The Convalescent

Read from Thursday, July 21st to Saturday, July 23rd.

The Convalescent, by Jessica Anthony.  Book 8 of my 10 books in July goal, and I am a day ahead of my pace.  As you can see, I've been so busy reading I haven't had time to write reviews, which is why they are all coming on this one day.  This is a book I picked up off the shelf in the Museum of Unnatural History in DC, an 826 nonprofit created by Dave Eggers, and a place where I volunteer.  It is published by McSweeney's.  It is definitely a unique story, and something outside of many reader's comfort zones.  It is funny, and beautiful, and a bit dark, especially toward the climax.

The Convalescent is the story of Rovar Pfliegman.  He is a small, troll-like man who sells meat out of an old bus in a field in rural Virginia.  He is a fascinating and revolting character.  The meat he sells is quality cuts at low prices, so he gets some customers, but he hasn't spoken since early childhood.  He gets the meat, we later find out, not by butchering animals, but by stealing from the local supermarket.  He has a horrible skin condition, and a bent, broken leg so that he hobbles around.  He is not someone you would like to associate with.  Rovar has a pet beetle in his bus home, and he has a collection of books that he accumulated.  There is a book on water polo, a french dictionary, a Carly Simon cassette, Darwin's Origin of Species, and a book on the history of the universe.  These characters come to life for Rovar throughout the book at moments of high-stress and they talk to him, although no one else can see them. 

Rovar is the last of his legendary Hungarian clan, the Pfliegmans.  I say legendary because he describes the family history and origins throughout the novel.  Rovar's parents were killed in a car crash when he was young, and based on his appearance, Rovar is unlikely to reproduce, to put it kindly.  He is a hermit and outsider to society, but he has a few friends, including a Hindu grocery owner, Mr. Bis, and local pediatrician Dr. Monica.  Rovar visits the doctor's office every Tuesday, and she is very nice and accommodating to the creature, even though he scares the children and the receptionist is very uncomfortable with his presence.  Of course, Rovar is in love with Dr. Monica.  Along with the problem of his deteriorating health, there are the Subdivisionists, nameless suits from a company that wants Rovar's fields and needs him to move. 

A parallel story to the present day Rovar is the history of the Pfliegman clan.  History tells of ten tribes of Hungarians moving to the Carpathian Basin in the 10th century.  However, the Pfliegmans were the 11th tribe, and they were a bunch of trolls living on the outskirts of society.  One day, they made a sacrifice to their god of a noble Hungarian, and they butchered him.  From then on, they became the butchers of Hungary, although they all resembled Rovar.  One day, a Pfliegman woman gave birth to Szeretlek, and when her water broke, it flowed so much that it created the Danube and the Black Sea.  The woman died in childbirth, and Szeretlek (which means I Love You) grew up a giant.  One day, he leg wrestled a woman named Lili, and lost the match but fell in love.  Lili was mistress to the Hungarian king Arpad, but she left him for Szeretlek, even though he was a Pfliegman.  When Arpad discovered this, he exiled Szeretlek, who wandered the forest until he found a monastery where he lived for years.  While he was away, he yearned to return to Lili, to whom it was revealed by a witch that she was also a Pfliegman, and she was actually born after Szeretlek but was almost lost in the flood.  They were twins, but they were in love and Lili actually got impregnated before he was exiled.  Many years later, the giant proved his worth to Arpad by saving the Hungarians in battle, and Szeretlek was transformed into his true, beautiful form by flying up to mount his horse and saving the day.  He was allowed to return, and he searched long for Lili and the Pfliegmans, and when he finally found them, he was so weak that the tribe decided to sacrifice him.  Lili found him, and died with him, and their son lived on.  The Pliegmans existed on the margins of society for the next ten centuries, staying on the outside of power struggles and wars, but slowly dwindling, until there was only Rovar and his parents.

While that history was being revealed, so was the history of Rovar.  He was beaten by his parents, and made to hang on a butcher's hook and locked in a CO2 refrigerator meant to kill pigs.  His parents were drunk and abandoning Rovar the day they stole a rental car and crashed and died.  Rovar had been standing in the middle of the road, and that caused the crash.  The car knicked his leg, which caused his limp. 

Now, in the present day, Rovar has lost his home to a flood, and the police are waiting to arrest him for both stealing meat and supposedly drawing dirty pictures to the kids in the pediatrician's waiting room.  He finally tries to explain his story to Dr. Monica, but his skin is completely shedding, and back is killing him.  She puts him in for an X-Ray, and finally the metamorphosis occurs.  His wings pop out, and body turns into the body of a butterfly.  Rovar has finally transformed into something beautiful.

All three of these stories (present day Rovar, the history of Rovar and his parents, and the Pfliegman clan in pre-medieval Hungary) unfold simultaneously, so that the three climaxes happen around the end, which makes for a powerful ending to the novel.  It also ends a little darker than the rest of the story had been.  The reader ends up really feeling for Rovar and rooting for him to make it.  It is tragic, but also hopeful, that someone's inner beauty can finally shine through.  Some of the dialogue was awkward, specifically in the pre-medieval Hungary scenes, and kind of took me out of the story a bit.  But it was a funny story, with moments of magical realism (my favorite!).  Four out of five stars.