El inventor de palabras
Gerard Donovan
Publicado: 2006 | 157 páginas
Intriga

La vida de Julius Winsome, en una remota cabaña de los bosques de Maine, ha acabado pareciéndose al paisaje que lo rodea: silencioso, aislado, insondable. Pero cuando su perro, Hobbes, muere a manos de un cazador, en un descuido o en un acto de crueldad, la discreta existencia de Julius, ya en la cincuentena, da un vuelco. Precisamente, Hobbes era lo único que le quedaba de un antiguo y fugaz amor. En adelante tendrá por toda compañía el viejo fusil familiar, con el que su abuelo luchó en la primera guerra mundial, y los numerosos libros que cubren las paredes de la cabaña.

La vida de Julius Winsome, en una remota cabaña de los bosques de Maine, ha acabado pareciéndose al paisaje que lo rodea: silencioso, aislado, insondable. Pero cuando su perro, Hobbes, muere a manos de un cazador, en un descuido o en un acto de crueldad, la discreta existencia de Julius, ya en la cincuentena, da un vuelco. Precisamente, Hobbes era lo único que le quedaba de un antiguo y fugaz amor. En adelante tendrá por toda compañía el viejo fusil familiar, con el que su abuelo luchó en la primera guerra mundial, y los numerosos libros que cubren las paredes de la cabaña. Porque la lectura no sólo le procura consuelo, sino también inspiración para convertirse en un «inventor de palabras», a imitación de su admirado William Shakespeare. Pese a todo, la melancolía en que le sume la muerte de Hobbes le llevará a acariciar la idea de vengarse.

This book lingers, making one long, love, hate and despair. It is written in such a subdued, sparse and yet poetic way, that at times the pain and sadness becomes visceral.

The story seems straightforward: Julius is a loner in his early fifties, living on his own in a cabin in remote Maine. His mom died in childbirth, his dad stuffed the cabin with books (also from Julius’ granddad) teaching his son the value of books (in particular Shakespeare’s coining of new English words, which provides the novel with some quirky lingo). Other key lessons of life that were passed on from his dad and granddad concern the use of guns and engagement in wars (His granddad was in ww1, taking a sniper gun with him; his dad was part of the airborne operations of market garden during ww2 in Holland, Nijmegen). The gun (an Enfield with telescope), Shakespeare’s slang and a dog become pivotal in the dark story unfolding.

The story revolves around love, solitude, loss and anger. One day Julius hears a shot ringing the air. This happens quite often around his remote cabin, which is situated in woody hunting grounds. This time however, it is his dog that was executed at close range. The dog, a bull terrier, is the last remnant of Julius’ only love in life (a woman who came wandering out of the woods one day, and flitted around for the duration of a year or so before settling in with a Police officer in the nearby town). His grief and anger trigger some scary action (clinical execution of a string of hunters, who could have been the perpetrators of the dog shooting, or not…). Meanwhile the winter is setting in and Julius reminiscences about life, love and death relating the stories of his grandfather, father and dog (Hobbes, one learns quite a lot about the loving and protective character of these dogs – a sharp contrast to the aggressive nature for which they are generally known. Most impressive is the anecdote on how Hobbes saves a chick from a bird of prey, a feat of exceptional cunning, dearth and anticipation).

Cruel as his violent responses may be, Julius grows on you. There is also something elusive transpiring from Julius’ story – something that may teach us about (imposed) isolation, the deeper layers of loss and violent responses, such as we witnessed or experienced during covid19 times. ( )

This book really haunted me. It is spare and contains so much loneliness and rage that actually boils over into cool acceptance. While wholly wrong events take place, I couldn't help but feel they were also terribly right.

A man lives alone in a cabin lined with books in the Maine woods. His grandfather has passed away as has his father. He is a man of few words, as was his grandfather, as was his father. Nourished only by literature, a woman walks out of the woods, becomes his companion and after a while, once it is time for her to go, encourages him to get a dog. Hobbes. A hunter shoots Hobbes at point blank range and Julius Winsome cannot let the loss of his perfect love go unavenged. ( )

I need to think on this one. I like it a lot. It's weird and it's creepy and it's got some fabulous writing in it, but there's something in there I'm not quite getting. Definitely worth your time though. ( )