Jump to content

Wegener's Jigsaw by Clare Dudman


Seiichi

Recommended Posts

The blurb:

It is the dawn of the Twentieth Century: a time of discovery and scientific revolution, when much of the world remains a mystery, waiting to be mapped and understood. And in Germany, a reckless young man named Alfred Wegener is determined to understand it all.

 

From the moment he nearly drowns in an icy Berlin canal at the age of three, Wegener's irresistible urge to discover the unknown takes him on an extraordinary quest. Record-breaking flights in hydrogen balloons; expeditions across the unexplored and treacherous ice of Greenland; the searing horrors of trench warfare; and journeys to the brink of volcanoes, all form part of a restless search, which eventually leads him into the arms of a remarkable woman.

 

From the back cover:

'Let me tell you about ice. There are a few things you should know: firstly, it's not white. Usually it's blue, almost a turquoise, almost warmly Mediterranean. Sometimes, it's not even blue, but yellow or maybe orange. That's when the sun is setting. Sometimes it seems that the sun is always on the point of setting up here. It's not of course. It's just that often it is so low, that all the light is scattered, and for a small while, just a few seconds, it is so beautiful you could forget to breathe. Stupid to forget to breathe, I know, but it happens. You forget to breathe and then you have to take a great mouthful of air and gasp at the coldness of it.'

 

--------

Also known as One Day The Ice Will Reveal All Its Dead, Wegener's Jigsaw is Clare Dudman's fictional account of Alfred Wegener's life. The narrator of the story is Wegener himself, his voice derived from the diaries he left behind. His story is of a child, fascinated by science, who grows up, seeking adventure and a discovery he can call his own. As if closing his eyes and seeing the images vividly in his mind, he relives each episode from his life, the most notable of which are his expeditions to Greenland to carry out scientific surveys. The writing is at its most lyrical when these expeditions are recounted, when he witnesses the frightening beauty of the Greenlandic ice. Interspersed between these events are the cherished memories of times spent with his wife and family. These passages are beautifully written and contrast with the most difficult and restless part of his life: his participation in the First World War and his attempt to settle into a quiet life with his family.

 

The poetic language disappears as he and his growing family find themselves in an uncertain post-First World War Germany. It's during this time that he focused on refining and publicly defending the theory for which he is most well-known today: continental drift---a theory that was met with derision and scorn during his lifetime, but which now sees him honoured as one of the founding fathers of a 20th century scientific revolution. It's not an easy period of his life to read about: the attacks on his theory left him demoralized and his arguments fell on deaf ears despite the growing evidence he compiled. The theory was the discovery he obsessively sought to validate but without success. Fortunately for Wegener, he always had the support of Else, his long-suffering wife, who would try to reassure him. Else benefits from a strong characterization from Dudman, but it is one that lends a touch of both tenderness and sadness to the couple's relationship---a relationship that culminates in a feeling of regret by the end of the book when Wegener reflects on his absence from his family during his expeditions.

 

The book is beautifully written but does become slow in places. To answer criticisms of the book, it is after all a fictional biography, which remains as close to recorded accounts as possible, and the writing reflects Wegener's mood and circumstances. The alternative is historical fiction masquerading as something well-researched, but where truth and historical evidence is disregarded for the purpose of weaving a half-decent story (see, for example, The Other Boleyn Girl, by Phillipa Gregory). When reading about a real historical figure, I know which kind of book I prefer, and it is much to Clare Dudman's credit that she has created such a believable Wegener and given him a voice that single-handledly carries the narrative until the end so compellingly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...