"Euphoria Deep within": the comparable sensation to intoxication
News Article: "Paul Kawczak's 'Happiness' Explores Survival and Hope Amidst War in 1940s France"
Paris is currently under a red alert, with temperatures expected to reach 38 degrees, as millions of Europeans suffer under an early heatwave. Meanwhile, a lesser-known novel from the 1980s, "Happiness" (Le Bonheur) by Paul Kawczak, offers a stark contrast to the present-day challenges, taking readers back to the tense and oppressive atmosphere of Nazi-occupied France in the autumn of 1942.
Set near Besançon, the story revolves around three characters—Jacquot, Pinou, and Suzanne—who seek refuge beneath the ruins of the Montfaucon castle. The narrative explores their experiences and survival during this tumultuous period, engaging with themes of war, refuge, and perhaps resistance.
The novel delves into the human condition under occupation, the search for safety, and the endurance of hope or happiness in dark times. Although specific plot details are scarce, the historical setting suggests a story that revolves around the three Jewish orphans who, according to accounts, stayed for several months in a cave under the castle ruins, hiding resistance arms and evading a Gestapo officer characterized by a glass eye, scars, and a long coat.
The novel takes an unexpected turn with a twisted and slightly fantastical tangent related to the Gestapo officer's fascination with the occult and Wilhelm Reich's sexual energy research. Kawczak's evocation of these themes is described as a mix of audacity and bad taste, reflecting the author's provocative style.
Later in the novel, the memory of the "cave of solitude and sadness" serves as a backdrop for a long, somewhat abstruse monologue by a surviving child who became a plastic artist. The novel can be described as a crude alloy between "Anne Frank's Diary" and a "Stranger Things" episode, remixed by a distant disciple of Michel Butor.
In a departure from his previous work, the novel explores themes of violence and collective memory in a somewhat brighter light. However, Paul Kawczak includes thirty pages of clinical arrests and deportations of Jewish people in France, which accounts for nearly ten percent of the book and does not serve the story, according to some critics.
Despite the controversy surrounding the novel's content, "Happiness" offers a unique perspective on the resilience of the human spirit during a time of war and oppression. The novel serves as a poignant reminder of the struggles faced by those who lived during World War II and the enduring power of hope and imagination.
In stark contrast to the current heatwave in Europe, "Happiness" by Paul Kawczak offers a glimpse into a different era through the lens of culture and literature, immersing readers in the oppressive atmosphere of 1940s France. Curiously, this novel also touches upon themes of entertainment, delving into the mysterious obsession of a Gestapo officer with the occult and the works of Wilhelm Reich.
