Brod and Augustine (who's real name is Lista)

p. 202, "Falling in Love, 1934-1941"

As I've been reading (trying to catch up with you, Katie), I started to notice poetic connections between the different stories that appear in the chapters about Trachimbrod. For example, when I came to the part about the Wisps of Ardisht (p. 136) while reading "The Dial, 1941-1804-1941" (119-141), I got confused. I'm still not really sure who the Wisps of Ardisht are except for what it says about them in this chapter. If they were mentioned before, and I'm assuming they were, I forgot about them long before I got to this bit about them. "Why on earth did Foer insert this little story here?" I wondered. But as I read about their plan to keep their cigarettes alight by making sure that someone always had a lit cigarette from which others could be lit, I thought of the Dial. In a way I think he's sort of like the lit cigarette. His features are continually being remade in the image of his worshippers, but that contributes to his power and popularity in the minds of his worshippers. For a time, he was like the fire that continued to burn in the hearts of his adorers and the tradition that connected all the marriages in Trachimbrod.

And going along with what you wrote last time, I think the Dial is also symbolic of the writing that Alex and Jonathan are doing. As they try to tell the story of others, they can't help but remake their stories in the image of their own perception and perspective. Foer, through Alex, seems to nod at this idea when Alex complains about his grandfather sharing truths with the woman they call Augustine: "Or perhaps he was lying. This is what I wanted, for him to present not-truths to her. She did not deserve the truth, not as I deserved the truth. Or we both deserved the truth, and the hero, too. All of us” (p.156). For Alex there seems to be one truth, even in this world where they have to follow Augustine/Lista to Trachimbrod when she refuses to ride in the car. By following her, they seem to acknowledge, however impatiently, that they are going to view Trachimbrod through her eyes. And really this is their only option since the town no longer exists. This could probably be better thought out, but hopefully it’s making sense.

Other such poetic images include the house that's actually two houses, because it's only connected at the attic (p. 161). To get to the kitchen from the bedrooms, one would need to walk up to the attic to cross over and then walk down to the kitchen (could one use the front door instead of the attic?). This seemed like a great metaphor for Jonathan's and Alex's two stories in one book. They're almost separate stories, but I believe they will connect in a way that might seem distant or inconvenient. If the movie was faithful to the story, then Alex's grandfather should be connected to the story of Jonathan's own grandfather, even if it is a somewhat loose connection. The house also reminds me of Jonathan's family in the sense that much of his family lived in the Ukraine and knew only the Ukraine, but now Jonathan and his mother really know only America. Only his grandparents connect the two different families. I suppose I could go on.

At any rate, all of this leads me to compare Brod and Augustine. [BTW: am I off for thinking that Augustine/Lista was the older sister she described?] Both feel immense sorrow, but I think I find A/L's more credible than Brod's. I think Brod had every reason to feel sorrow when her husband became a psychopath, but Foer describes her as having sorrow before she ever gets married. And according to Foer she seems to enjoy the Kolker's abuse. I don't think it's really as simple as saying that Brod is selfish in her sorrow and A/L isn't. But I do feel that way. Is it a fair comparison? And are these women somehow connected like the two-house? Perhaps I should consider similarities other than their sorrow.