age.
I somehow felt that the author was more at home with his previous styles of writing – at which he is excels. Castorp for example was witty and a delight to read, but sometimes the writing in The Last Supper felt a little contrived. For example, in typical post-Modern style, the author’s voice frequently steps out of the pages to speak directly to the reader:
p59: Is that enough for this chapter? I tap away at the keys, then I email it to you and I never know what you’ll say
p99: It’s true. I am not an omniscient narrator. But as I haven’t yet told you, I did use a recorder to tape conversations that were meant to lead to this book
p151: I can tell you’re getting impatient at this point . . . at this point I’d prefer not to enter the Free University with Berdo as the door crashes shut behind him
I found this not a little disconcerting. When reading fiction, surely the reader has to be drawn into the story and when this happens several times in a book, it feels a little like someone who keeps interrupting a DVD in order to have a loo-break or to go and make a cup of coffee. You need to get back into the story quickly so that you can regain concentration and continue on your way.
This is of course a highly significant new book and essential reading for anyone who follows modern European literature. It is a challenging read and in my view would benefit from a prologue to set some context for non-Polish readers. For someone who enjoyed Huelle’s other books, this will be a departure from what is expected, but on the other hand it will stimulate thought and will widen viewpoints.
As with Huelle’s other books, The Last Supper benefits from a stylish and lucid translation by Antonia Lloyd Jones. I am totally ignorant of the Polish language, but as with all good translations, I forgot that the book was not written in English. Incidentally, Polish fiction in sorely unrepresented in English translation and I have found the website Polish Writing very helpful in guiding me towards other Polish writers. The website includes an interesting interview with Antonia Lloyd Jones about translating another Polish book.
