بقايا يوم صيفي

by Christine Dwyer Hickey, هند عادل (translator)

"إدوارد هوبر"، الرسَّام الأمريكي الشهير الذي هرب من حياة المدينة إلى الشاطئ البعيد في "كيب كود" بولاية "ماساتشوستس" لكي يحاول أن يرسم ويخرج طاقته الفنية من جديد، ومعه "جو"، زوجته، تغار منه وعليه، دائمًا تعيش داخل قوقعتها التي ملأتها باليأس من عدم قدرتها على التأقلم معه.
يقابلا "كاثرين"، عمة "ريتشي"، المرأة الجميلة التي كتب لها القدر حياة أليمة يملؤها المرض، المرأة الحالمة التي تجذب انتباه "إدوارد"، وتلهمه، فينجذب إليها أكثر، وتغار زوجته عليه أكثر وأكثر.
إنها رواية عن حياة الرسَّام الشهير، لكن من عيون طفل صغير، اسمه "مايكل"، طفل ألماني من أيتام الحرب سيقضي الصيف مع "ريتشي" وعائلته الغنية. أمه بالتبني ترسله إلى هناك بالقطار، وتوصيه الكثير، وأهم الوصايا هي ألا يتحدث الألمانية.
"ريتشي"، الفتى الغني المدلل، الذي تربيه أمه الجميلة، وجدته وعمته، مات والده في الحرب، لكنه لم يتقبل بعد فكرة الحياة من دونه، ولا يتقبل "مايكل"، الفتى غريب الأطوار الذي جاء دخيلًا على حياته.
يتقابل الطفلان مع "إدوارد هوبر" وزوجته اللذين يعيشان بعيدًا، فيحاول "مايكل" أن يجد فيهما ما يبحث عنه.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Irish Literature, Historical, Art, Ireland, The United States Of America

432 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2019

About the author

Christine Dwyer Hickey is a novelist and short-story writer. Her novel Tatty was short-listed for Irish Book of the Year in 2005 and was also long-listed for The Orange Prize. Her novels, The Dancer, The Gambler and The Gatemaker were re-issued in 2006 as The Dublin Trilogy three novels which span the story of a Dublin family from 1913 to 1956.

Twice winner of the Listowel Writers Week short story competition, she was also a prize winner in the Observer/Penguin short-story competition. Her latest novel, Last Train from Liguria, is set in 1930’s Fascist Italy and Dublin in the 1990’s and will be published in June 2009.

Reviews

[د.سيد (نصر برشومي) · Rating 4 out of 5]

رواية كريستين دوير هيكي
بقايا يوم صيفي
العنوان الذي اختارته الكاتبة الأيرلندية كريستين دوير هيكي هو
The Narrow Land
الذي يعني من منظور المعجم الأرض الضيقة
انتقل الدال من المكان إلى الزمان في النسخة العربية
ولأن الرواية خيال يتعمق في مرجعية واقعية متخذا من شخصية الرسام الأمريكي إدوارد هوبر وزوجه
فإن الأرض الضيقة عنوان يتحوّل من مكان فعلي في
جزيرة "كيب كود" شرق أمريكا
إلى اللوحة، تلك المساحة التي تحتضن رؤية الفنان للكون
رواية مثل بحث، سبعة فصول
الأول صغير كمقدمة
والآخر سطور كخاتمة
وبينهما خماسية سردية تناسب كألوان مائية ترسم شخصيات الرواية بجمال ودقة
بخاصة هوبر الذي يتنازعه البحث عن الإلهام المنبعث من الحب
مستجيبا لهوية مازالت تتشبث بروح طفل يتذكر أمه من ناحية
وغيرة المرأة شريكة حياته المعذبة بمحاولات تحقق غير مكتملة في دنيا الفن
لتصب على الزوج المشهور سخطها ونقمتها على الرجال والنساء معا من ناحيةأخرى
لحظة تاريخية تتوالد منها مفاهيم العالم الجديد بعد الحرب العالمية الثانية
ما معنى الحرب؟ كيف تحتضن البشرية جراح الفقد وآلام الفراق؟ ما مصير الأطفال
الذين أصبحوا يتامى لتربط بينهم صداقة ناقصة لا تخلو من مؤمرات صغيرة
لاجتذاب المحبة والاهتمام؟ وعلى أفق مفتوح
يظل الخيال محلقا
محاولا التقاط صورة لغد
يتشكّل في فضاء غائم
استمدت كريستين هيكي من لغة الفن التشكيلي صورة السرد
حرصت على استقصاء ملامح تكوين في ذاكرة المبدع
وهو يرتب أجزاء اللوحة أمام عينه
محاولا صب الهوية الروحية
في المنظر البصري
تمتاز الرواية بالأسلوب التحليلي
الذي يستنطق المكبوت النفسي
في مونولوجات ترسم الشخصيات من الداخل
ترجمة جميلة فيها استراتيجية الاختفاظ بروح النص
تعي أنها تترجم فنا
يقول من وراء قناع
ولا يدعي امتلاك المعرفة

[Nessrina Hazem · Rating 5 out of 5]

خمس نجوم بجدارة ❤️
ببساطة لأني مفتقدة أقرا رواية بالهدوء و الجمال ده. هي رحلة فنية بصحبة الرسام الأمريكي الشهير إدوارد هوبر و زوجته.

بتاخدنا الكاتبة لمصيف كيب كود في آخر أيام الصيف.
بين نسيم البحر و حركة الأمواج و رائحة الطلاء، بترسم الشخصيات.. شخصيات لطيفة و كل شخصية منهم حبتها و اتعاطفت معاها و تفهمتها.


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أولهم "السيدة إيتش" أو جوزفين زوجة الرسام. تعاطفت مع احساسها بالنقص و حبها و تملكها و غيرتها، هل هي شريكة في نجاح زوجها و شهرته و لا مجرد ظل له؟
في ظل حضوره الطاغي كناطحة السحاب بيزيد احساسها بالضآلة و انها سِلِم من خلاله بتتعرف الجميلات على زوجها.

"بعد كل هذه السنوات من التجاهل و الوحدة و تحطيم قلبي، بسببك أنت لوحاتي ميتة بلا روح، بسببك أنت لا أستطيع الرسم مجدداً."

دوشتها و اندفاعها و حِدِّتها أحياناً كل ده بسبب إهمال زوجها ليها و احساسها بالوحدة و افتقادها للونس و التقدير.أقل اهتمام منه بيسعدها و كأنها طفلة مش سيدة في نهاية الستينات.

" الكلمات الجارحة لا يمكن سحبها، الكلمات هي أسوأ سلاح، فهي قاسية و شريرة و مريرة.. إنها كالجرح الذي ينزف صديدا"

أما هو فهو الرسام ادوارد هوبر الشهير او" السيد إيتش" محط إعجاب النساء في كل مناسبة و مكان، بفنه و شخصيته و لطفه مع الناس، رغم ذلك فهو زوج مخلص.
إلا انه بيمر بفترة فتور خلال بحثه عن إلهامه و محاولة إيجاد فكرة لوحة جديدة.

"يزداد الوضع صعوبة كل عام و تقل قيمته، و كأنه يحمل حقيبة مليئة بالصخور و يصعد بها تلاً، و في كل مرة يزداد عددها"

طبيعة السيد إيتش مختلفة عن زوجته، هو شخصية هادئة بيميل للعزلة و اناني شوية. و فنه و الهامه فوق كل شئ. لكن تعريفه للفن غريب.

"لم يخبرها انه يحب المنظر حين يراه لأول مرة، و حين يحمل الفكرة في عقله و ينتظر بصمت حتى تتكون على القماش، و حين ينظر إلى الرسومات الأولية و يشعر بالرغبة في إتمام اللوحة، و حين تكون اللوحة حبيسة خياله و تخرج تدريجياً.. يحب كل هذا، يحبه أكثر من أي حب شعر به نحوها أو نحو أي امرأة."

