Jan Karski by Yannick Haenel (review)

Upon reading the text, the reader soon comes to understand that this is no ordinary dictionary, for the definitions of the words cannot be separated from the uniquely unorthodox and intensely subjective perspective of the nameless narrator . The overwhelming diversity and unusual complexity if not baroque aspects of the thematic fabric, together with the discontinuity of thought, often give the text an illusiveness and an obscurity which make precise comprehension and intelligibility difficult. In addition, many of these definitions, being grounded not only in an astonishing erudition but also in a poetic prose that, in its dazzling imagery and in its flashes of eroticism, can be at times challenging for the reader to work through. But the reader is likely to be disconcerted less by these seeming obstacles than moved and inspired by what the narrator has poured into these definitions. Some of the subjects included are poignant anecdotes of his tumultuous past, isolated incidents of a childhood characterized by great sadness but also by a compulsive interest in and by a compelling fascination for the outer galaxies, meditations at once philosophical and psychological in nature, scientific reflections on cosmology, illuminating observations (often conveyed in maxims) on mankind, on the inadequacy of language and on the hypocrisy of societal conventions , rhapsodic words describing his desire to find a lost love, etc. Yet a profound pessimism and skepticism both in thought and in tone pervade these definitions. Very little is sacred to the narrator who tends to overtly negate and rebel against human values and institutions and reject most forms of idealization. Nonetheless, a sense of hope does manifest itself in the narrator’s belief in the power of love: “Aimer est le seul mystère, sans doute. Tout le reste est trafic d’aveugles” (106). He knows that he has loved. This is his one truth, the memories of which, however fleeting and even fantastical, sustain him: “Car enfin, j’ai aimé, j’aime une femme, sans même savoir ni où je l’ai connue, ni qui elle peut être” (129). The density of these definitions would work against any rapid review or analysis. Suffice it to state that, from multiple perspectives, many of them are brilliant, original, and above all, marvelously poetic. Remarkably, these definitions have the potential to startle the reader, to challenge old beliefs and concepts, and perhaps even encourage the reader to reflect upon and to reexamine if not transform his own reality. Haddad’s literary genius shines throughout this novel. University of Southern Maine Lucia A. DiBenedetto HAENEL, YANNICK. Jan Karski. Paris: Gallimard, 2009. ISBN 978-2-07-012311-7. Pp. 187. 16,50 a. Yannick Haenel’s protagonist, Jan Karski, was a Catholic Pole who worked for the Polish resistance as a secret agent to publicize the plight of the Jews and mobilize international aid. The novel vividly depicts the frustration of a man who witnessed one of the greatest human tragedies and was unable to stop it. Throughout the novel, Haenel explores conceptions of time and memory. Haenel, fascinated by Karski’s telling of his visit to the Warsaw ghetto in Claude Lanzmann’s documentary film, Shoah, analyzes the interview in the first chapter of his book. He describes Karski’s initial reticence and emotional break-down. After recovering, Karski begins the story in the past tense, and then shifts into the present. Although he says “I will not go back,” he does, as if he cannot recall the story without returning to the past. Reviews 419 The first chapter also highlights Haenel’s experiments with notions of perspective and narrative viewpoint. In this chapter, we have Karski, quoting the two Jewish leaders who guided him through the ghetto in 1942, being filmed by Lanzmann in 1985, being watched by Haenel, who is writing about it in 2009. In the second chapter, the prism of perspectives narrows. Haenel narrates the story in the third person, summarizing Karski’s autobiographical text, Story of a Secret State, published in 1944. The third chapter’s perspective is even more direct, as Karski himself emerges as the fictional first-person narrator. This is the voice that highlights the case of Poland, which Karski feels was forgotten...