bernur

The violence bear it away - - - 

The American novel is of course very disparate, with many different struggling voices; however, the two strongest and most predominant voices belong to Faulkner and Hemingway, the former being Gargantuan and expanding, while the latter being ascetic and condense, and this has formed two different approaches to writing prose, two different schools, to swear loyalty to[1].

Ken Burger´s novel Swallow Savannah brings up this dichotomy, when the newspaper editor Tug McAllister warns aspiring journalist Tom Finklea about the unavoidable, trying to write like Hemingway and Faulkner. Still, Burger manages to escape this influence, by writing like neither of them, which is something of an achievement, since to begin with his novel is set in the South (Faulkner), and he is a journalist (Hemingway).   

The centre of the plot is the nuclear plant, where black people have been used as guinea pigs, being intentionally exposed to radiation.  It revolves mainly around Frank Finlea, evil incarnated, and his clandestine dealings as corrupted politician in South Carolina, and in succession his estranged wife Martha and their unlucky son Tom. And a bunch of other people as well, somewhat unfortunately, because they are introduced a bit too well, with family background and all, and all this creates some confusion, with all these characters who are mostly unnecessary for the plot.

On the good side is the whole setting and the atmosphere, which is genuine and truly animated. Also, the characters are highly credible, but this goes mostly to the main characters, even though Frank is so evil he verges on travesty: he is nevertheless a good portrait of the bad, even though you are led to believe he is versatile – he is not – and Martha is a character in the background, both literally and figuratively, but her position is heart-rending. And Tom is also a bit of a mystery as a character, being in so many ways not his father´s son, while his buddies Nick, Leon and Jennie are sketched a bit too hastily.  

Burger´s prose is far from Faulkner´s excessive style, but also fairly free from Hemingway´s closeness. His writing serves his purpose, and this is a tightly packed story of violent behaviour, of immoral dealings and cynical people´s egoistic need for satisfaction, even though it´s not clear what is Frank´s desire, when nothing seems to fulfil him – evil feeds on evil deeds, and maybe does not need anything else. The writing is full of laconic sentences that end on an ominous cadence, which surprises and startles the reader.

Swallow Savannah is the name of a cemetery in Allendale, South Carolina, and there are numerous deaths in this book. Violence and drinking are important ingredients in this story as well, and in the section that takes its beginning in 1968 the racism and segregation has escalated. Black people are far from being behind the scenes, but rather taking a part in the events. One of the eeriest scenes take place with a(n American) football coach and Tom – also, one of the many surprising and even shocking scenes, because it is so highly unexpected: as unexpected but welcome is the presence of the writer Mickey Spillane, something that adds to the sense of realism going awry. 

The story indulges in most of the ingredients from Southern Gothic, apart from religion not playing a major part in most people´s lives. Instead, emphasis is placed on the grotesque, both in terms of Frank´s evil mind and illegal doings, and in the outbursts of violence aimed at so many, so often, in this book. Therefore, Burger´s way of writing recalls something of Flannery O´Connor and her often furious and desperate stories, with this novel really consisting of stories, many of them stretching the bounds of realism, almost being tall tales – but that is fiction for you.