Alina Bronsky; translated by Tim Mohr
Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky, translated from the German by Tim Mohr, unfolds in the first-person voice of Sascha Naimann, a seventeen-year-old Russian immigrant living in Germany. The tragic circumstances of her young life are gradually revealed. Her mother and mother’s boyfriend were murdered by Vadim, her mother’s former husband, leaving Sascha and her young step-siblings as orphans. Her step-father’s cousin, Maria, moves to Germany to take care of the children.
Sascha is forced to grow up quickly. She assumes responsibility for her siblings and acts as translator for Maria who cannot speak German. Her narrative is dotted with frequent flashbacks to her mother and Vadim—a despicable human being tormenting the family with physical, mental, and sexual abuse, culminating in his act of double murder. Sascha tries to make sense of why her mother tolerated him for as long as she did. She heaps piles of abuse on Vadim and conjures elaborate plans for murdering him when he is released from prison. Her plans are thwarted when she learns Vadim has committed suicide in his prison cell. The news causes Sascha to snap temporarily.
The narrative voice is initially strong. Sascha is intelligent, street-smart, tough, resilient, observant, and determined. She can also be funny, vulnerable, tender, compassionate, and fiercely protective of her younger siblings. But, above all, she is consumed with anger and rage. Her voice is engaging and convincing. But it begins to fall flat when she seems to fall in love with an older man and, for no apparent reason, sleeps with his son. She later sleeps with a complete stranger because he happens to share the same name as the man she ostensibly loves. Her romantic entanglements are confusing and aimless. As a consequence, her voice loses much of its strength and focus. Her story drifts into that of a lovelorn teenager. The plot becomes haphazard, lacking purpose, direction, and the urgency that characterized its opening pages.
This is Alina Bronsky’s debut novel. The writing is fast-paced, vigorous, and engaging. Bronsky’s talent lies in writing first-person narratives. She has an ability to create interesting, complex, and believable characters that generate sympathy. Although she is able to do so to some degree with Sascha, her skill is more finely honed in her subsequent novels where she is more successful in capturing voice and motivation and in tightening narrative structure and focus.
Recommended.