The only thing the sentries do is check the border in case the people from the north, the Tartars as they are called, will attack.
Drogo wants
to leave immediately, but is persuaded to stay a few months. And soon the
military routine makes sure he gets used to the uneventful live at the fort and
the way time slips away from him.
Almost
without noticing Drogo stays in the fort for the rest of his life and when the
Tartars finally come, Drogo will have to fight a completely different enemy.
Dino Buzzati lived from 1906 to 1972. He became journalist
for the Corriere della Sera in Milano
when he was 22 years old and worked here all his life. He was not only a
journalist, but also wrote short stories, plays, poetry and novels. The Tartar steppe is his most famous
novel and it was published in 1945.
The book is
sometimes compared with the works of French philosopher Albert Camus, because
in both cases people are not capable of giving meaning to their life and cling
to senseless routines to give them the illusion of purpose.
Giovanni
Drogo is a young man with ideals. When he graduates, he hopes for a successful
career and he is happy his first commission is at such an important fort. He is
disappointed when he comes there and finds out the fort is not important at
all.
Still, he
gets used to it very fast and when he is on leave and goes to town, he does not
even like it there anymore. Together with the other soldiers he waits for the
enemy and even hopes the enemy will come, because then they will know they did
not spend their time in the fort Bastiani for nothing.
The Tartar steppe is a strange book in some respects, you do not
know when or where it is set. It may be the 19th century with the
talk of horses and carriages, but it never becomes completely clear. Normally,
this would irritate me, but in this case it did not bother me, it is part of
the story.
The story
is a fascinating one, and you slowly get sucked into it, just like Drogo is
sucked into the life in the fort.
Despite the fact they have never seen an
enemy, military routines are all important, even if this leads to soldiers
losing their lives. Because if you let protocol slip, you might as well let the
entire fort slip, because then you will know for certain it has no meaning.
I think it
is no wonder this book was published in 1945, after a war when so many people tried
to hang to things that had no longer any meaning, just because they could not
confess it all had become useless.
The Tartar steppe is a beautiful story and it is worth reading.
Original Italian
title: Il deserto dei Tartari
Published in 1945
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