"أحب الفكرة حين تبرز في عقلي و تتكون لكن عندها.. بمجرد أن تظهر تدريجياً على القماش، تصبح أقل من توقعاتي، و كلما تقدمت في رسمها، شعرت بأنني أدمرها، و بمجرد انتهائي منها لا يبقى في قلبي ألا الخراب.. خراب الفكرة "

الرواية بتدور أحداثها في الخمسينات و بيظهر أثر الحرب العالمية الثانية على باقي الابطال.
الطفل "مايكل" اللاجئ الألماني و نشأته مع آل نوفال الامريكان.
أسرة" كابلان" الجدة و فقدانها لأبنها في الحرب و أثره على حفيدها " ريتشي" ، و زوجة الابن أوليفيا و الابنة "كاثرين" ملهمة إدوارد هوبر😉 و زوجة المراهق مايكل في عقله 😂❤️

الرابط بين الشخصيات هو وجودهم في كيب كود في الصيف. "مايكل" و استضافة أسرة كابلان له لقضاء الصيف مع ريتشي و اختلاف شخصياتهم. بنشوف كمان علاقتهم بالسيد و السيدة إيتش و أثر غيرتها على علاقتها بالأسرة و علاقتها الجميلة بمايكل ❤️ حفلات الصيف و الشاطئ و أجواء نهاية الصيف الهادئة.. علاقات كلها لطيفة و هادئة و الرواية سلسة و حقيقية و انسيابية.

و طبعا بما ان الرواية عن فنان، فهي لا تخلو من وصف مراحل الرسم و تكون الفكرة و مسودات الرسم و حتى الفواصل بين الفصول فيها لوحات لإدوارد هوبر.
زي أغلب ترجمات دار العربي فالترجمة متقنة و جميل انهم حافظوا على غلاف الرواية الأصلي.

اعتقد من الوصف ان دي اللوحة اللي رسمها في نهاية الصيف

[Elyse Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was the 1950’s.... summer in Cap Code.

Michael, a German 10-year-old Jewish boy, lived with foster parents in New York after having survived the concentration camps, of WWII.
He’s put on the train and sent to Cape Cod for two weeks to stay with the Kaplan family, for the summer. There was a young boy Michael’s age, Richie, for Michael to play with.

Michael became more fascinated with the neighborhoods next door, artists, Edward & Josephine Hooper, (referred to as Mr. and Mrs. Aitch), than he cared to play with Richie.
The two young boys had troubles getting along.

The atmosphere of summer in Cape Cod was a gorgeous backdrop for this coming-of-age tale, and a troubled marriage between the artist couple, Edward and Josephine Hooper.

All the adults were dealing with loneliness, self-pity, anger, jealousy, aging and sickness, and the complexity of each of their relationships.

Michael, also lonely, but very observant, often retreated to a little hide-away. He had been traumatized from the war. He was an orphan—trying to figure out how families worked—process his past with the present and his future.

“In his hidey-hole, he cuts figures out of magazines. He cuts furniture out for rooms. He keeps them safe and some of the envelopes Mrs. Kaplan gave him. Each room has a separate envelope and so has each cut-out person.
He keeps all the envelopes in a green canvas bag he found one night in a chest under the stairs.
“In his cut-out world, Rosetta is his friend, Mrs. Kaplan is his grandmother, Mrs. Aitch is his mom. It should really be the other way around because Mrs. Aitch is probably older than Mrs. Kaplan. And Mrs. Aitch could probably be his friend too, because he talks to her more than he talks to any other person”.

This is a quiet, stark novel with little frills, unpretentious, and unembellished.
At times the writing was a little ‘snoozy-dozy’, but its also quite beautiful.
It’s filled with thought, feeling, drama, and a little suspense.

This was the first book I read by Christine Dwyer Hickey.
I’d read her again!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Narrow Land** won the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction this year. I'm happy for Christina Dwyer Hickey. In 2008, she spent a week in DC as part of the Irish Writers Festival. One of the things she told small group at a brunch was that she had been lucky to get published when she first did because soon after publishers in Ireland only wanted "chick lit" from female writers. She had a number of solid novels behind her, but often was one of the few Irish women writing unfrivolous fiction.

Nothing happens in this book for 200 pages. It is set on Cape Cod one of my favorite places, but there is not a lot of Cape Cod in it until the second half. Even then it is sparse. I am glad I read it but it is definitely a slow burn. It is about Edward Hopper, the painter, and his wife, a deeply unhappy woman. You wonder why he stuck with her. There is a lot of bickering and Hopper seems to have "painter's block". I'd never heard of painters struggling for subjects, though it makes sense.

3.5 stars

[Rachel (not currently receiving notifications) Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The human condition laid bare in an utterly compelling tour de force of storytelling.

The Narrow Land tells the story of one 1950s summer in Cape Cod in the life of ten-year-old recently orphaned German boy, Michael, who thanks to President Truman’s directive on displaced persons has been adopted by American, Harry Novak and his wife. Slow to settle into his new city lifestyle, recover from his traumatic wartime memories or ‘forget’ his native language, it is hoped that a summer away will be the making of Michael and further the quest to transform him into an all American boy. Michael is sent to spend the summer with the well-heeled principal fundraiser behind the Orphan Fund, Mrs Kaplan, and her family as a playmate for grandson, Richie, at their beachside rental on Cape Cod. But mired in his own grief for his dead military service father, a lonely Richie struggles to make a friend of the self-contained, emotionally damaged, Michael, whom unexpectedly finds an ally in Richie’s enigmatic dying aunt, Katherine. When the two boys meet Edward Hopper and his wife, Josephine Nivision, (referred to as Mr and Mrs Aitch throughout the novel), who are spending their summer away from New York in the hopes of rediscovering the eminent artists creative impetus, Josephine forms a bond with vulnerable Michael.

However, all is not well within the fraught marriage of the Hoppers’ with self-controlled and ill Edward often frustratingly withdrawn and his wife obsessive, selfish and bitterly jealous of his reputation and success. As capricious Josephine is drawn into the world of the young boys she too notices her husband’s interest in the bewitching Katherine Kaplan, fuelling her sense of simmering jealousy at a potential muse. Together with her own sense of injustice and frustration at her own lack of artistic talent it gives rise to Josephine sniping and back-biting at her husband and venting her spleen at the sexist art world to all whom she meets. Michael and Richie each form their own individual relationships with the artist and his wife in a totally different capacity, with Josephine’s ‘thick as thieves’ relationship with Michael and Edward’s unwavering compassion for Richie. As events come to a head within the tempestuous Hopper marriage it coincides with the climax of the summer at the Labour Day fundraiser and what is supposed to be the first celebration of the memory of Richie’s fathers life. But with emotions raw and the summer drawing to a close, past memories impact on present day events with surprising results..

There is something to be said for the power of languid storytelling when it is as shot through with honesty and insight as in The Narrow Land, yet contrary to my expectations Christine Dwyer Hickey infuses her novel with a palpable tension; between husband and wife in the case of the Hoppers’, Michael and the Kaplan’s and Josephine Nivision and the Kaplan women. Not only does the whole novel bristle with crosswinds between characters but for a novel that lacks dramatic action and would typically be described as “quiet”, it packs a hefty punch. Set against the backdrop of the all too recent memories of World War II the novel is a study in the ebb and flow of human emotions as the Kaplan lives intersect with that of the Hoppers’ with profound consequences.

