CARSON MCCULERS
Watch without hands
translated by Michalis Makropoulos
ed. Dioptra, 2023, p. 336

How strange and at the same time liberating: literary The “diamonds” of the American South were largely the result of darkness arising from the critical issue of racial discrimination. A year after the publication of Harper Lee’s surprise book When They Kill Blackbirds (1960), Carson McCullers publishes his novelWatch without hands(published by Dioptra), which was to be her last. Six years later, he would die at the age of only 50. Despite a difficult incubation period, the book was lost in the whirlwind caused by Lee, although the theme of racism permeated the fabric of both novels.

The author directly refers to a real event that acts as a catalyst in her novel, making it sharply political.

Critics of the time did not put it in the same place as her other influential works (see “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”, “Reflections in a Golden Eye”), but its power cannot be denied. McCullers’ special talent, somewhat subtle but always present, vividly colors a turbulent period in modern American history.

The drama was set in McCullers’ beloved South. It takes us back to the 50s, to Milan, Georgia. Four heroes unfold before us, unlike each other, but whose destinies are the same. 40-year-old pharmacist J. T. Malone, old Judge Klein, his grandson Shute, and his young black clerk Sherman.

The first two belong, no doubt, to a past that is slowly fading but refusing to pass the torch to the next generation, while the other two are the bearers of a new era that wants to rise above divisions and fruitless rivalries. . McCullers directly refers to the real event that catalyzes her novel, making it sharply political. In 1954, the US Supreme Court voted to desegregate public schools. Yes, this is the dawn of a new era.

But behind this defining event, McCullers sees human souls pulsing with a thirst for life, love, and acceptance. Loneliness presses on their shoulders, emptiness looms before them. The past merges with the present, and everything seems meaningless. Like a watch with no hands.

Malone learns that he only has a few months left to live, as he has leukemia. The fear of imminent death leads him to a complete revision of his life. He counts the mistakes he made and how he let the love of his wife slip through his fingers.

Judge Klein reminisces about the political stakes of his past, realizes that his body is like an abandoned ramshackle house, and reflects on the bitter loss of his beloved son who committed suicide and his deceased wife. Lonely but always committed to maintaining racial discrimination, he will find company in the young Sherman, who is admired for his tireless fighting spirit and intoxicating blue eyes.

It is these elements that will attract Klein’s grandson, Jester. The two children are orphans and are looking for their place in the world in different ways. In contrast to the dynamic and boastful Sherman, the Jester takes a stand against his grandfather’s conservative views, struggles with his secretive sexual nature, and finds in Sherman the kindred spirit he sought in his father’s absence.

Whites versus blacks? It is clear that this dichotomy is present in the plot, but McCullers builds four disparate characters, carrying opposites, united by a mystery that is revealed at the end and weaves a story that evokes a high degree of compassion and empathy in the reader. The familiar gothic element that characterizes McCullers’ writing may be absent, but the drama and existential quest are combined with subtle irony and a heightened sense of futility.

The translation is by Michalis Makropoulos.