Little Fingers

This novel is not for those, who like linear narration and unidirectional plot, who like the story which unravels from point A to B, and who do not like complex sentences with multiple clauses. This novel is for those, who like poetic prose intricately woven around a theme-trunk, and spreading from it like branches, who appreciate the beauty in the wandering and the aesthetic of a literary work, and who love nearly baroque digressions (I do). Magical realism comes to mind here... "Little Fingers" is neither a mystery novel nor a political novel, although has elements of both. It should not be read as a mystery of the mass murder, because such interpretation does not do it justice. Somewhere in Romania, at the feet of the Carpathians, in a sleepy spa village, archeologists are digging into the ruins of the ancient Roman camp. Accidentally, bones are found on the site and, subsequently, a grave with hundreds of skeletons is discovered. Thorough investigation begins, because political implications of the discovery are potentially immense. The village becomes a center of attention and suddenly hosts the international groups of experts, journalists, prosecutors, pathologists, and, finally a team of Argentinian anthropologists. Atmosphere shifts from apathy to feverish insanity, where everyone is a suspect and most fantastic theories can be believed. The narrator, young archeologist Petrus, is very interested in the secret of the grave, but it is for him an occasion to explore other secrets of the town and its inhabitants. The colorful society opens like a fan in front of the curious reader: Petrus's landlady, Paulina, who believes in dreams and other prophecies; her friend, Lady Eugenia Embury with her 52 cats, Old Dumitru, who catches and cooks pigeons...He also explores the library, finding accounts written by different people and he looks into their stories. Especially intriguing and unusual is the story of Onufrie, the orthodox monk and hermit with his speedily growing hair and his revelations. This novel, aside from being a subtle analysis of the difficult transition from dictatorship to democracy, and portrait of Romania through its interspersing folk tales, faith, tradition, originality, hospitality and inborn artistic spirit of its people, is a beautiful set of tales about loneliness, alienation between people and looking for one's own means of expression. Perhaps closest in atmosphere to Adam Bodor's works, Florian's novel somewhat echoes also Magris and Baricco, placing the author in the pantheon of contemporary European novelists. This debut set the level very high... I was immediately engulfed and held under the spell until the end. I will long remember "Little Fingers" and I am adding Filip Florian to the list of my favorite authors.

I enjoyed reading about the quirky characters and found the premise intriguing. Some of the idioms don't translate well (a police captain is described as a "hominid bell pepper") but they provide a linguistic window into the world being described. However, while the editor's tag describes a mystery in which Argentinean forensic anthropologists assemble clues to resolve the mystery of the little fingers, the narrative isn't the straightforward whodunnit one would expect. The collector of the fingers is disclosed to the reader in an aside halfway through the book, the anthropologists turn up very near the end, and they solve the "mystery" not with scientific technique but by analyzing personalities over drinks. The real thrust of the narrative is in the relationship between two men, but one is described in depth near the beginning then seemingly forgotten. The other protagonist is a "mad monk" and I think my lack of familiarity with Catholicism left me less sympathetic to his struggles than the author intended. Although the narrative structure could be tighter, I found this a good read and one I'll probably enjoy again. I'm really struggling with a rating here and would like to give it 3.5 stars, but I'll round up to 4 and look for Florian's next book.

I hated this book for about the first 40-50 pages and was preparing to bash it as unreadable. Somewhere about page 45 I started enjoying myself. The book would not have been so much fun if it hadn't irritated me. Those lovely, easy-to-read books with plots that draw you easily into them, with limited numbers of characters, complete clear sentences, etc., are usually what I consider to be B novels and they usually get 4 stars. Those are nice simple escapes, mostly mediocre and very appreciated, like one appreciates potato chips or microwave popcorn. They have their place and I happily read these books (and eat my chips or popcorn). This was not one of those books. Rather, I seriously wondered whether I was going to finish this book. I probably wouldn't have except that I needed to do some more Vine reviews and the other volumes waiting to be read are non-fiction and didn't look like simple escapes either. So I worked through it. I'm glad I started keep a list of characters from early in reading. This was helpful because common pronouns will become interesting proper people at some point in the story (and because my memory is short and impatient). Also, be prepared to have a dictionary handy. I didn't look up half the words I didn't understand, and I still used it a lot. Irritating was that I couldn't read it quickly. I couldn't hang me attention on a plot, but felt like I was wafting around in the meanderings of the author's words that hinted at people and events without really telling me anything. Many sentences were seriously difficult to read. I always felt there was an underlying joke that I wasn't getting and that it was my fault for not paying close enough attention. For all of that irritation I would have given the book 1 star if everyone else had given it 5. I couldn't average 1 and 5 and give it something in between. This is not a mediocre book. It doesn't deserve 2-4 stars. It deserves to be loved or hated, or loved and hated. It doesn't deserve a luke warm reaction. And by the time I finished it, I loved it. I loved to the humor, the irony, the complex lives and exotic (to the 2-4 star life of the average American reader) characters that once fully developed told the story, and the ending which leaves the reader knowing that the story cannot really be over. I loved Auntie Pauline and Eugenia Embury. I loved the monk Onufrie's personal creations of adoration (and now I want to go create a personal sanctuary, if only I could find something to adore). I loved his sense of responsibility toward his "flock." I loved the author's ability to make me chuckle in the midsts of horrors. I loved the playful language and metaphors. I loved being reminded that no human being, especially not an old one, is really boring. I loved how all that funky language and those strange lives and horrors of history came together merged at end leaving the story pregnant, because after all, nothing ever really ends,