Dwyer Hickey’s prose is mesmerising and her characters are the embodiment of the multifaceted human condition with the flawed and fallible aspects laid bear alongside the more sympathetic redeeming features. Written in the third person, the baton of the narrative perspective moves between ten-year-old Michael and both of the Hoppers’. Full of insight on the concept of the American dream, regret and longing, the novel also examines the conflict between personal ideals and artistic integrity within a marriage. With the reader privy to the intimate thoughts of the three lead protagonists and Dwyer Hickey in possession of an extraordinary ability to put into words the whole gamut of human emotions, The Narrow Land is a terrifically powerful portrait of one summer. That not one character is unchanged by the events of their summer in Cape Cod is testament to the impact of a moving and compelling drama.

Prior to reading I knew little about Edward Hopper and even less about Christine Dwyer Hickey, whose work I had never had the privilege of reading, and whilst I am content with the authors fictional portrayal of the Hopper marriage, I certainly intend to read more of the talented Dwyer Hickey.


With thanks to Readers First who provided me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

[Eric Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before reading “The Narrow Land” I had little knowledge of painters Edward and Josephine Hopper. Of course, I was familiar with Edward's most famous painting Nighthawks but all I knew about the artists themselves was a brief biographical sketch and critique of his work/their relationship in regards to the subject of loneliness in Olivia Laing's book “The Lonely City”. So it was fascinating to find out more about the strong bond and animosity between this tempestuous couple through the lens of Christine Dwyer Hickey's fiction. The novel depicts the summer of 1950 on a stretch of coastal property in Cape Cod known as the narrow land. Though Edward and Josephine are two major characters in the novel and we see many scenes through their perspectives, the novel begins with a ten-year-old boy named Michael being sent by the woman who adopted him to spend the summer on the Cape with the Kaplans, a wealthy philanthropic family. Michael is meant to be a companion for the adolescent Kaplan boy named Richie but the two boys do not get along well. As a young German who survived the war, Michael is deeply traumatized but this isn't openly discussed with the people around him; there are only devastating glimpses of what he must have suffered in half-seen foggy memories and his guarded, self-contained attitude. The Hoppers live next door to the Kaplans and over the course of the summer Michael and Richie strike up a unique friendship with them as Edward struggles to begin a new painting. Through an accumulation of subtle, quiet moments this novel creates an extraordinary portrait of people struggling to deal with the after-effects of WWII and different forms of deep-felt loneliness.

Read my full review of The Narrow Land by Christine Dwyer Hickey on LonesomeReader

[Rebecca]

I read the first 46 pages. I was attracted by the cover and the prospect of learning about the Hoppers’ marriage, but the first section sticks with a small boy, a German refugee, heading up to Cape Cod. Mrs. Hopper is a more appealing character, yet somehow I never gained traction with the story. (Potential readalikes: Mr Mac and Me by Esther Freud and Grief Cottage by Gail Godwin.)

[Gearóid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.
Being a fan of Edward Hopper I was attracted
immediately by the cover of this book.
And bought it based on the cover alone despite the old saying advising against this.
But it was such an interesting story.
As well as learning a bit more about Edward Hoppers life and relationship with his wife there was also such an interesting story post world war two story which I had never thought about before.
Also the descriptions of Cape Cod in those times were very nice.

Would highly recommend.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Narrow Land comes garlanded with praise: by book bloggers whose opinion I respect; from literary critics; and, not least, by the judges of The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction who awarded it the 2020 prize.

Commenting on their decision, the judges observed, “It’s a risky business, portraying the marriage of two artists, particularly when both the marriage and the art have already been picked over by biographers and art historians”. For my part, although I knew Edward Hopper’s name and had a vague idea of the kind of art he made, I knew nothing about his wife or their life together. Therefore I came to the book without any preconceptions – except, naturally, that I should expect a high quality of writing. I was certainly not disappointed in that respect.

The book is divided into a number of sections, the first five of which are named after the movements of The Planets by Holst. For example, the opening chapter, in which young Michael travels to Cape Cod (the ‘narrow land’ of the title) to join the Kaplan family for the summer, is called ‘The Bringer of War’ (Mars). Michael (the Americanised version of his true name) has been rescued from post-war Germany and brought to America to be adopted by the Novaks. He is urged to leave the war behind as if he somehow carries it with him about his person. The title could equally reference the turbulent relationship of the Hoppers or the enmity that quickly develops between Michael and Ritchie.

With subtle irony, the chapter detailing the Labor Day garden party thrown by Mrs Kaplan is ‘The Bringer of Jollity’ (Jupiter), although for some of the guests, including Josephine Hopper, the party is the scene of anything but jollity. Never one for small talk, Josephine feels out of place and abandoned by her husband who, as usual, is the centre of attention.

In her speech at the garden party, Mrs Kaplan quotes President Truman’s words from his directive on displaced persons: “This is the opportunity for America to set an example for the rest of the world in cooperation towards alleviating human misery”. However, her singling out of Michael for attention, although no doubt well-intentioned, sets in motion other events.

Throughout the book the reader is given glimpses of the traumatic events Michael witnessed in Berlin before he arrived in America . There is a particularly moving chapter in the section entitled ‘Die Trummerfrauen‘ – a phrase I had to look up but which I then recognised from another book I read recently, Then We Take Berlin by John Lawton. Die Trummerfrauen (or “rubble women”) is the name given to the women who, in the aftermath of WW2, cleared away the rubble of the bombed cities of Germany, including Berlin. Trying to salvage something from the rubble is perhaps a metaphor for what many of the characters in The Narrow Land are trying to do.

It seems to me that what unites the characters is they are all searching for something. Michael is searching for security and a way to erase the memories of the traumatic events he has witnessed. It’s why he creates a place where he can feel safe and it drives other actions that will prove significant later in the book. As well as physical ailments, Edward Hopper is suffering from the artist’s equivalent of writer’s block. He’s desperately searching for inspiration, fixated on finding the woman who inspired a previous painting or the right kind of sky. ‘And he sees nothing he hasn’t seen before and feels nothing much either.‘

Josephine Hopper is searching for recognition of her own creativity and for a way to come out of the shadow of her husband, quite literally in one respect. Being shorter than her husband, she describes him at one point as ‘looming like a skyscraper right behind her‘. Having supported her husband in expressing his artistic talents for many years, she has come to resent her position as ‘the torch bearer leading the way’ or ‘the stone they use to step across the water’.

I’m aware some readers have found Josephine a difficult character to like. (As it happens, she is never referred to by her first name, not even by her husband, but mostly just as ‘she’, ‘her’ or ‘Mrs Aitch’ .) It’s true that she can be spiteful, argumentative and difficult. As she says, ‘Words are the deadliest weapons: merciless, vicious, diseased. Cut them and pus would ooze out.’ Josephine is definitely a master when it comes to using words as a weapon but, thanks to the author’s skill, I found I could understand her frustration, if not always the way she acts.

We see her softer side in her relationship with Michael. In Mrs Aitch, as he refers to her, Michael finds a kindred spirit; someone who doesn’t insist on the social niceties like addressing women as ‘Ma’am’ and who retains a sense of fun. They understand each other and form a touching bond. For her part, Josephine finds in Michael someone who wants her for a change, not just as a route to her husband. She reflects on one of the outings she and Michael go on together: ‘And she knows then: what has been removed is loneliness and what has been added is love’. I really felt for her when she cries, “What I care about is my wasted life. My life. I had something once, I had spark and potential and creativity.”

The Walter Scott Prize judges especially praised Christine Dwyer Hickey for reaching “into the guts of the marriage of Jo and Edward Hopper and into the heart of the creative impulse itself”. I have to agree because The Narrow Land is a painstaking, forensic dissection of a troubled marriage: the small acts of kindness, the petty acts of spite, the angry silences, the arguments, the routines and habits that have become all too familiar, the mutual disappointments, the rare agreements. But, as in so many relationships, a shared history and treasured memories keep them together. The final chapter depicts a poignant scene which the author imagines to be the inspiration for Hopper’s painting, Cape Cod Morning.

