The literature that has emerged from the events of 9/11 is astounding. For better or worse things of beauty are born from ashes, and in this post 9/11 era, many of the literary phoenixes are superb. Experienced writers, first-timers, and comedic scribes excavate the lives of those left behind and those involved in the events on that Tuesday morning.
"Netherland" is Joseph O'Neill's third work of fiction. The protagonist in the novel, Hans van den Broek, is an equities analyst who moves to New York from London with his wife and son not long before September 11. Hans's life is thrown askew by the fear, paranoia, and disaffection that pervade the city after the collapse of the twin towers.
Rachel, his wife, is suddenly elusive to him; they can no longer connect. The impact of the tragedy damages them in entirely different ways and they are unable to reach out for each other. Before long, Rachel moves back to London with their son. Hans makes the transatlantic trek every two weeks, trying to make a place for himself in their lives while living in a city clinging to the edge.
Away from his family, Hans finds an unexpected distraction: Cricket. The novel proceeds to reveal a sport?and a livelihood?foreign to Americans.
The cricket tutorial is fun, and my understanding of the game increased (slightly) after reading the book. But describing the book as a work about cricket undermines the complex nuances of solidarity, race, and friendship with which O'Neill has filled "Netherland." The game and its importance in the upheaval of the moment is substantial. For Hans, the game takes him back to his childhood in the Netherlands and opens up a world beyond his isolated existence in the office, at the hotel, and half way across the Atlantic between two islands. And, of course, there is his introduction to Chuck Ramkissoon.
Chuck has a tremendous affection for, and dedication to cricket. As an immigrant from Trinidad, he sees cricket as the most American of games (baseball fans beware). America is still an emblem of freedom and possibility for Chuck, and he has a strange plan to construct a magnificent cricket pitch in Queens. In his fantasy, America will be become the center of worldwide cricket competition. Chuck is the talker, with Hans often the incredulous audience.
Chuck's remains are found floating in the Gowanus Canal within the first three pages of the novel. The odd place that he held in Hans's life is evident in Rachel's ignorance of his existence. Part of the forward movement of the novel is a curiosity about the circumstances and reasons for Chuck's death. But the genuine friendship between two foreigners in the wake of 9/11 is the hinge on which the strength and beauty of the novel rests. The narrative weaves back and forth between the time before, after, and during Hans's stay in New York. It results in a graceful exchange, an accurate translation of the fluidity of human awareness and memory.
O'Neill writes incredibly well with few flourishes. His humorous moments are dry but effective. "We courted in the style preferred by the English: alcoholically," Hans says by way of describing his romance with Rachel. His scenes are so vividly constructed that the characters appear as real reflections of people we know in our own lives. There is a dampened, pensive quality to the narrative voice of Hans that echoes the trauma of 9/11. He sees things clearly but seems burdened rather than bolstered by the beauty he is struck by.
The turns that Hans's life takes in New York are too complex, interesting, universal, and numerous to include in a single review. The passion that Chuck lends to his life is only a fragment of the narrative layers that include driver's licenses, the bond between mothers and their sons, fidelity, and the diversity of experience and characters contained in the small space of an island.
"Netherland" is not run of the mill. It pairs people and events in surprising ways and reminds its audience of the possibilities and tragedies that make up and sustain life.