Tomorrow Pamplona by the Dutch author Jan van Mersbergen was the middle title in Peirene Press’ second year, 2011; having now read all three books (the others were Matthias Politycki’s Next World Novella and Maybe This Time by Alois Hotschnig) I would probably go as far as to say it is my favourite collection (I wouldn’t like to comment on whether its theme, Male Dilemma: Quests for Intimacy, has any bearing on that!). As with most of Peirene’s authors, it was van Mersbergen’s first appearance in English; unfortunately, it remains his only one so far (he has written at least four other novels).
In the novel a young boxer, Danny, gets the opportunity to fight outside Holland with promoter Mr Varon. We don’t need to be told that this represents an important chance for him – the scene where Varon leaves his card after seeing Danny fight is familiar from many boxing films. The fact that Varon is wheelchair-bound and accompanied by a beautiful Thai woman, Ragna, seems intended only to make the moment more picturesque: in fact van Mersbergen is already presenting us with vital components of the plot in a novel where everything seems necessary. This scene, the novel’s origin, is already a memory, as it begins with Danny, weeks later, on the run for reasons unknown. This of course immediately creates suspense – Danny’s reasons for running are not revealed until near the novel’s end – but also gives the narrative urgency, as if the story has already begun and we must catch up with it. This is emphasised by the constant movement, beginning with the opening lines:
“A boxer is running through the city. He heads down a street with tall buildings on either side, darts between parked cars, runs diagonally across a junction, down a bike path, crosses a bridge and follows the curve of the tram tracks.”
Here van Mersbergen uses our expectations against us – why shouldn’t a boxer be running? – as he does when he reveals what is going through Danny’s mind:
“He lands another punch. Again he hears a bell, sharper and louder than before. Stop, someone screams.”
Danny’s real journey begins when he hitches a lift with Robert, who is heading, as he does every year, to Pamplona to run with the bulls. Robert accepts Danny despite his monosyllabic replies to Robert’s questions, and advises him:
“For a man who doesn’t have a specific place in mind, Pamplona is a great destination. Maybe the best destination of all.”
The road trip companions make an interesting contrast, not only because of Robert’s openness and Danny’s taciturnity. Robert is well equipped for the trip; Danny does not even have any cash. He calmly accepts Danny at face value (when he breaks the door of his son’s toy car he says, “These things happen”), Danny seems uncomfortable with himself. Robert describes Pamplona as an “express pilgrimage”, something that allows him to feel at peace with the world; for whatever reason, Danny is permanently on edge. Only when he decides to go with Robert does he “feel a little calmer.”
Much of the novel, therefore, consists of Danny and Robert travelling, a series of one-sided conversations which keep the tension slowly simmering. Their journey is interrupted by Danny’s memories (a device that feels natural as Danny would obviously be replaying these scenes in his mind as they drive), particularly his relationship with Ragna. Many of these scenes also consist of only two characters – in the gym, in a room – heightening the novel’s claustrophobic feel.
The novel heads inexorably towards two climaxes: the bull run and the revelation of what Danny has done: both (I won’t reveal either here) are entirely satisfying. This is not a novel about escape, however – Robert’s journey is predicated on return, a theme indicated by Danny’s encounter with a woman when they stop overnight near a river:
“I met the love of my life in this place…I never saw him again…But I return here every year.”
Tomorrow Pamplona is a breath-taking read – by that I mean that at times it was so tense I found I had forgotten to breath! Peirene’s books are famous for allowing a reading in one sitting; this is certainly one you won’t want to put down until it is finished.
1streading's Blog 
January 10, 2015 at 9:15 am |
Ooo i must get this !
January 10, 2015 at 4:18 pm |
A great read – perfect for when you want something you can race through but still have plenty to think about.
January 10, 2015 at 9:32 am |
I really enjoyed your review, Grant – it seems to capture that sense of urgency and tension you mention in the book! I loved the eerie stories in Maybe This Time (it was on my first-pass *shortlist* for books of the year) and I’ve been coveting Next World Novella for a while. Looks like I’m going to have to add Pamplona to the list too.
January 10, 2015 at 4:19 pm |
I’m finding that there really is no choice but to read all of Peirene’s books…
January 10, 2015 at 10:08 am |
this was year two favourite i loved the nature of the two characters the almost punch for punch like nature of their story
January 10, 2015 at 4:20 pm |
That’s a great way of thinking of it – perhaps what I was sensing when I spoke of how much of the novel is made up of scenes between two characters.
March 3, 2015 at 9:59 am |
Nice review. I have this one and started it, but it got interrupted and I had to put it aside again. My suspicion now is that I approached it in the wrong way, that I should as you suggest have simply dived into it when I had time to do so and let the tension build.
I was a little surprised to see it as part of a series of novellas, as if I recall correctly it’s pretty much a standard novel length isn’t it?
Nice analogy from Stu there regarding the two characters almost themselves as boxing matches.
March 3, 2015 at 6:22 pm |
Thanks – I think it would benefit from a quick reading, the tension building is very important to the novel’s construction.
It’s probably Peirene’s longest book, though it’s still under 200 pages, so a short novel.
Stu’s spot on about the characters!