The Narrow Land is a moving exploration of regret, loneliness, frustration and disappointment, and the poignant story of two people who find it hard to be together but even harder to be apart.

[Mary Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael is a 10- year- old German WWII orphan. Taken to USA and adopted by an American couple living in New York, he is sent off to Cape Cod in the summer of 1950 to further progress his transformation to an all- American boy by being a house- guest at the beach rental of Mrs Kaplan, leading light in the orphan organisation.
Time drags when he finds little in common with Ritchie, Mrs Kaplan’s 10-year-old grandson, but when he makes the acquaintance of Jo Hopper (Mrs Aitch) despite a fifty-year age gap, he rejoices in the discovery of a new friend in whose company he can relax.
Jo and her famous artist husband are spending the season in their beach house nearby, and Michael takes every opportunity he gets to go visit her.
The Narrow Land starts slowly, but Christine Dwyer Hickey builds by degrees a portrait of this turbulent era as America emerged from the 2nd World War and was almost immediately plunged into the Korean War. The backdrop is one of class, contrast between the haves and have-nots, and gender, as more career choices became available for women undermining the previous primary role as housewife.
But it’s the study of the relationship between the Hoppers and their interaction with the Kaplans which fascinates.
Edward Hopper has displayed the single-mindedness of an artist all his life. He has prioritised his work over his marriage and everything else, and despite her interest in his work, frequently logging the history of his paintings from inception to gallery hanging, twenty- five years on, Jo is isolated and disappointed.
Edward is treated sympathetically. He is aware of his failures and tries to reason with his angry spouse. But Jo’s jealousy and self-pity that her own career as an artist has withered and died through neglect while she concentrated on ensuring Edwards’s success.
Disappointment with your life is one of the difficult emotions to read about. While Jo spouts on about herself at the Labour Day party, the climax of the story, and her listeners nudge each other and smirk, the heart just breaks.
There is light at the end of the tunnel in the closing scenes as Jo displays her bravery and Edward his approval of it.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christine Dwyer Hickey’s prose is absolutely fantastic in The Narrow Land, the plot not so much, but I am always here for style! Josephine and Edward Hopper are a bit of a one-note artistic duo, frozen in a notoriously fraught marriage, spending a late summer on Cape Cod. What makes this successful for me is that the author doesn’t quite vilify Jo, but she doesn’t romanticise her either, which might unsettle readers who want clearer lines between “difficult” and “overlooked,” the talented artist caught between ambition, societal limits, her own creative struggles, and her life being consumed by supporting Edward’s career.

Now I want to read Gail Levin’s biography.

[Jackie Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Narrow Land, by Christine Dwyer Hickey, is set in Cape Cod in the summer of 1950. It is a study of people, how they regard themselves and how they are judged by those they meet. There is an undercurrent of sadness, of privilege failing to offer fulfilment. The ebbs and flows of both adult and child relationships are evoked with skill.

The story opens by introducing ten year old Michael who was brought to America from Germany after the Second World War as part of a government programme offering a new way of life to orphaned children. Michael was adopted by the Novak’s whose infant son died. Now Mrs Novak is pregnant again and Michael is concerned that he is being dismissed from their home in New York as he is no longer required. Mrs Novak views the opportunity to send him to Cape Cod for the summer as potentially beneficial for all involved.

The Kaplans have taken a summer rental on Cape Cod for their family and friends. Mrs Kaplan suggested to Mrs Novak that Michael join them as a playmate for her grandson, Richie, who is still grieving for his father, killed in the Second World War. It is assumed by the adults that the boys will get on despite their backgrounds and upbringing being so different. Their summer by the beach is regarded as a treat for which they are expected to be grateful.

Not far from the Kaplan’s holiday home is the summer residence of the artist, Edward Hopper, and his volatile wife, Josephine. Unlike the local adults, who fawn over the famous artist in their midst, the young boys are unaware of the couple’s celebrity status. Michael and then Richie strike up a friendship with the pair that then draws the Kaplans and Hoppers together. Josephine grows jealous of her husband’s perceived interest in this household of women.

The points of view shift as the story progresses offering a window into each of the key characters’ thoughts, disappointments and aspirations. Josephine is a particularly complex character, not likeable but evoking a degree of sympathy. Her feelings towards her husband and his work are proprietorial and demanding:

“deafened by the clash of envy and pride, admiration and resentment”

Loneliness and self-pity are explored as is the disconnect that occurs when expectation leads to misunderstanding. The Hoppers are shown to connect with both boys better than the Kaplans, who demand a standard of behaviour that suits their societal standing. They project their own thoughts and interpretations onto these young people, rarely concerning themselves with reactions.

Katherine Kaplan, who is ill and declining, offers friendship to a besotted Michael but not loyalty when it matters. Edward is also drawn to her fading beauty, a risky preoccupation given his wife’s temper.

Josephine regards herself as a talented artist whose work deserved some of the attention her husband achieved. She blames him for not being a sufficiently loyal advocate over the years of their marriage. When she attends a party at the Kaplans’ she tries to raise her cachet amongst the guests by putting others down.

“She feels sorry then and slightly ashamed of herself for trying to demean them by demeaning their lives.”

When she overhears how this behaviour was regarded, something she has heard said of her before, she is mortified and blames Edward for not doing more to ensure her talents are revered by the people they meet. We are shown that Edward has been doing the best he can.

The writing flows gently throughout yet offers a depth of insight as the summer progresses towards fall and festering frustrations bubble to the surface. Each of the characters is flawed with the denouement offering an alternative view of their behaviours when another couple arrives on the scene.

The narrative is haunting as reader empathy is sparked and then repeatedly challenged. A deceptively straightforward story that provides a lingering, satisfying read.

[Kamil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cape Cod to miejsce naprawdę symboliczne, to tam pierwszy raz dopływa Mayflower, i to tam dzieje się akcja tej książki. Słynny malarz Edward Hopper pomieszkuje tam w sezonie letnim ze swoją żoną Josphene, gdzie poszukuje inspiracji dla swojego nowego obrazu, podczas gdy Michael, chłopczyk, który przeżył horror obozu koncentracyjnego, przyjeżdża spędzić tam wakacje. Historia Micheala i Hopperów zderza się ze sobą, dając nam obraz dziecięcej traumy spowodowanej wojną i wszechobecną samotnością, zwłaszcza którą odczuwa żona malarza, Josephne i wyolbrzymionego amerykańskiego snu.

Książka świetnie przedstawia ulotność, a zarazem mozolność i magię letnich dni, a w centrum jej uwagi mamy Hopperów, malarza i jego muzę, osoby zupełnie inne, których mimo wszystko coś połączyło. Oczywiście ich relacja nie jest usłana różami i ta książka jest też trochę o tym, o ich problemach, ale nie tylko. Świetnie oddaje to uczucie, gdy ma się obok siebie ludzi, ale czuje się jednak samotnym. Z drugiej strony mamy Michaela i nasuwające się pytanie: czy jeden wyjazd może wymazać z jego życia traumę wojny? Czy język ojczysty można zapomnieć i uciszyć? Czy Ameryka to lekarstwo na wszystko? Ta książka rozprawia się z tymi tematami i pytaniami.

Ogromnie polecam ten tytuł zwłaszcza dla fanów Edwarda Hoppera, w tej książce, możemy spojrzeć na jego żonę, która stała się postacią kluczową dla jego kariery. Można to zauważyć, nawet spoglądając na obrazy malarza, na których tak często się pojawia, to ona popchnęła go ku malarstwu akwarelowemu.

Pomimo że książka należy do tych raczej powolnych, to naprawdę bardzo mi się spodobała i cieszę się, że miałem ją okazję przeczytać i dowiedzieć się czegoś więcej o jednym z moich ulubionych malarzy. 4,5/5 gwiazdek.

