Marcel Moring (2)

Hell and nothing but that. That is the world.

In a Dark Wood: A Novel is an urgent retelling of the Inferno as by Patrick White. Ulysses, The Odyssey and The Flounder are all at play. There are also motorcycles, plenty of them -- and beer. This tale may involve survival but certainly not redemption. I have my doubts about the former as the central character emerges damaged and bereft, a healing transformation isn't in the cards. What was actualized within the novel was the incontinence of show more memory and a diminution of empathy post-Shoah.

3.5 stars

Soundtrack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JchD-NZWPM show less

I sat at the table, the intoxicating smell of fresh bread around me, and listened like a child being told that there's no such thing as Sinterklaas.

There is a wandering frame and focus to In Babylon. The disillusionment detailed above is an aspect of its effect, as is entropy: the latter receives a lengthy digression. The novel is also about false starts and dead ends. Its about picking up the pieces and attempting to find order, just as one's genetic code is screaming: RUN. Nathan show more Hollander, author of fairy tales and owner of a dismal romance record, has inherited his uncle's house. There is but one stipulation: he must compose a biography of his Uncle. Instead, a Oulipean taxonomy of the family ensues, most of which remains unfinished, the rest misleading. It reminds one of Mulisch or Nooteboom, the national bleak stare is evident, the need to look outward from the Netherlands: a harbor, designed for commerce and cultural projection. This is an engaging modernist epic stretching from Los Alamos to Israel on the cusp of the Yom Kippur War. An added perspective is a pair of family ghosts, prowling the estate since the 17th Century. It isn't all fun, but it is interesting. show less

In a Dark Wood, by Marcel Moring is a compelling book, and one that was difficult to write my thoughts on due to the intensity of the prose, underlying themes, strong metaphors and the overall contents of the novel, part of which is slightly based on Dante’s Inferno, which is the first part of Dante’s poem, The Divine Comedy.

Marcel Moring’s brilliance radiates throughout the pages, and his masterful writing is intense and filled with much to ponder, from metaphors to religious show more symbolism. I highly recommend In a Dark Wood, by Marcel Moring to those interested in the study of the after-effects, the human emotions and the trauma resulting from the Holocaust and how it can affect those who have survived the atrociousness. show less