Daniel by Henning Mankell

After having worked as a court stenographer for seven years, there are few things about peoples' actions and words that shock me anymore.  Saddly, my previous court reporting career has completely desensitized me to the degree to which people can be cruel, callous, manipulative, remorseless, and disgusting (to name only a few adjectives in my experience).  I am a bit jaded; however, it doesn't mean that I don't find many actions and words to be extremely disturbing.  That's exactly how I felt about Daniel by Henning Mankell.  The cruelty and lack of human respect depicted in this novel is something I have unfortunately witnessed before, but it still left me feeling troubled and uncomfortable.

The novel begins with a man, Hans Bengler, an egotistical, selfish, jerk with aspirations of notariety and fame fueling every one of his decisions.  He travels to Africa in 1877 in search of a rare, never-before-seen insect that he declares will be named after him and provide him with great fortune and popularity.  Bengler returns to his native Sweden with a bug in a jar and a black child on a harness.

Swedish history is a subject that I have never had an opportunity to study or research.  Therefore, I do not know how involved or uninvolved the country was with the African Slave Trade.  From the inferences I made through reading the text, my understanding is that Africans were rarely seen in this country during the 1800s.  For that reason, when Bengler brings this child home and names him "Daniel," they become a circus show of sorts.  Bengler's unique bug and rare human find are both put on display for public viewing. 

That's where the uncomfortable and troubling part of this novel comes into play with me.  The Prologue begins with the discovery of a murdered young girl.  Criminal acts, violence, and rape occur throughout the entirety of the novel ~ all of which are disturbing in their own right.  But what upset me most was the objectivity of this young boy, Daniel.  With the exception of actions by a few characters, Daniel is never afforded the luxury of human respect and kindness.  He is tied up and harnessed like a dog, and then he is put on display like one of Bengler's bugs to be scrutinized for his differences.  Daniel is a smart child who pursues his dream of walking on water so that he can cross the ocean on his own two feet and return to Africa.  He wants to be loved, but he doesn't know where to find it or how to accept it.

Despite my own uneasiness with Daniel's situation, I found myself enthralled with this novel.  The story is so intelligently written.  From the beginning to the end, it contains a series of logical yet disjointed events.  You never quite understand why these events are taking place or where they are leading you.  The entire novel takes place in 1877 - 1878, but then the short Epilogue suddenly brings you to 1995.  It is during this time, 118 year later, where all of those loose ends about Daniel's life and circumstances are seamlessly tied together with a completely unexpected and deserved respectability, an ending that made my own discomfort and Daniel's hardships worth bearing through.