[Sorin Hadârcă · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow-paced but what depth has it got! The prose is simply brilliant. I was set for something more biographical (it is Edward Hopper and his wife in Cape Cod), but it turned out a novel in its own right. The story of two boys on and off Hoppers' villa puts everything into perspective. The artistic couple is 'painted' in broad brush strokes first, only to emerge in full colour as the story goes. And all the bio data sneak in at the right moment, so that at the end of the story one could say: Hoppers? I met them in Cape Cod last summer.

[Nada · Rating 1 out of 5]

دون التوقعات..
لن اقرأ اي كتاب يتجاوز ال٣٠٠ صفحة بعد اليوم😑

[Monika · Rating 2 out of 5]

To miał być wycinek z historii życia Edwarda Hoppera, znanego amerykańskiego malarza. Ja sobie wyobraziłam, że to będzie książka o malarzu i jego żonie.
Tymczasem oni stanowią tło zupełnie innej ich opowieści.
Nie mogę powiedzieć że złej opowieści, jednak po prostu w moich wyobrażeniach była to kompletnie inna książka.

Mamy lata 50te i historię Michaela, sieroty z Niemiec, adoptowanego przez rodzinę amerykańską. Na wakacje nad morzem Michael wyjeżdża do innej, zaprzyjaźnionej rodziny, w której jest Richie - chłopiec w jego wieku. Obaj chłopcy są pokrzywdzeni przez los ale jednak nie umieją się ze sobą zaprzyjaźnić i to jest zalążek fabuły. Edward Hopper i jego żona są sąsiadami, z którymi Michael nawiązuje lepszą relację niż że swoim rówieśnikiem.

Oprócz tego, że moje oczekiwania dotyczące tej książki nie zostały spełnione, to jeszcze dodatkowo drażnią mnie tutaj język.
W anglojęzycznej prozie bardzo często występuje czas teraźniejszy ciągle ktoś coś robi a nie zrobił; patrzy a nie patrzył. Ten sposób opowiadania mnie trochę drażni, ale to oczywiście wybór pisarki. Zarzutem do tłumaczki jest to, że wiele razy miałam wrażenie źle przetłumaczonych słów (fight jako bójka, a finger food jako palcowe przekąski). Za każdym razem znajdowałam jakieś wyjaśnienie dla takiego wyboru, jednak brzmiało to na tyle niefortunnie, że mnie kłuło w oczy.

[Caren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beautiful Edward Hopper painting on the cover drew me to the book immediately, as Hopper remains one of my favourite American artists. Unfortunately, it was the best thing about this relentlessly sad novel. The focused portrait of a fictionalised Edward Hopper and his wife left me cold rather than empathetic as they suffered through their intolerable marriage. As well, the wealthy family at the centre of the Cape Cod summer community was suitably pretentious and condescending to those they deemed beneath them. This created an inevitable divide between them, their fatherless son/grandson, Richie {the father having been killed in WWII] and the orphaned boy, Michael, adopted from Germany through an American welfare organisation and invited to spend time on the Cape with the family.

Yet, it wasn't the regrets or depression of this cast of characters that put me off; rather, it was that, except for the two young boys (Richie and Michael), I didn't care about them. Hickey's omniscient narrator successfully revealed the inner voices/thoughts of both the adults and children involved in this Cape Cod Labor Day holiday; but, the extent of their whingeing and images of themselves as victims or as arbiters of culture and charity allowed for no reprieve. Supposedly writing a commentary on the "ever-changing American Dream" [cover blurb], Hickey seemed to have lost her way with so many of her characters unlikeable.

I kept reading only because of her beautiful descriptions of the Cape - the sea, the hills, the beaches. These were the strength of an otherwise disappointing novel.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the story of Michael an orphan from Germany, sent to America after the end of the second world war to start a new life, and live the american dream. During the summer his adoptive mother who is heavily pregnant sends him to Cape Cod to spend the holiday with the Kaplans. It is hoped that he will be a friend and playmate for Ritchie, but having lost his father in the war Ritchie is struggling too. Close by lives an elderly couple Edward and Josephine, both artists, the wife suffers fits of depression and loneliness and her husband fills his days with his art and the beach. The boys are drawn to the artists and enjoy spending time in their company. Separately both Edward and Michael become infatuated with Ritchie's sick but glamorous aunt Katherine. Later in the book when the Kaplan's host a party everyone's true colours are shown.

I am in two minds about this book on the one side, I found it didn't have enough story for me, it didn't grab my attention as it was very slow going. On the other side it is a fascinating study of people, different characters and classes of society written in such a beautiful and graceful way. The story goes between adult and child in a very simply flowing way. I think it is probably one of those books that some people would really love and others not.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story! An imagined story behind a wonderful painting. I love Edward Hopper paintings and Christine has done a fantastic job writing a lovely story behind a stunning painting. I loved the pace of the book, the well developed characters and the likely emotions in an artistic relationship. Cape Cod was also the perfect setting. Definitely recommend the read.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, I believe that The Narrow Land is more of a Marmite (love or hate) book than average. But for those who enjoy this kind of novel, it is a new modern classic. In this review I will go through some of the main points in the book and explain why I fall into the love category – hopefully by the end you will have a good idea of whether you might too.

Most of the novel is set in Cape Cod, an American beach resort populated in the summer by wealthy families in rented holiday homes. Michael, a ten year old boy, was orphaned in Germany during the war and adopted by an American family. His relationship with his adoptive mother is strained, and the novel begins at a New York train station as she sends him off to meet Mrs Kaplan and her grandson, Richie, to stay with them for the summer. The artists Edward Hopper and his wife Josephine Nivison own a house nearby to the Kaplan's holiday home. They have a turbulent relationship – she is regularly overcome by bitterness at his success while she feels she has sacrificed her own opportunities, and they regularly have violent arguments which can last for days. Richie's aunt Katherine is terminally ill, and both Michael and Edward are infatuated by her, Michael as his first boyhood crush, and Edward as his muse. 'The blue blouse. The light on her face. He couldn't figure out if it was pouring into her or pouring out of her. He thought she looked sanctified. Then he thought she looked the opposite. The light and the punishing heat, it did something to her that was beyond his understanding.' Set in 1950, the world is in the shadow of the Second World War, and with soldiers departing for Korea stability still feels a far off dream. At the heart of the novel are loss, love, companionship, loneliness, regret, and finding identity in rapidly changing times. 'As she stands in the doorway watching him, the feeling comes on her again, under her breastbone, between her ribs. A feeling that is one second of joy, two seconds of grief. And she knows then: what has been removed is loneliness and what has been added is love.'

This is not a book for someone who wants action. This is a book where not a lot happens for a large portion of the novel, but what does happen has so much significance that it sweeps you away. There is beauty in the simple things, and the descriptions are immersive. 'There will be the vault of the sky; the vast belly of the bay; the acres of flat beach; and the ever restless grass. In the whole of that, she will not take up much space. But she will be all the space he is likely to feel.' What is important is the detail noticed by the characters, the flow and nuances of their lives as they evolve and interact. And when something more dramatic does happen in the plot, it makes you take notice. There were a couple of occasions where I fought with my eyes not to skim to the next paragraph. It's the growth of the characters, the complex emotions laid bare, and the feeling of a time and place brought to life which I enjoyed most about this novel.

