By Monika
Format:Paperback
This was definitely a different reading experience for me. At first I wasn't quite sure what was going on, or what the point was, but when I got to about page 75, it suddenly all started coming together. So a word of advice to anyone having trouble "getting into" this one: Just keep going! It does make sense eventually. I can't reveal too much without spoiling the story, but after the relatively long "set up" period, the story really does start to move. Once I understood what was happening, I couldn't put the book down, and finished it in a single day. By the time I'd reached the end, I was very impressed with Berger's work.
"To the Wedding" is narrated by a blind Greek street-peddler. He sells tamata, small metal charms supposed to bring relief to those who suffer. One day, a man stops at the stall to buy a tama for his daughter. "Where is she suffering?" the peddler asks. "Everywhere," the father replies. He buys a tama and goes on his way. The street peddler never meets him, or his daughter, again. But he tells us a story about the girl, Ninon, and the preparations for her marriage to a man called Gino.
This is a love story, but it is also much more. The more I reflect upon it, the more I get out of it, and I'm sure I would gain an even deeper appreciation upon reading it a second time. It explores what it means to love someone, the relationship of sex and love, and different ways to approach life in the face of knowledge of one's own mortality. If you know you are going to die in only a few years, what do you do? How do you live your life in the time between now and then? And is love in the present dependent on the possibility of having a future, or is it unconditional, in the moment? "To the Wedding" raises so many interesting questions, and offers multiple ways to view each one.
The format of the book may be a little off-putting at first. The primary narrator is the blind street peddler, but as he peers into the lives of others, the voice shifts from his own first-person viewpoint to the perspectives of his characters, told in first-person in Ninon's case, and third-person for the others - Ninon's father, mother, and Gino. We also jump from one person's life to another very rapidly, and sometimes it is hard to tell who is speaking, and whose eyes we are seeing through. Sometimes Berger will include something that seems to be of little importance, but do not overlook them - they invariably become important later on. I actually think that this fragmented story-telling style ultimately enhances the content of the book, but it takes a little getting used to.
I strongly urge everyone to read this book. "To the Wedding" has something to offer any reader that is willing to take a little time to reflect upon the themes it presents. It is a book I will treasure for years to come, and will definitely re-read every so often. Berger's story puts life into perspective, and offers hope to anyone who suffers. A very worthwhile read.
"To the Wedding" is narrated by a blind Greek street-peddler. He sells tamata, small metal charms supposed to bring relief to those who suffer. One day, a man stops at the stall to buy a tama for his daughter. "Where is she suffering?" the peddler asks. "Everywhere," the father replies. He buys a tama and goes on his way. The street peddler never meets him, or his daughter, again. But he tells us a story about the girl, Ninon, and the preparations for her marriage to a man called Gino.
This is a love story, but it is also much more. The more I reflect upon it, the more I get out of it, and I'm sure I would gain an even deeper appreciation upon reading it a second time. It explores what it means to love someone, the relationship of sex and love, and different ways to approach life in the face of knowledge of one's own mortality. If you know you are going to die in only a few years, what do you do? How do you live your life in the time between now and then? And is love in the present dependent on the possibility of having a future, or is it unconditional, in the moment? "To the Wedding" raises so many interesting questions, and offers multiple ways to view each one.
The format of the book may be a little off-putting at first. The primary narrator is the blind street peddler, but as he peers into the lives of others, the voice shifts from his own first-person viewpoint to the perspectives of his characters, told in first-person in Ninon's case, and third-person for the others - Ninon's father, mother, and Gino. We also jump from one person's life to another very rapidly, and sometimes it is hard to tell who is speaking, and whose eyes we are seeing through. Sometimes Berger will include something that seems to be of little importance, but do not overlook them - they invariably become important later on. I actually think that this fragmented story-telling style ultimately enhances the content of the book, but it takes a little getting used to.
I strongly urge everyone to read this book. "To the Wedding" has something to offer any reader that is willing to take a little time to reflect upon the themes it presents. It is a book I will treasure for years to come, and will definitely re-read every so often. Berger's story puts life into perspective, and offers hope to anyone who suffers. A very worthwhile read.
Hugs From My Heart
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