Book Review: The Dwarf by Pär Lagerkvist

Set in Renaissance Italy, The Dwarf introduces a most unique literary character -- that of a man no more than twenty-six inches in height, but with an ego far grander and far more devious than any regular-sized person. The dwarf recounts the tale of his master, The Prince, working on a scheme to seize the stronghold of Montanza from his enemy, Il Toro, and at the same time grumbles on about the Princess and other member of the court. As a dwarf, people of the court look at him patronizingly and sometimes forget that he's even present so he goes about his business without bother. Through his subjective vision, the world of Renaissance Italy springs to life, with the wealthy living the high life, the fantastic art and weaponry of the age created by Maestro Bernardo (who strongly resembles Leonardo Da Vinci), the weariness of war and the terror of plague.

The dwarf sets himself above humans, declaring many times that he is not like them and comes from a much older race of beings. At the same time, he calls his fellow dwarves buffoons and can't stand being around them because "they have to make jokes and play tricks to make their masters and the guests laugh." Only he can make real sense of what is going on around the palace, and only he knows what truly lies in the hearts of those at court -- especially that of the Prince. In that respect, I think the author makes him more human than he would like to believe. We all sometimes think we know more than we actually will let on, getting us into trouble. When he takes his "intuition" of the Prince's needs a step too far, though, he holds onto that sense of being above everyone like a liferaft, keeping him safe from the world around him.

With The Dwarf, author Pär Lagerkvist has created a truly ugly character, filling him with all the evils within the human heart -- he lusts for war and battle, feels no remorse for killing another human (or dwarf), and has a superiority complex like no other. This makes for an interesting character study and is definitely worth a read.

Image from MacMillan.