This is a book for someone who likes to see the scenes. The novel is description heavy, but through the lens of each character something different is revealed. There are so many examples of beautiful lyrical writing, and I felt transported through the detail and its vividness. 'She told him all about the grackle bird when they were out for a walk one day, that it is mean and stubborn and nothing but trouble...'Black, spindly legged, crazy eyed, they are not much to look at. When they get together the noise they make would split your ears right open. There is nothing to endear them to man and it's no wonder that a collective noun for them is plague or annoyance... Oh but Michael, when they take off, when they fly over the sky just after dawn and the early sun tips over their backs and the rich, deep colours begin to lift, sapphire and emerald, and oh, oh...as they move across the bay in long, loose lines, well... it's as if one is looking at the threads of a heavenly tapestry.'' You get a real sense of the energy of the characters too, and in this case Jo's eye for beauty and opinionated extraversion come across well.

At first the novel seemed slow – the narration is in present tense and every action felt detailed rather than a zoomed out version of only the important parts. But were any of this detail to be taken out, the novel would not be what it is. The detail through each character grew on me as I read, and became necessary as the reader is brought so close to what it means to live in each character's head. I think this book needs to be read a second time to be appreciated in a new light. It needs to be savoured, and I think new things will emerge in the second reading. In fact, at around a third of the way through the novel I thought it was likely to be three stars for me. Even at this point there were moments where this felt wrong, as the quality of writing is too high. I felt differently as the novel unfurled further. There is an underlying tension, a pull that lured me to continue reading. The explosive arguments between Edward and Jo, her jealousy, his attraction to Katherine, Michael's attraction to her also, and his behaviour which is so at odds with his host family. These conflicts remain an undercurrent through the novel, threatening to rise and quell in every chapter until they come to an inevitable head and each character must realise their own flaws. 'But no sentence ever written had the power to get by the hellfire blazing in her head, and each word read had flamed up on contact and disintegrated. Inside her it felt like there were demons twisting and turning, clawing at her stomach. She worked herself up so she could hardly think and, before she knew it, she was sitting bolt upright, screeching and growling through barred teeth.'

The Narrow Land deals with some serious themes, but there is enough thread of optimism to keep it from becoming too heavy, and this is usually through beautiful passages of description and hopefulness 'the way the sun swells up and then seems to burst? As if it is bleeding all over the world. A few short seconds of looking at this, and the whole day – even the worst of them – seems worthwhile somehow.' If you love well written historical fiction, this is one such novel. More than focussing on events which we know happened, this novel captures the essence of the time. It connects to something deeper, something universal. The themes of regret, decay and discontent run through the narrative. Jo mourns the loss of her career which she feels she sacrificed in order to support Edward. She feels strongly that a women's place is not in the kitchen to serve her husband, yet she resents the lack of success in her own career, feels that she used to be filled with creativity and spark and ambition and has lost it all to married life. She blames male dominance in the art world for her lack of success. But when left alone, she cleans rather than work on her art. This novel is set during a time of great change. The world has just been through the horrors of the Second World War, and this overshadows people's lives wherever they go. This idyllic holiday resort cut off from the main world is an escape for the privileged, but there is no getting away from memories and loss. For Edward, who is struggling with depression and a long slump with little to no artistic output, the themes of decay and ageing regularly crop up. 'Richie and Katherine and himself. Three static points on an equilateral triangle. A frenzy of light and movement between them. Ruthless light of mid to late afternoon...He needs to hold on to all of that without looking it straight in the face. To be inside and outside of it; absent and at the same time present. Like looking into a room through a mirror. Boy in his youth; woman in her prime; man facing into old age...He thinks: Mercury. Venus. Saturn, the bringer of old age. Light before dusk through a mirror...Behind him he hears the mirror crack, shatter and fall away.'

The narrative slips between dream and reality, past and present. It reads like a classic novel, but the revealing narration in present tense gives it a modern feel. The chapters cycle through several point of view characters – Michael, his adoptive mother Mrs Novak, Edward Hopper and Jo Hopper. Each gives a fresh perspective. Each is convincing, and then these convictions are remoulded when a different character takes over. The novel deals with the complexities of human relationships and perspective. Each character does things that I found hard to believe or like about them, for example how immature Jo could be during an argument with Edward. But when the wider contexts came to light, the narration is so convincing that I found myself understanding each character even when it contradicted the reality I had just embodied in another. This is especially evident through the bickering between Edward and Jo Hopper. Throughout the novel they are mostly referred to as Mr and Mrs Aitch, and it is only after reading the book jacket that I have put two and two together – that these are fictionalised versions of the real-life artists, and in fact the cover image is an Edward Hopper painting. In real life she has admitted how different they are, and is quoted saying: 'sometimes talking to Eddie is just like dropping a stone in a well, except that it doesn't thump when it hits bottom.' Despite the differences between Edward and Jo, they are suited to one another. They have passionate arguments, but underneath is a deep sort of love, a strange one that those outside the relationship find difficult to understand. 'We are bone of each other's bone. Flesh of each other's flesh.'

Michael has PTSD as a result of all he has witnessed during the war. He is around three years old in his earliest memories and what he remembers is through the eyes of a child - dreamlike and incomplete – but these snatches haunt him completely. As a result he has some strange behaviours which most around him are unable to understand. Yet to him, what he has experienced is fact – his narration does not try to get the reader to pity him, simply to see the world through his eyes. For a ten year old boy, Michael has a heartbreaking understanding of death, and his moments of lyrical reflection are all the more emotional due to his age. 'Her reflection leans into his reflection. His reflection passes through hers, and it is like they are both standing underwater staring at one another. Everything stops for a couple of seconds, then the room behind her starts filling up with people. Hundreds of see-through people, standing there in one big blurry crowd. Ghosts. He thinks, they have got to be ghosts. And it comes to him then that you don't need a war for people to die...one day Mrs Kaplan will die and then she will be a ghost. And one day he will be a ghost too. But Mrs Kaplan, she will have melted back into the crowd long before it is his turn to stand on the far side of the glass.' I like the voice of Michael, and the flashbacks to his experiences in Germany. Current and past events have been weaved together well, with not too much weight on either. You really get a sense of the character through the narration and mannerisms, with just the right balance of description. I found some parts of Michael's narration strange, for example when he is referred to as 'the boy' and how the tense mixes between past and present during flashback scenes. Michael has faced trauma as a young child in war torn Germany – he has been displaced to a new life and forced to forget his old one. It feels as though he doubts his worth, is detached from society, has no control. It is strange that his name is not mentioned until page 124, but from then on his name is used more than any other character, and it is as though his sense of his identity and confidence are growing. Most characters are rarely referred to by name, instead described as 'the woman', he, or she. It is as though the reader is observing something at a distance, but with the benefit of personal insight. This feels uncomfortable and intrusive, especially in the first scene at the train station, but adds to the tone of the novel. In a new chapter it is clear very quickly which character is narrating, despite the lack of name tags to identify them.

My lasting impression of The Narrow Land is that it is an artwork. It is built up in layers of tiny lines which repeat the broader strokes of theme. When you stand back the intricate lines make sense as a whole. It has so many beautiful lines which I had to cut myself back from quoting in this review, and for people who enjoy this sort of novel, I believe it is a masterpiece that deserves to be re-read.

I received an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review, which I have written voluntarily.

