Writing in the Dark: Essays on Literature and Politics by David Grossman, Jessica Cohen

Abstract

3 I1 Even Gioia's insistence that i cool, without themodern term, is [ a very recent concept can be ques i tioned. He mentions Castiglione's [ The Courtier as perhaps a singular 1 anticipation of the cool, ignoring , or ignorant of Restoration Comedy 1 heroes of Etherege and Congreve or i Algernon Moncrieff or any number ' of characters, real and fictional, who i form thedandy tradition, which the [ reallyhip continued inodd ways. Ted Gioia maintains that irony , isdead or at least out of fashion,but 1 an ironistwill findplenty of targets i in a society so dedicated to the real 1 and authenticity that faking these i qualities becomes obligatory. [ Robert Murray Davis i University ofOklahoma I> David Grossman.Writing intheDark: i Essays on Literature and Politics. 1 Jessica Cohen, tr. New York. Picador i /Macmillan. 2009. 144 pages. $14.| isbn 978-0-312-42860-0 [ "Ever since knowing I would be i an author, I knew I would write , about the Holocaust," remembers 1 David Grossman. "I think these two convictions came tome at the same time."These comments by thenoted Israeli novelist, born in 1954 in Jeru salem, quickly blossom not only intoa prism specifically forviewing his own expansive, powerful novels such as See Under: Love and BeMy Knife but also into a meditation on the relationship between art and politics in general. Fundamental to Grossman's concern with the Holo caust is the attempt to understand what motivates "Others," and this effort includes painstakingly view ing himself in other historical set tings and personal circumstances. This leads the author to ask very difficult questions of himself, his country, and all of us. There have been almost as many artistic credos as there have been great artists over the centu ries,and many of thesedeclarations have made a claim for thepolitical relevance of literature. But Gross man's is one of themost poignant and unique that this reviewer has ever encountered. Moving from the Holocaust, through environmental issues and the nature ofmass media, to Israel's domestic and regional concerns, Grossman lays bare the = human fear of the unknown heart = and mind of the Other. He then E argues that literature aids under- = standing, and can aid the causes of = peace and justice, both by bringing = other cultures into focus and, more = importantly, by demanding that = readers revive their own individu- E ality,which is so overwhelmed and E cheapened in today'sworld ofmass E movements and mass consumption. E Ultimately, readers of good litera- = ture?and this, one hopes, includes = politicians?should take note of E how much attention and nurturing E writers must bestow on individual E characters tomake them succeed on = the page; this "mode of dedication E to the situation and to the people = trapped in it" dismantles stereo- = types and callous ignorance. = The texts in thisvolume include = a discussion of Grossman's youthE ful literary influences, especially E Sholem Aleichem and Bruno Schulz; = the importance ofwhat existed and E what happened "over there" (in E Europe) is omnipresent in Gross- = man's thought. Two of the essays E present a bold revisionist view of = Israeli history and politics. The final E selection is his talk at the Yitzhak E Rabin memorial rally in Jerusalem E in November 2006, when Grossman E powerfully put forth the idea of a = "peace of no choice" between the E Palestinians and Israelis. The com- = mon thread in all of Grossman's = discussions of Israeli society is the = specter of war that has overshad- E owed and undercut the region since E 1948.War has brought in towmil- E itarism and extremism and, with E them, lasting distortions of Israel's E cultural promise and identity. E This short but indispensable E collection of six essays is an erudite E and ethically compelling statement E of artistichumanism; Writing in the E ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Dark is crisplywritten, intellectually fruitful,and highly recommended indeed. John K. Cox North Dakota StateUniversity Mark Nowak. Coal Mountain Elemen tary. Ian Teh, photographer. Minneap olis. Coffee House (Consortium, distr.). 2009. 181 pages, ill. $20. isbn 978-1 56689-228-5 Howard Zinn's description ofMark Nowak's Coal Mountain Elementary as "a tribute to miners and...