Herbjorg Wassmo, House With The Blindglass Windows, (Huset med den blinde glassveranda)



Roseann Lloyd (Translator), Allen Simpson (Translator)



Reviewed By Crystal Sims



The subject matter of this book will be difficult for many peole to stomach. The story is set on a remote Norwegian island a decade after World War II. Tora, the illegitimate daughter of a German soldier, lives under the stigma of her birth. Her mother suffered ostracism and abuse because of her relationship with Tora's father and Tora is abused in the village as "that German brat." At home, Tora is physically, sexually and emotionally abused by her brutal step-father. Although Tora desperately needs protection from this abuse, she deals with her pain alone, not wanting to add to her mother's already heavy burden. The House with the Blind Glass Windows exposes the harsh realities of life in this poor fishing village. Tora is not alone in her struggles and pain. Her struggles parallel those of the whole village. Through Wassmo's narrative, the reader sees the daily struggles and abuses that no one else seems to see. We look through the windows and see that which others are blind to.


Similar in a way to Jennifer Lash's writing, the brutal narrative is tempered by Wassmo's spare and lyric prose. When I first read the book, I was especially taken with the melodic aspect of several particularly graphic passages [where Tora compares herself to a skinned cat and an old Jewish peddlar -- all of whom she believes must deserve their abuse by their very existence]. What is it, besides Wassmo's narrative style that makes the tale of graphic abuse worth reading? Like Pelle and Franky, Tora is a survivor. In spite of the horrors of her life she is able to imagine herself in a place where life holds promise. She is also ready to find nurturing, inspiration and guidance wherever it is available, from her aunt, a teacher; and another child who is "injured", namely a young deaf-mute friend. Most of all, however, she is able to find the strength in herself to survive and overcome.

 

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