[André · Rating 5 out of 5]

De tienjarige Michael, een Duits weesjongetje, mag de vakantie doorbrengen bij de schatrijke mevrouw Kaplan op Cape Cod. Het is de bedoeling dat Michael optrekt met haar kleinzoon Richie, wiens vader is gesneuveld in de oorlog, maar de twee jongens kunnen het niet goed met elkaar vinden. Richie en Michael maken kennis met de buren, het kunstenaarsechtpaar Edward en Jo Hopper, en er ontstaat een onalledaagse vriendschap. Jo is grillig, hartstochtelijk, vaak onredelijk en wordt veelvuldig geplaagd door jaloerse, bezitterige buien. Edward is herstellende van een ziekte, in zichzelf gekeerd en gedeprimeerd omdat het schilderen niet wil lukken. Hij raakt in de ban van Richies fragiele, charmante tante Katherine, die niet lang meer te leven heeft. Ondertussen is ook de jonge Michael smoorverliefd op haar geworden. De auteur weet rustig, onverbiddelijk en met trefzeker inzicht niet alleen de felle ruzies van Edward en Jo Hopper tot leven weten te wekken, maar ook de spanningen en de problemen van een aantal mensen in hun omgeving: van twee jonge, door de oorlog getekende jongens tot de vakantievierders die ’s zomers op Cape Cod neerstrijken.
Geschreven in de derde persoon, wisselt het boek meerdere keren van perspectief, vaak binnen de hoofdstukken. De drie belangrijkste vertellers in de ik-vorm zijn Michael, Jo en Edward. Het innerlijke leven van elk personage is uniek. Michael verwerkt het trauma dat hij heeft meegemaakt en zijn mentale landschap wordt gekenmerkt door duisternis. . Jo is overgeleverd aan haar jaloerse woede over wat ze heeft opgeofferd aan het talent van haar man.
Een belangrijk decorstuk in deze roman is een feest georganiseerd door de Kaplans. De auteur beschrijft het prachtige gevoel van anticipatie in een huis dat op het punt staat tot leven te komen. Nieuwe spelers arriveren en vertrekken en kruisen hun paden met de centrale personages en Dwyer Hickey bouwt spanning op met zelfs de meest schijnbaar gewone interacties. De pogingen van Jo Hopper om de overhand te krijgen bij een groep vrouwen die haar alleen maar als Mrs Edward Hopper zullen zien, zijn ondraaglijk. Tegen het einde van het feest is geen van de personages hetzelfde, maar de manier waarop ze zijn veranderd en hoe ze op deze veranderingen reageren, zijn voortdurend verrassend.
De epigraaf van deze roman is van Montaigne – "Ieder mens heeft de hele menselijke conditie in zich." Christine Dwyer Hickey toont een diepgaand begrip voor menselijke zwakte en verlangen en spijt en gebruikt het volledige scala aan hulpmiddelen die tot haar beschikking staan om ze uit te drukken.
Door het hele boek heen krijgt de lezer een glimp van de traumatische gebeurtenissen die Michael in Berlijn heeft meegemaakt voordat hij in Amerika aankwam. Er is een bijzonder ontroerend hoofdstuk in de sectie getiteld 'Die Trummerfrauen'. Die Trummerfrauen (of "puinvrouwen") is de naam die wordt gegeven aan de vrouwen die in de nasleep van WO2 het puin van de gebombardeerde steden van Duitsland, waaronder Berlijn, hebben opgeruimd. Iets uit het puin proberen te redden is misschien een metafoor voor wat veel van de personages in Het smalle Land proberen te doen. Het smalle land is een ontroerende verkenning van spijt, eenzaamheid, frustratie en teleurstelling, en het aangrijpende verhaal van twee mensen die het moeilijk vinden om samen te zijn, maar nog moeilijker om uit elkaar te zijn.

[Nouran Essam · Rating 5 out of 5]

نحن لبعضنا العظم واللحم.
رواية خفيفة وممتعة وسرقتني من نفسي!
حكاية عن الفنان المشهور وزوجته المحبة الغيورة مع بعض الغضب الطفولي التي تركض متوارية في الظل بينما هو يخطف الأبصار والعقول بقوة حضوره. عن غيرة المرأة عند التقدم في السن من الشابات اللواتي ينجذبن لزوجها وعن حقد دفين ممزوج ببعض الغيرة والألم والأمل من تصرفات زوجها الباردة... عن شعورها بالوحدة وافتقادها الكلمة الطيبة ولحظات الرومانسية الجميلة ولكن في النهاية يوجد بصيص أمل ليكملا مسيرة العمر معا يعدان درجات السلم وعمرهما في آن.

[Osama · Rating 3 out of 5]

الرواية جيدة هو بس بعض الرغي كان ممكن يقل شوية ولكن علي الرغم من ده ممكن كان حيلة من الكاتبة عشان تصرف النظر عن بعض الحقايق المهمة

[AC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally written and a very poignant end, but an awfully, awfully long journey to get there.

[Ief Stuyvaert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Op Sea Watchers van Edward Hopper staart een koppel met lege blik in het ijle. Oog voor de praal van zand en zee lijken ze niet te hebben. Oog voor elkaar al helemaal niet.

Het werk vat het huwelijk van de Amerikaanse schilder met zijn vrouw Josephine mooi samen.

En helaas ook dit boek.

Want waar afstand en verveling op canvas culmineren in een bevreemdend meesterwerk van de schilderkunst, zorgt het op papier driehonderdzeventig pagina's lang voor... euh... afstand en verveling.

Alleen de laatste dertig bladzijden laait er heel even een klein, spannend vuurtje op. Dat helaas niet bestand is tegen die dekselse Atlantische zeewind.

Verder is 'Het Smalle Land' even spannend als verf zien drogen op een doek.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!
Overall I enjoyed this novel. It took a while to settle into it, however I found it to be very atmospheric..almost broody.... and the characters are central. It portrays the relationships between the characters really well and left me feeling sad for the two boys - Michael and Ritchie. The relationship between the 'Aitches' (Hoppers) felt true, in that I do think this type of passive/aggressive merry go round is a reality for lots of couples...I don't know if thus was true for the real life Hoppers. It struck me that their relationship, as portrayed in the book, was reflected in their artistic processes.....all a bit difficult and inarticulate but sort of coming together and standing the test of time in the end.
The book led to my reflecting how, then as now and always, children are so particularly vulnerable to the vagaries of the adults who control and influence their world.

[Yan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mijn favoriete schilder het zijdelingse onderwerp van een roman? Moest ik natuurlijk meteen lezen! En wat een prachtige insteek heeft de schrijfster gekozen. Ik heb als Amerikanist wel het een en ander gelezen over Hopper. Ik ben dus ook bekend met de problematiek die in het huwelijk tussen hem en Jo waarschijnlijk speelde. Maar hoe dat ‘gegaan zou kunnen zijn’, daar geeft dit boek een sprankelende inkijk in.
Bonus: ook deze schrijfster ziet wel wat paralellen met dichter Robert Frost. Op die paralellen heb ik met stukgebeten toen ik mijn scriptie over Hopper en Frost schreef. Altijd fijn als het een ander wel lukt. NB: Frost krijgt maar een heel klein rolletje hoor. Don’t get your hopes up.
Houd je van Amerikaanse schilderkunst en biografie met een twist? Dan zal dit boek je niet teleurstellen.

[Mary Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cape Cod in the 50s is the setting for this novel telling the story of a young German boy Michael, the Kaplan family and the artist Edward Hooper and his wife. Michael has been sent from New York (where his adoptive mother is pregnant) to spend the summer with the Kaplans who have a young boy Ritchie (whose father died in the 2nd World War). The boys don’t really get on but they both forge relationships with the Hoppers. These relationships are the basis of the story and are told in delightful language. A great read.

[Mairead Hearne (swirlandthread.com) · Rating 5 out of 5]

He thinks he is on a different train as he begins to wake. A train in Germany just after the war….He reminds himself to keep his eyes shut. Because that’s what you do when you wake up among strangers in Germany….’

The Narrow Land is the latest release from Irish writer Christine Dwyer Hickey. Just published with Atlantic Books, it is described as ‘a searing novel of loneliness and regret, the legacy of World War II and the ever-changing American Dream.’ When I first heard about this book I was immediately drawn to it. The post-war era always fascinates me as I sometimes imagine life in America at that time, through my rose-tinted glasses. Edward Hopper is an artist whose paintings I have admired for quite some time with his unique style and the extremely appealing, and iconic, imagery of his artwork.

