So if Alex’s language is the domain of the novel’s stylistic creative endeavours, in Jonathan’s story, reality and reliability become areas in which to assert the power of the imagination. Whether it is in the discovery of the baby girl in the river at the end of this chapter, or in the inexplicable survival of the Kolker after a blade sticks in his head, Jonathan repeatedly distorts the boundaries of the believable in his story. Uncertainty, present here in the form of an option in facts, persists in his tale so as to strain the credulity levels of the reader. We first ‘hear’ his voice when he asserts: “It was March 18, 1791, when Trachim B’s double-axle wagon either did or did not pin him against the bottom of the Brod river” (8).
Jonathan, on the other hand, (re)constructs the (his)story of Trachimbrod. As raconteur, Alex’s role is to tell the story of the search, and in the process, the story of his grandfather as well. His is a verbal gymnastic created out of slang and impossibly erudite language, evident in such remarks as, “But nonetheless, I know many people who dig rapid cars and famous discotheques” (2). Mother dubs me Alexi-stop-spleening-me!, because I am always spleening her” (1). “My legal name is Alexander Perchov” says Alex, and with this introduction, he draws us into a world of linguistic singularity to continue: “But all of my many friends dub me Alex, because that is a more flaccid-to-utter version of my legal name. The spectrum between the two voices that construct the novel highlights the remarkable versatility of the English language, whose contours become unpredictable in Alex’s use of it. Accompanying the two in their search is Alex’s grandfather, and their bitch, Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior. Alex’s skills in this direction are dubious, but he makes up in enthusiasm what he lacks in competence. Jonathan does not know Ukrainian, and hires the services of Alex as translator. All Jonathan has to help him in his search is a photograph of Augustine. Jonathan Safran Foer, designated by Alex as “the hero of this story” (1) is travelling to Ukraine to look for Augustine, the woman who supposedly saved his grandfather during the second world war.
Volume 9, Issue 2: Mixing Visual Media in Comics.Volume 10, Issue 3: Comics and Fine Art Forum.
0 kommentar(er)
