Afghanskfødte Khaled Hosseini har skrevet en smuk og stærk familiehistorie: Og bjergene gav genlyd.
Jeg har lige afsluttet fortællingen (på 443 sider) og forestiller mig, den skal bruges i dansk som andetsprogsundervisningen på E- og D-niveau. Måske i bidder, det vil være de færreste, som kommer igennem så mange sider, desværre, omend bogen er let at læse og forstå.
Det første, der falder mig ind, er, at fortællingen blandt mange andre vigtige temaer behandler relationen til vores forældre og bedsteforældre. De gamle. I det hele taget bånd mellem mennesker, uanset alder, køn og status.
Måske hæfter jeg mig særligt ved dette tema, fordi jeg selv har nået den fase, hvor min gamle far er væk lige om lidt. At tiden med ham i den virkelige fysiske verden er knap.
Der er et tankevækkende citat i bogen, hvor en ældre kvinde siger om sit forhold til sin nu afdøde adoptivmor:
"Jeg burde have været sødere ved hende. Det er noget, man aldrig vil komme til at fortryde. Når man bliver gammel, vil man aldrig sige til sig selv: Ah, hvor ville jeg ønske, jeg ikke havde været god ved den person. Det vil man aldrig tænke."
Nu vi er ved vores gamle forældre, vil jeg bringe et efter min mening vildt smukt digt om, hvordan erindringen blev skabt. Digtet er på engelsk og er fundet på cd'en Homeland af Laurie Anderson. Her kommer det:
The Beginning of memory
"There's a story in an ancient play about birds called The Birds
And it's a short story from before the world began
From a time when there was no earth, no land.
Only air and birds everywhere.
And it's a short story from before the world began
From a time when there was no earth, no land.
Only air and birds everywhere.
But the thing was there was no place to land.
Because there was no land.
So they just circled around and around.
Because this was before the world began.
Because there was no land.
So they just circled around and around.
Because this was before the world began.
And the sound was deafening. Songbirds were everywhere.
Billions and billions and billions of birds.
Billions and billions and billions of birds.
And one of these birds was a lark and one day her father died.
And this was a really big problem
because what should they do with the
body?
There was no place to put the body because there was no earth.
There was no place to put the body because there was no earth.
And finally the lark had a solution.
She decided to bury her father in the back if her own head.
And this was the beginning of memory.
Because before this no one could remember a thing.
They were just constantly flying in circles.
Constantly flying in huge circles."
She decided to bury her father in the back if her own head.
And this was the beginning of memory.
Because before this no one could remember a thing.
They were just constantly flying in circles.
Constantly flying in huge circles."
