Borderliners – Peter Hoeg
Pete chose this one. Most of us had read some Hoeg before but hadn’t heard of this: an unsettling story of a young orphan growing up in ‘progressive’ Danish society, moving from institution to institution, and placed in an elite school as part of an social experiment. The response of the group was mostly positive, although at times the book did confuse and exasperate some of us. We weren’t sure whether the book was supposed to be semi autobiographical, which was definitely hinted at, although I wondered whether the more extreme events in the book were an exploration of wish fulfilment. We all enjoyed the book, although Paddy and myself felt that it dragged at times, and Seth and Nicky felt that the end went on for longer than it should’ve. Ann was still in the process of reading the book and was very impressed at the point she was at.
The school’s experiment involves the rigid control of time to turn the children into model citizens: constant surveillance maintained through a strict regime of timetables, charts and bells. Nicky and Pete felt that the experiment was not explained clearly enough, but Paddy and I disagreed. The experiment is never explained to the narrator, and we are only given his perspective. Despite this, I found the counter experiment that the pupils use to rebel quite confusing although Pete thought that it was reasonably explicit. That’s got worrying implications for my teaching practice! Paddy pointed out that despite the harshness of the regime, there was a distinct lack of malice in the teachers. I felt that this portrayal of the staff carrying out the experiment ‘for the best’ was much scarier than if they had been characterised as monsters.
Hoeg creates the feelings of disorientation and isolation very effectively. Time and the way it can be manipulated is definitely the major theme of the book, and as well as treating us to his theories on the subject, the author distorts the chronology, deliberately confusing us. At the end of the book the narrative finishes and we are given a short academic essay about time. I think we all felt a commitment to finish it and carried on, but it alienated some of us. Seth felt that it didn’t properly explain the concept of time, but Paddy disagreed, feeling that it made the difference between linear and circular time quite explicit. Peter’s struggle against linear time can make the book difficult disjointed reading at times. Objects such as the bell and two way loudspeaker that are used to implement the regime are used as powerful motifs. The way time was dealt with in the book led on to lengthy discussion about how the way we measure time is different to how we structure time, and how we try to impose a sometimes arbitrary structure onto abstract time.
We debated the significance of ‘the child’ in the book, whether he was actually referring to his own child or, as Seth suggested, a personification of a feeling inside him. Ann felt that the detached language used towards ‘the child’ and ‘the woman’ actually suggested extreme attachment – a raw emotion that he does not want to share with the reader by allowing us to picture them. Paddy pointed out that he appears much closer to August and Katerina than the woman and the child. We could have discussed the significance of the August and Katerina much further: his idealisation of Katerina, and his protective feelings towards August but I think we drifted off subject through talking about time. Peter’s friend from his previous institution occurs at different times in the narrative, in memories and in the present. Seth and Nicky suggested that he may be imaginary which hadn’t occurred to me but made a lot of sense, especially as he turns up in situations of great stress to save or comfort Peter .
Seth thought it was markedly different from the more magical style of his other books. Ann felt that it was deliberately quite sparsely written, pointing out the lack of adjectives. I think we had much more to discuss in the book but time marched on, the pub got busier and conversation turned to other topics. This book is quite a harsh and at times disorientating read but overall it is worth it. Not one to pack for your summer holiday, and maybe not the best place to start with Hoeg.