‘He is widely acknowledged as the most important realist painter of twentieth-century America. His work demonstrates that realism is not merely a literal or photographic copying of what we see, but an interpretive rendering.’ ( Source : edwardhopper.net )

Christine Dwyer Hickey had an idea about writing a novel featuring a young German boy post WW2, a boy who was left an orphan and was transported to America for a better life, a life away from the rubble and destruction of his war-torn home. She named him Micha. Micha was taken in by a childless couple from New York, the Novaks, but he struggled to settle properly as his thoughts kept casting back to his homeland and the terror of the war years.

During the summer of 1950, a very kindly lady, Mrs Kaplan, a woman who did charity work for these abandoned children, requested the company of Micha, or Michael as he was now known, to accompany herself and her family to Cape Cod for the summer weeks. Michael had never been to the coast, had never dipped his toes in the sea so he was very nervous of this adventure, keeping to himself for the first few days.

Young Richie was also staying in the same house with his mother Olivia and his Auntie Katherine. Each struggling with their own issues, each challenged daily with the path they now must walk. Michael is confused as to his presence there, at times feeling very much alone, but as time passes he establishes a rather unusual friendship with the Hoppers, who live in a nearby beach house.

When Christine Dwyer Hickey researched the life of Edward Hopper she was fascinated by the relationship between himself and his wife Jo. She read various journals and articles about the couple and decided to include a fictionalised account of their story in her novel, loosely based on fact.

Edward and Jo Hopper fed off each other. Their temperaments seemed poles apart, yet they seemed to compliment each other in many ways. In The Narrow Land, Edward Hopper is struggling. His artistic talent seems to have escaped him, leading him down the road of depression and a general malaise. Meanwhile, his wife Jo is frustrated. In her mind, her career has stalled to accommodate her husband, leading to some very irrational and arbitrary behaviour.

When Edward and Jo cross paths with both Michael and Richie, something happens. A connection is made and the couple step outside their tempestuous bubble into the world of the Kaplan household.

The Narrow Land is a study in human behaviour and relationships. There is no plot. There is no twist or climatic ending to this tale. The language used, the setting, the narrative all combine to create a painting with words, a visual treat for your mind as you escape to the shores of the Cape. It is a work of beauty, one that will appeal to all looking for a literary treat. Christine Dwyer Hickey has written a very evocative novel, one with an almost voyeuristic feel to it, as the reader is gently drawn into the lives of the Kaplans, the Hoppers and the Novaks. Edward Hopper is quite a fascinating subject as we witness his very volatile relationship with his wife.

‘She can feel his weariness beside her; the weight of it. She glances across at his face, drained and ghost-like in the street light, and she wonders: am I making him sick? Is it too much for him, all this worry about work, the lack of peace in his life, the bickering and fighting? When we were young we had such magnificent fights, such passionate reconciliations. And afterwards, at least for a while, the tender days of peace. But oh my husband, we are young no longer and never again’

The Narrow Land features on it’s cover the famous 1952 Sea Watchers painting by Edward Hopper, immediately invoking a sense of what is to come. A couple looking out toward the ocean, together but also apart, both lost in their own world, their own thoughts. It is a striking cover, one very fitting to the mesmerising tale that the author has woven.

The Narrow Land is quite an extraordinary novel, one that captivated me from the beginning, one that I did not want to end. It is a work of literary fiction, one that I am delighted to have read and one that will happily grace my bookshelves for years to come.

The Narrow Land is a modern classic, a book that will intrigue and compel, a book that will entice and seduce, a book to savor, a book to appreciate.

[NerwSlowa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trafiłam na tę książkę kilkukrotnie u rozmaitych recenzentów, których czytam, i wszyscy wypowiadali się o tej książce bardzo pozytywnie. Wrażenia te potwierdził również Magazyn "Pismo", umieszczając "Wąski pas lądu" na liście książek polecanych na lato 2021 roku.

Z recenzji oraz zapowiedzi marketingowych zrozumiałam, że jest to książka "o Hopperze", czyli moim najukochańszym malarzu, którego sztukę znam i wielbię za niepowtarzalną atmosferę samotności i wyobcowania w - wydawałoby się - idealnych okolicznościach. Okazuje się jednak, że Hopper jest tutaj tylko postacią drugoplanową, więcej wglądu mamy jako czytelnicy w przemyślenia i uczucia jego żony, i... uważam, że było to najlepsze, co autorka mogła zrobić (zwłaszcza w połączeniu z innymi zabiegami, o których szerzej zaraz).

Akcja książki rozgrywa się w ciągu jednego lata, podczas którego dziesięcioletni chłopiec, powojenna sierota niemiecka, która została adoptowana przez amerykańskie małżeństwo, przyjeżdża w odwiedziny do znajomej swojej adopcyjnej matki, by nad morzem korzystać ze świeżego powietrza, przyrody i nabrać trochę sił, a adopcyjnym rodzicom zapewnić spokój w czasie wakacji. W domu niedaleko, stojącym na klifie, mieszkają natomiast państwo Hopperowie.

Nie będzie tutaj dramatycznych zwrotów akcji, gwałtownych emocji czy niespodziewanych wydarzeń. Atmosfera książki przypomina właściwie lato, jakie pamiętam z dzieciństwa - z długimi, pięknie oświetlonymi dniami, gdy nie trzeba było przejmować się właściwie niczym poza tym, czy już jest się głodnym na obiad, czy jeszcze nie, oraz tym, co porobi się przez najbliższą godzinę. Nie oznacza to jednak, że nie będzie tutaj silnych emocji, i to jest właśnie największa siła tej ksiażki.

Christine Dwyer Hickey bowiem, zamiast przedstawiać czytelnikom szczegółową biografię Hoppera, rozpisywać jego życie na kawałki, wyciągać nie zawsze uzasadnione wnioski postanawia Hoppera jako osobę umieścić jedynie na drugim planie, a zamiast tego zająć się czymś ważniejszym, czyli tą już wspomnianą niepowtarzalną atmosferą, jaką pokazywał on właściwie na każdym swoim obrazie - atmosferą samotności, wyobcowania, niezrozumienia. Właściwie każdy przedstawiony w książce bohater jest na swój sposób samotny, nie umie zrozumieć własnych uczuć, emocji i reakcji, a także zrozumieć, dlaczego czuje się wyobcowany i nie może się dopasować. Osamotniona żona Hoppera, która z jednej strony zawsze jest odsuwana na margines i rzadko kiedy ktokolwiek chce mieć z nią kontakt, a która z drugiej strony, gdy wreszcie może z kimś porozmawiać, reaguje tak, że wszyscy od niej uciekają. Chłopiec, który nie rozumie swoich doświadczeń wojennych, a ciągle je odczuwa, ale przez dorosłych traktowany jest jako sprawa do załatwienia, ktoś, komu trzeba dać jeść, a nie jako osoba, której potrzebami emocjonalnymi trzeba się zająć. Kobiety z domu Kaplanów, wszystkie naznaczone niepotrzebną śmiercią najbliższych albo własnymi traumatycznymi doświadczeniami. Wszystko to jest świetnie opisane psychologicznie i wszystko to idealnie oddaje atmosferę hopperowskich obrazów.

Cała książka należy według mojej terminologii do "powieści rozmarzonych" - wolnych, spokojnych, na początku troszkę wręcz nudzących, które potem, stopniowo i niezauważalnie rozwijają się w piękną opowieść, która trzyma za serce długo po ich odłożeniu na półkę. Autorka nie pisała o Hopperze, zamiast tego go zrozumiała i przeniosła na język literacki - uważam, że jest to prawdziwy majstersztyk i że dzięki temu książka mówi więcej o Hopperze niż mogłaby tozrbić jakakolwiek jego biografia.

Jedna z najpiękniejszych książek roku.