Vyhľadávanie
Démon svätosti (The Demon of Saintliness)
Slovenský spisovateľ 2004
The first book of Peter Bilý was a collection of poems A Retarded Dusk (Spomalené prítmie), followed by another collection In the Captivity of the Image (V zajatí obrazu) and Insomnia, a book jointly written with Martin Vlado. Early in September there appeared his novelistic début provocatively entitled The Demon of Saintliness (Démon svätosti). The antithesis in the title is at the same time the constructive principle of the book. The action takes place in an apartment of four female students in Spain and in an Italian monastery, unrestrained sex is the antithesis of celibacy, the parental seeking of harmony within New Age forms a contrast to Peter’s choice of becoming a monk.
In the first part of the book, Peter’s life is changed by an accidental meeting of a girl traveling on the same plane to Madrid. Instead of continuing on his journey, he becomes Carmen’s companion, helping her to overcome the trauma of an abortion and a relationship gone wrong. Peter is no good Samaritan, meeting Carmen and her problems was something that just happened and he did not resist being drawn into it. As a matter of fact, with the exception of the adolescent rebellion in the form of entering a monastery, in all his life he had made no independent decision. He takes things as they come, he even marries Carmen in order to get a work permit in Spain, without compunction uses the money she earns by working while studying, and equally without compunction enjoys sex with other women – not choosing them, but rather being chosen. He even lets his friend to choose the line of studies for him; he decides to read psychology because he will not have to buy textbooks. He desires love, but does not admit it to himself, being afraid of love and responsibility. Protected by his passivity as by a suit of armour, he lives from day to day.
The second part is a retrospective narrative describing the novitiate in a monastery and it actually corroborates Peter’s passive drift through life. He cannot love God, he cannot keep the rules and bring sacrifices in the interest of achieving a given aim. Those who expect a deeper insight into the life of a monk will be disappointed. True, the fragmentary jottings present several interesting characters, but this part of the book is mainly about what future monks should not do. Reflections on faith and God are provocative, in places almost blasphemous.
Bily’s prosaic début has a good story line, good language and an atmosphere of its own. It manages to mix all the ingredients guaranteeing attractiveness to the reading public. Although set in two concrete countries, it could take part anywhere in the world, because love, sex and faith are eternal, just as the world is full of egotist exhibitionists, liars and easygoing poseurs.
The protagonist has many properties of his author – he comes from Košice, he is a poet, he spent two years as a monk and studies psychology in Spain, the author endowed his hero even with his own name and physiognomy. Does this represent identification with a character or exhibitionism?
