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“The World Behind the Hedge”: The new novel by Swiss author Gianna Molinari is, among other things, about human intervention in nature. A book that makes you wistful.
Even in her debut novel, the Swiss author Gianna Molinari showed a penchant for unusual places and ideas. “Everything is still possible here” was set in a disused factory where a wolf was being hunted. The debut was nominated for the Swiss Book Prize in 2018.
Now, in her second book “Behind the Hedge the World”, Molinari once again demonstrates a lot of originality and a penchant for symbols.
A village with a large hedge around it
The novel takes place in a remote village. What the village is called is not stated. Nor where it is located. However, you learn that the village is surrounded by an ever-growing hedge.
While the hedge is growing, the place is at a standstill. There is no school anymore. Most of the houses are empty. The village treasury is also empty. Yes, not even the children are getting any bigger.
Legend:
Gianna Molinari’s novel takes place in a nameless village where everything stands still – only the hedge grows.
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Pina and Lobo, the only children in the village, have not gained an inch in years. “Specialists” come to the village regularly to measure the two young people. But – nothing happens.
Everyone is just waiting for Pina and Lobo to finally grow. After all, children are the future, they say.
Change of scenery to the Arctic
In addition to the village, there is a second location: the North Pole. The chapters jump back and forth between these two settings.
Pina’s mother Dora has left the village. She is traveling on a research ship in the Arctic. There she documents how the ice melts. Those chapters about Dora in the Arctic make you particularly wistful when you read them.
Style-defining research
Dora regularly sends her daughter voice messages. She tells Pina what she knows about the Arctic, describes how cold it is, which animals once existed there and which ones (still) exist.
When reading page after page, you can feel the meticulous research that went into this novel. The author Gianna Molinari herself was traveling on a research ship in the Arctic. Her observations were heavily incorporated into the novel.
Legend:
SRF
More to read and hear about Gianna Molinari is available on our literature platform “Views”.
Gianna Molinari could have found not only the icy impressions, but also the sound on her journey. Because her language is consistently cool and distant. A very unique, melancholic rhythm blows through this novel.
Lots of room for interpretation
“The World Behind the Hedge” is not a book that rushes from one fast-paced scene to the next. It doesn’t come from the plot, but rather from the fact that Molinari took the time to look at things very closely.
And: He invites you to think for yourself: Will Pina’s mother ever return to the village? Why is the hedge growing so much? And why aren’t the children getting bigger? Do they perhaps not want to grow anymore? Are you tired of the “Higher, faster, further!” credo of the ancients?
A lot remains open in this novel. And that’s exactly the beauty of it: He doesn’t order anything, but he explores a lot.