Marcel
When a European family’s history encompasses World War II, secrets take on special meaning. That’s the premise of Belgian author Erwin Mortier’s debut novel, told from the point of view of a young boy who has a strong physical resemblance to his dead relative, Marcel. Given the time, the setting, and the dark premonitional writing, it comes as little surprise to the reader when the boy discovers his revered relative fought with the Nazis. What makes the novel exceptional is the writing, some of which was so mesmerizing I found myself rereading sentences and phrases before I could go on.
The narrative point of view is very strongly realized, with its boyishly puerile emphasis on the strangely seductive qualities of his teacher, Miss Veegaete, and the almost alien quality of a child moving through the adult world of memory and secrets. The matriarch of the family, dressmaker Andrea, is referred to as “The Grandmother,” as if the relationship were a title and, in fact, the grandmother does function as a kind of queen, holding the family together and, more importantly, tending and maintaining the family memories and secrets, represented by the frequently dusted row of photographs on the mantel.
The descriptions and characters in this novel are darkly memorable; the reader is challenged to imagine all that is not told in this brief narrative, much as the child must piece together the truth of his own family from what is not said. A sometimes difficult read, but a worthwhile one.
