Comedy in a Minor Key
Hans Keilson (Translated by
Damion Searls)
All books, to some extent,
reflect the period in which they were written, and I thus find stories written
around the time of major historical events to be particularly interesting. Having
lived in the occupied Netherlands during World War II, Hans Keilson
automatically brings a certain amount of authenticity to his work about the
Nazi era, and Comedy in a Minor Key retains
a particular kind of war-weary weight despite being published a couple of years
after the end of the war. The novella traffics in a kind of weariness, conveyed
through its consistently elegiac tone and its use of meandering sentences that
frequently drop off into flashbacks or flashforwards. Past recollections blend
in seamlessly with the problems of the novel's present, and everything coexists
as though the characters and readers alike are experiencing a dream. This
narrative structure fits the mood, themes, and plot perfectly, and when a
particular phrase is repeated early in the book it seems like a particularly
insightful testament to the banality and repetition of life in- and, to a
certain extent, out of- wartime (I am not aware whether Keilson repeated the
words verbatim or whether it is the translator's interpretation). None of the
characters are explored in particular depth, but as the novella concentrates on
an otherwise ordinary Dutch couple who agree to take in a Jewish refugee the vagueness
actually reinforces the story's already considerable emotional power. Comedy in a Minor Key is a beautifully
written (and aptly titled) contemplation of aspects of daily life under Nazi
occupation, made more powerful by Keilson's decision to narrow his focus and subtly
concentrate on the everyday heroics that occur when people simply decide to do
the right thing.
Grade: A
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