Flaw

Hello Gentle Reader

Reality in the worlds of Magdalena Tulli is not always tangible. Reality for Tulli is something that is fashioned, in a haphazard manner. It rests on being constructed by competence. Competency rests on the workers, who are exiled into the rafters, to construct the backdrops and props of the realities that have been dictated to them. Producing a competent reality proves to be difficult, considering the works have been exiled to the rafters, where they are denied action and interaction within their own story. This leads to shoddy workmanship and cut corners, that produces a reality, which is shaped by this resentful disposition. And so the reality becomes: simple painted backgrounds, elaborate plots, and costumes worn that become characters and eventually fate. All of which is dispersed without discrimination. If one is handed the suit of a groom, he will look to his left, and see his beautiful brushing bride; and already envisions a life together. If one is given a wedding dress, she will look to her right, and see a man unbecoming of her dreams; and wonders how long a divorce procedural may take.  Reality in Tulli’s case is never concrete or realistic. For Tulli it is created with ease and convenience; and is always doomed to the undying threat of being torn down; and to be made room for something else. Something new and more brilliant. But in an overcrowded world, something new must occupy the space, of something already existing. Therefore reality is over changing; and its landscape always developing into something else. Yet fate remains the same for the characters. Their costumes change, and their plots mature further, but not always in a way that is benefiting to them. The love sick groom becomes a heart broken husk. The disgusted bride fears the possible future of becoming a spinster. Sympathies are offered to both. Such consolations are thrown over their heads like rice at their wedding day. Now the clerk finalizes the papers effectively negating the marriage with divorce; and severing their strings, effectively tossing their shared life into the past. All that remains, is a wedding photograph displayed behind a window, with other faded portraits of lost intimacy, which have no chance of developing further. They will be left to collect dust, and be passed by with indifference.

“Flaw,” by Magdalena Tulli, shows herself moving more forward as a novelist. She creates a setting that offers the makeshift impression that is realistic. Her characters, act in accordance with their roles, and have their own clandestine plots, that move parallel to their roles: an old police officer, who admires a servant girl; a student with radical ideological leanings; a notary who is burdened with household troubles and disputes; a servant girl who admires the young student. Around and around their hidden passions spin, like the tram, destined to move around the square in the same circular format; as what lies beyond the cobblestones, and resident homes, is sand and presumably nothing. This entire world takes place in its own world. As stated Tulli states:

“The story is not taking place here or there. It fits entirely into itself as into a glass globe.”

Yet Tulli is far from creating a ‘conventional,’ novel still. “Flaw,” is an allegory. Its setting is a stage play, complete with backdrops and props, to offer a sense of reality. Yet in typical Tulli fashion this is a postmodernist façade. Though a welcomed sense of metafictional reality in which the allegory of the novel will take place. The novel begins with the construction of costumes, of a tailor. This is a metaphor for the entire writing process, and creation as a whole:

“First will come the costumes. The tailor will supply them all wholesale. He'll select the designs off-handedly and, with a few snips of the shears, will summon to life a predictable repertoire of gestures. See--scraps of fabric and thread in a circle of light, while all around is darkness. Out of the turmoil will emerge a fold of cloth, the germ of a tuck fastened with a pin. The tuck will create everything else. If it's sufficiently deep, it will call into existence a glittering watch chain on a protruding belly, labored breathing, and a bald head bedewed with perspiration. One thing leads to another.”

The act of creation is one in the same in this case. Be it the snipping of shears, and sewing of fabric into clothes; or the creation of worlds through literary means. “Flaw,” itself is a novel that discusses the subject of fiction and the act of storytelling itself. The entire novel centres on a single day in the described and defined city square. The characters move about their daily lives as usual. The maid sets preparations for dinner, only to be accused of stealing by the mistress of the house, which leads to an argument and explosive household drama that will once again require the notary to be involved, before he heads off to work. The policeman makes his rounds as usual. He will stop before the photography shop, and admire a woman in a white coat, who has not aged a day as she is encased in that perfect moment, captured by the lens of a camera. He will salute her; and salute the symbol of the state, as a sign of his patriotism both held personally and professionally. A student frets over his exams, as worries about his future. Yet all of it comes to an end with an abrupt change.

A coup takes place somewhere off stage. This coup’s impact becomes apparent. Stocks begin to plummet, real estate prices fall, and inflation rises. Yet who is losing power, and who is gaining it is not entirely certain. But the ramifications are felt all the same. Then there is the arrival of the refugees. They stream out of the street. The political upheaval has displaced them. Their presences now within this story and the city square, is looked at with disapproval and distrust. That once idyllic scene of an everyday street square is suddenly cast into chaos and anarchy, further by the arrival of unwelcomed people, who carry their troubles in their luggage, and their winter clothes. Soon even clouds form overhead, and snow arrives.

The narrator of this story, who interjects now and then, admits to have lost complete control over the story; and in the absence of control, unscripted violence circulates. Items that are more concrete, than the present reality, begin to circulate: brass knuckles, knives, and guns are moving through the setting. The intention if these items could be exploited if they end up in the hands of, the wrong possessor. If the actions become more violent with these implements, the story will be cast further into anarchy and disarray.

Characters now begin to wear new costumes and their roles change. The once poor fretful student now sees an opportunity into which to showcase his radical ideals. He begins to round up other students, and create a guard, in which they will solve the problem with the refugees. They act on disciplinary measures, and seek to rectify the stain on the square. They will enact civil order and obedience, on a world cast into anarchy and chaos. Their actions are brutal, as justified by the harsh realities of the present. Soon the refugees are contained; and then lost. Yet whether or not order follows their disappearance is not known.

“Flaw,” by Magdalena Tulli is both allegory of the process of creation and writing; but it also an allegory, of socio-political means as well. “Flaw,” could be seen as an allegorical depiction of the atrocities committed during World War II: the political upheaval, the displacement of people from their homes and each other; the cruelties in which the individual or mass can perpetrate upon another individual or group can be seen. This novel is challenging. It is written with beautiful and gorgeous prose. However “Flaw,” is challenging, and a formidable foe, when it comes to comprehension. The subject matter is oppressive, and difficult. It’s not a beach read for sure, and its certainly not a leisurely read. At times the book is laboriously intensive and frustrating. Yet Tulli has shown that her works can move forward, with metaphor, and not the conventional formats of storytelling. It’s a riveting reinvention, and high experimentation, shows the intelligence of the writer. But it can become a bit daunting and difficult to read, that may lead to a confidence killer in a reader. But persistent pays off, and is often rewarding, if albeit frustrating.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

*And Remember: Downloading Books Illegally is Thievery and Wrong.* 

M. Mary

P.S. I look forward to seeing Magdalena Tulli’s work become translated into English further. It has come to my attention that Archipelago Books (who has published her subsequent novels: “Dreams and Stones,” “In Red,” “Moving Parts,” and “Flaw) has acquired the rights of her most recent book “Szum,” or “Noise.” No other news of its publication has come to my attention.