Gentlemen
by Klas Ostergren; Translated by: Tiina Nunnally
Published by Macadam Cage
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Reviewed by Laura Langer
(Originally published 1981 in Swedish)
Gentlemen is the story of two brothers, Henry and Leo Morgan, and their chronicler, Klas Ostergren, who shares his name with the author. Klas meets Henry Morgan at the moment when he is not out of house, but definitely out of home, having been robbed of nearly all his possessions. Henry's personality is big, and his adventures are wide-ranging and large as well. He takes Klas into his home, helps him find work, and introduces him to a cast of characters that runs the gamut from the Mysterious Woman to the Guys Down The Block Who Are Digging a Tunnel to Treasure.
Over the course of Year of the Child as Ostergren repeatedly reminds us--Klas observes Henry, and later his troubled brother Leo, and their many friends, lovers, and acquaintances over the course of many months. Henry lives on a grand scale, financed by selling off his grandfather's rare book collection, cadging free lunches, and occasional work as a film extra. Leo tries to live on as small a scale as possible, to keep his fragile sense of sanity untroubled. Klas attempts to understand it, enjoy the largeness of it, and ultimately put it into a recognizable shape to explain it.
Behind the adventures lurks a bigger theme--of international scheming and intrigue, politics and business, and large forces at work that nevertheless touch Henry, Leo and Klas. By the end, Klas is living a hermit life, abandoned and unsure of what was real or imagined or forgotten in the time he spent with him.
This is a classic formulation of young man observing (slightly) older and much more experienced men at play in their own lives, existing just on the edge of what might be danger or could be farce, and then disappearing from view with no neatly wrapped-up answers or even what questions to ask.
Reading works in translation always leaves one longing for fluency in the original language, but an accomplished translator like Nunnally assures you that the translation is faithful to the original in tone, content and style. The novel moves along fairly quickly despite its length (514 pages), and you'll be intrigued by the conclusion, perhaps irritated by the open-ended finish, and amused by it all.
Armchair Interviews says: If you're looking for an unpredictable trip with fantastical characters, try Gentlemen.