Subject: The Dwarf
From: Paul Miller (phm@midsouth.rr.com)
Date: Thu Apr 06 2000 - 23:46:36 EDT
I just recommended this book to a literature list I am on and thought I
would copy it along to the fishbowl as well.
As far as suggestions, and this is for
everyone on the list, I think "The Dwarf" by Par Lagerkvist is a really
great book stylistically, artistically, and very funny at times once you get
past having to see everything from the Dwarf's perspective.
Lagerkvist won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1951 and "The Dwarf" is
widely regarded as his greatest novel.
I found this review by Katie Shillcut at Amazon in the readers review
section:
"Lagerkvist won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1951, and rightfully so.
This book is an excellent example of his masterful treatment of the duality
of humans and, in particular, their evil side, which the dwarf personifies.
It truly makes one think about the "ape-like" man/dwarf within.
The narrative, while purposely biased by the dwarf's extremely negative view
of the world and the humans he serves, grips the reader from the beginning
as Piccolino (the dwarf) describes himself and the world around him. The
secret lives of the courtiers (the Princess, in particular), the wars and
battle scenes, the visits to the Prince (to whom the dwarf is a sort of
"right-hand man" at times) by condottieri and intellectuals alike, and the
dwarf's personal trials and thoughts on these matters are all fascinating,
both as a history lesson in disguise and as a look at human nature from a
refreshing point of view.
This book was completely different from anything I've read before and I have
been completely taken by it. If you are interested in the duality of humans,
God, and nature, in learning more about oneself, or even just the Italian
renaissance period, this book is a must-read."
Paul
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