“A year and an instant are equivalent in a monotonous life.”
Mladi švedski imigrant Håkan odlukom svog oca sa bratom Linusom napušta Švedsku u potrazi za boljim životom. Na putu se slučajno razdvoji od brata i stiže u Kaliforniju. Odlučan pronaći Linusa krene prema New Yorku pješice. Na tom putovanju Amerika ga ne dočekuje raširenih ruku…
Izvanredno napisana knjiga, meditativna i živopisna te fenomenalno stvoren glavni lik kojega neću tako skoro zaboraviti, ako i ikada! Priča Håkana izrazito je realna, a samim time i beskrajno tužna. Prikazuje svu surovost prvih godina života imigranata u Americi – obećanoj zemlji.
Håkan stiže kao dječak pun snova koje ubrzo ugasi okrutnost odraslog svijeta, tuga i gubitci. Håkan brzo postaje lik kojeg morate voljeti i kojeg želite zagrliti, utješiti i zaštititi. Nakon što napravi puni krug autor nam za kraj ostavlja tračak nade u bolje sutra za Håkana izgrađeno na nasumičnim djelima dobrote pojedinaca.
Ovim skoro pa savršenim prvijencom Diaz je prikazao i ono lijepo u čovjeku, ali i ono beskrajno ružno. Mene je u potpunosti osvojio, podsjetio na vesterne koje sam kao mala gledala sa tatom, vratio u prošlost i uopće me ne čude sve nominacije i nagrade koje je osvojio. Volite li bildungsromane, povijesnu fikciju i opise prirode od mene svakako imate preporuku.
[english]
In the Distance – Hernan Diaz
The young Swedish immigrant Håkan, due to his father’s decision, leaves Sweden with his brother Linus in search of a better life. On the way, he accidentally gets separated from his brother and arrives in California. Determined to find Linus, he sets out for New York on foot. On that trip, America does not welcome him with open arms…
An outstandingly written book, meditative and vivid, and a phenomenally created main character that I will not soon forget, if ever! Håkan’s story is extremely realistic, and therefore infinitely sad. It shows all the cruelty of the first years of life of immigrants in America – the promised land.
Håkan arrives as a boy full of dreams, which are soon extinguished by the cruelty of the adult world, sadness and loss. Håkan quickly becomes a character you have to love and want to hug, comfort and protect. After coming full circle, the author finally leaves us with a glimmer of hope for a better tomorrow for Håkan built on individuals’ random acts of kindness.
With this almost perfect debut, Diaz showed both the beautiful in man, but also the infinitely ugly. He won me over completely, reminded me of the westerns I watched as a child with my dad, took me back in time, and I’m not at all surprised by all the nominations and awards this book won. If you like bildungsroman, historical fiction and nature writing, you definitely have a recommendation from me.
