Между куче и вълк

by Elske Rahill, Елске Рахил

Талантливата ирландска писателка Елске Рахил с основание е сравнявана със светила на провокативната проза като Брет Ийстън Елис и Чък Паланюк, но без нихилизма на първия и цинизма на втория. Нейният дебютен роман „Между куче и вълк” скандализира с натурализма си, но литературните критици в родината й смятат, че Елске Рахил е новата звезда на ирландска литература, родила такива гении като Оскар Уайлд и Джеймс Джойс.

Героите на романа - Хелън, Ошийн и Касандра, са студенти в елитния колеж „Тринити“ в Дъблин. Те са млади, умни и красиви и живеят на ръба – секс, наркотици, бляскави партита, весели авантюри и анонимни връзки с непознати. На пръв поглед водят безметежно съществуване и живеят ден за ден.

Но вътрешният им свят е по-интересен и богат на конфликти от външния. Авторката на този забележителен роман се гмурка дълбоко под повърхността на евтините тръпки и изкуствения блясък, за да разкрие най-съкровените мисли, чувства и мечти на своите герои, извършвайки една своеобразна психологическа дисекция на днешното младо поколение. Спомени от детството се преплитат с изненадващо проникновени разсъждения върху живота и смъртта, любовта и загубата, старостта и младостта. Постепенно читателят осъзнава, че тримата главни герои в книгата не са просто самоуверени младежи, опиянени от собствената си неуязвимост и красота, а чувствителни млади хора, изтъкани от противоречия, изпълнени със страхове и комплекси, несигурни за бъдещето си и отчаяно търсещи своето място в света, хора като всички нас.

Безпардонно натуралистичният език, който младата авторка използва, допълнително засилва чувството за автентичност. Героите оживяват на страниците на книгата и този неподправен реализъм ни позволява не само да ги опознаем и разберем, но и да им съчувстваме и да ги обикнем, сякаш са наши приятели.

Genres: Irish Literature, Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 2013

About the author

ELSKE RAHILL grew up in Dublin and lives in Burgundy, France, with her partner and children. Her first novel. She is the author of Between Dog and Wolf, published by The Lilliput Press in 2013 and the collection of short stories In White Ink, published by Head of Zeus in 2017.

Reviews

[Alec Mcallister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely well written and enjoyable book charting the confused and sometimes lost lives of three young Dublin arts students. Never self indulgent, it is gritty and sometimes quite disturbing. The style is unusual; three different points of view are used for the three main characters - Helen 2nd person, Cassandra 1st person, Oisin 3rd person. It works though and is well bedded down within a few pages. It gives the author a wonderful freedom, but never jars with the reader. It isn't just style for the sake of cleverness. Surprised I haven't heard more about this book. It deserves a wider audience.

[Sami Ridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would anyone like to start a discussion on the symbolism of this book? Or maybe post a link of the author discussing the work? I’m a little too blinded by love to give a good assessment and I’m dying to know why she made some of the choices she did with names, affectations, etc. so good.

[Kriegslok · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A strange word: love. A fool's word everyone wants to trust, even this poor, broken hearted, obsessive old sod, dismantling his like a public autopsy."

I discovered this quite manic work by accident searching for a book of the same title by another author. Set in Dublin it follows three students as they struggle with early adulthood, past childhood traumas and decidedly uncertain looking futures. There is a very gritty manic realism to the characters as they act and interact with each other and the world. We are given privileged access to both their public and private personas. We know what they think they think of and about each other. There is a brutal and uncomfortable honesty to this fiction. Relationships are consummated and crumble. Carefully and often painfully curated personas provide shelter from a cruel world behind which a chasm is there waiting to swallow up the tired and unwary. It might not be a feel good book but its manically good at what it does.

"I look in her mirror and see how old I am now, at the age of twenty one, and I realise that it's too late to ever be young, and too late for me ever to get it right. I could spend my life untangling the past, unearthing the dead, moment by moment, bu I will never find my way back to the start. Time will keep chugging ahead while I rummage in memory, and I will get older and older."

[Lorcan McNamee · Rating 3 out of 5]

An uncompromising book. Based around three young students in Trinity College, Dublin, it is about sex and growing up, with a good sprinkling of mothers and daughters as a central theme.

There are a lot of descriptions of sex in the novel, but almost none of them are erotic: sex in this book is connected to domination, control and fantasy; it certainly doesn't seem to be a lot of fun or very pleasurable. The human body and its functions are also prominent: there is semen, menstrual blood, a miscarriage, childbirth, live sex shows, transvestism.

And yet, what the novel lacks is humour. It is powerful, but the characters are just too constantly intense, misguided, stumbling from one crisis to another. The tone is melancholy and dark; there is little joy in their lives.

This book is innovative and honest, but could do with some light, a breath of fresh air.

[Emil Minchev · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply moving portrait of three fascinating characters and a psychologically authentic examination of their whole generation.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between Dog and Wolf is a dark, truthful tale surrounding three college students as they try to figure out where they belong, and address the myriad of things their bodies are screaming at them.
Cassandra, a model yearning for the bohemian lifestyle while trying to do all the things she thinks she needs to do. Helen, the child of wealthy parents who wants nothing more than to discover who she really is. And Oisin, a confused young man who tries to hold onto his lads while figuring himself out.
The book is well written, and disturbing at times. The characters are relatable and obnoxious to the point where there gets to be a desire to smack them. But that’s what makes the novel so truthful and so real. I really enjoyed the book, however the ending kind of lost me. One scene in particular, a minuscule paragraph of one, I feel did not need to happen as it added nothing.
Overall the Between Dog and Wolf was compelling, dark, disturbing, sometimes funny, and a solid read.