Romanian journalist Filip Florian has written a beautiful novel that touched my heart and soul. "Little Fingers" chronicles the extraordinary life of a peasant priest, Onufrie, who has experienced a continuous succession of miracles which allowed him to survive the communist regime that terrorized and oppressed Romania. The newborn Onufrie was abandoned on the banks of a stream. Like Moses, he was rescued and adopted. The communists forced him to work in a mine. He later escaped and lived like John the Baptist in the mountain wilderness. He read the confessions of an anti-communist rebel via letters left hidden for him in rocks. Onufrie was miraculously healed of paralysis; he yearns for visitations from the Virgin Mary; and now, near the end of his life, after communism had been defeated, he is building a monastery at Red Rock. Unfortunately, a mass burial grave is exhumed, stirring up a bee hive of political feelings. Do the skeletons belong to plague victims of the Middle Ages or are they the victims of a mass execution perpetrated by the communists? An assortment of unique characters invade the nearby provincial town, wishing to help solve the mystery. There is the archaeologist, Petrus, who falls in love with the niece, Jojo, of his eccentric landlady, Aunt Paulina. Much comic relief is provided by minor characters such as the photographer, Mr. Sasha, who buys a dromedary (camel) named Aladdin; he is forced to castrate the poor animal because it was trying to mate with the neighbors' cows. "Little Fingers" is packed with mystery, intrigue, romance, humor and horror - the horror of war. Scenes of mass slaughter are described that will churn your stomach. Most of all, "Little Fingers" is a story of man's ability to survive and triumph over adversity. Through love and faith, one can always find the strength to accomplish anything. Filip Florian is a gifted writer who brings his characters to life, especially Onufrie. I admire this priest so much that I want to be like him - humble, selfless and overflowing with faith. In many ways, Onufrie reminds me of the apostle Paul who suffered a tremendous amount of tribulation during his ministry. Most Americans will not be comfortable with Florian's writing style. It is written like prose with long sentences and paragraphs and the usage of archaic and antiquated words. It reminded me of several classics I'd read in high school. I had to hold the novel in one hand and a dictionary in the other. "Little Fingers" is Florian's debut novel and an international success. If you enjoy good drama, it his highly recommended. Florian's other novels are "Bãiuþ Alley Boys" and "Days of the King." Alistair Ian Blyth translated "Degete mici" into the English novel titled "Little Fingers." He has translated other Romanian novels such as "Our Circus Presents," written by Lucian Dan Teodorovici, and "An Intellectual History of Cannibalism" by Cãtãlin Avramescu.

What a treat! Though this book is barely two-hundred pages, it is as well developed as a book twice that length. Florian's very tight writing tells much in few words. He uses a mixture of some magical realism and more than a dash of post-modernism. He adds satire and a hint of farce. Through this combination he tells a tale of an archaeological dig; and a search for a reason for the mass grave found there. Inside that tale he introduces us to another study - that of the human condition, past and present. This is a story of people. There are the good, the bad and (yes) even the ugly. The characters range from the very real to some who are caricatures. There are several I'd love to get to know and some I'd love to avoid. Taken as a whole, they are fine mix to wrap the story around. His sentences can be quite long, but there's a rhythm to them. His paragraphs can last a page or more as he strings sentences together like he's running downhill to make his point. These streams of thought help him to write that thick book in such a thin size. I love to read foreign authors. Having to read them in translation is, I know, second best. I'm at the mercy of the translator. I'm sure it's difficult enough to get just the right words and have things make sense; but to capture the nuances of the author's style has to be an ultimate challenge. Many times I'm left without knowing how close a translator came. In this instance, though, I know the translator had to be extremely close to letting us read what Florian intended. I'll be looking for more by Filip Florian and more translations by Alistair Ian Blyth. This isn't a book set in Romania and written by an American author. It's set in Romania and written by a Romanian author. While that may sound obvious, that realization can make a huge difference in a reader's expectations of the book. There are a couple of things I do when reading foreign authors. Before I open the book: I grab an atlas and refresh my memory of the physical features of the country and its cities; I read from a world almanac or online about its history, people, religion, economy and government; and I remind myself that I will not be reading American popular fiction but something different in style as well as location. I have found that doing that is well worth the time I have invested. Then I crack the cover and enjoy.