Book Review: Tirza by Arnon Grunberg
Cats: Literature|Arnon Grunberg, a Dutch novelist whose work has been translated in different languages, outdone himself with his latest novel called “Tirza”. The plot is written from the perspective of Jörgen Hofmeester, a publisher whose only passion is to take care of his youngest daughter, gets into a mental vacuum once his daughter graduates and wants to leave on a trip to Africa. His idea of freedom by having collected enough money on a Swiss Hedge Fund goes up in flames after the 9/11 incident. He not only loses his money, but also gets dismissed from his job because of lack of accomplishments. His wife, who left him years ago comes back and disrupts his safety zone of domestic rituals. Hofmeester, whose life in fact was a failure, focuses on the success of his youngest daughter Tirza, to the point that he calls her super gifted and unknowingly drives her into anorexia nervosa. The fear of losing his only meaning in life, which is being a father to Tirza, reaches a stage in which his psyche lies to him and forces him to go through extreme measures to punish those whom he sees as the source of his own failure.
Grunberg has a delicate way of showing the reader the vulnerability of his characters by writing in the language of the character itself. The plot is put together carefully, explaining the detailed values of the characters and their place in the plot. The storyline is dynamic and refreshing. The success of a book is proved by the fact that it is written in such a way that the reader develops sympathy for the main character which would seem impossible knowing the actions of the character. The only point of criticism might be that a good reader already would know the ending of the book due to certain hints that are given halfway through the storyline. Grunberg in this part underestimated his readers. In general the novel is an undeniable exquisite piece of literature.
