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Read Doctor Fischer Of Geneva Or The Bomb Party (1981)

Doctor Fischer of Geneva or The Bomb Party (1981)

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ISBN
0140055886 (ISBN13: 9780140055887)
Language
English
Publisher
penguin

Doctor Fischer Of Geneva Or The Bomb Party (1981) - Plot & Excerpts

حفلة القنبلة أول كتاب أقرؤه لجراهام جرين، قرأت مذكراته قبل عام تقريبا ً، ولأنه من الكتاب الذين لا يرد ذكرهم كثيرا ً، حيث لا أذكر أني قرأت أو سمعت من يتحدث عنه أو عن كتبه، فلذا لم أكن متعجلا ً للتجربة، بعض الكتاب تشعر بضغط شديد للقراءة لهم، الكل يتحدث عنهم، مراجعات كتبهم في كل مكان، مع جراهام كنت مرتاحا ً، لا توقعات فلا خيبات أمل. يمكنني القول بعد الفراغ من روايته هذه أنه من الكتاب الجيدين، لديه فكرة جديدة، وهو يرسمها بهدوء وبطريقة ذكية، فلذا سأقرأ له أكثر. يصعب استخلاص موضوعة أساسية لهذه الرواية، يمكننا أن نقول أنها عن الجشع، يمكن أن نقول أنها عن الحب وفي نفس الوقت عن غياب الحب، يمكننا القول أنها عن الحسرة، شعور الإنسان بالضياع، وسأوضح هذا بعدما أتناول قصة الرواية في السطور التالية.تنبيه: ما سيأتي يكشف شيئا ً من أحداث الرواية. ألفرد جونز أرمل إنجليزي في الخمسينات من عمره، فقد يسراه عندما كان يعمل إطفائيا ً في لندن أثناء الحرب العالمية الثانية، يعيش الآن في سويسرا، حيث يعمل مترجما ً في مصنع للشوكولاتة. تبدو لنا شخصية كهذه بلا مفاجئات، أو لنقل بلا مستقبل تقريبا ً، ولكن الروائيين لا يكفون عن الزج بشخصياتهم في العجائب من أجلنا – باركهم الله -، فلذا يجد ألفرد نفسه في علاقة حب ومن ثم زواج مع فتاة جميلة تدعى آنا لويز فيشر، ليست آنا ما يجذبنا في هذه الرواية، بل هو والدها الدكتور فيشر – للرواية عنوان آخر أو هو ربما العنوان الأصلي (الدكتور فيشر من جنيف)، ولكن العنوان الحالي أجمل -، لا تميل آنا لويز لوالدها، وتحاول إبعاد زوجها عنه، وسمعة الدكتور فيشر على كل حال لا تشجع كثيرا ً، فهو ثري كسب أمواله من اختراعه لمعجون أسنان، وسمعته السيئة تأتي من حفلاته التي يقيمها، ويحضرها مجموعة من الأثرياء، حيث يقوم الدكتور بإذلالهم بطرق مختلفة متعددة، يتحملونها مقابل هدايا قيمة يحصلون عليها نهاية الليلة. يذهب جونز للقاء الدكتور فيشر وإبلاغه باتفاقه مع ابنته على الزواج، فيوجه له الدكتور فيشر دعوة لحضور إحدى حفلاته، وهي فكرة لا تدعمها آنا كثيرا ً، ولكن جونز يذهب ويكون شاهدا ً على ما يحدث في هذه الحفلات، ونتعرف من خلاله على الحضور وطبائعهم، بالطبع يرفض جونز الاشتراك في اللعبة، والحصول على الهدية نهاية الحفلة. يعرف جونز قصة والدة آنا لويز التي أحبت رجلا ً جمعها به حبهما المشترك لموزارت، وعندما عرف الدكتور فيشر بهذه العلاقة، دفع لكيبس أحد الأثرياء الذين يحضرون حفلاته 50 ألف فرنك ليطرد هذا الرجل، الذي كان يعمل مستخدما ً عند كيبس، ورغم أن العلاقة بين الاثنين لم تكن إلا علاقة سماع للموسيقى إلا أن فيشر عذب والدة آنا بهذه العلاقة حتى ماتت، يعرف جونز بهذا كله عندما يلتقي بالرجل الذي يدعى شتينر في محل تسجيلات موسيقية، والذي يتعرف في ملامح آنا لويز على حبيبته القديمة، فيصاب بنوبة قلبية. يبدو لنا الأمر وكأن الحياة ستأخذ جونز وزوجته في درب، والوالد وحفلاته الغريبة في درب آخر، ولكن يحدث حادث مفاجئ، تموت آنا لويز أثناء تزلجها على الجليد، فيدخل جونز في نوبة كآبة رهيبة، ويفكر بالانتحار، بل يحاول هذا مرة ولكنه لا ينجح. يتلقى دعوة لحضور حفلة للدكتور فيشر، يعلن الدكتور أنها ستكون الأخيرة، في هذه الحفلة التي ستحمل اسم حفلة القنبلة، يعلن الدكتور أن الهدايا موجودة في ستة صناديق صغيرة، خمسة من هذه الصناديق تحتوي في كل منها على شيك بمليوني فرنك، بينما في السادس قنبلة، كان هذا اختبارا ً حقيقيا ً للجشع، جشع الأغنياء ورغبتهم في المزيد، لقد قبلوا على مدى طويل الإهانات، والألعاب التي كان يمارسها عليهم الدكتور فيشر، ولكن ماذا عن قنبلة؟ على غير المتوقع لا ينسحب منهم إلا شخص واحد هو كيبس، بينما يسرع البقية لسحب الصناديق وفتحها حتى لا يتبقى إلا أحدهم وهو لواء سابق وجونز وثلاثة صناديق، يقوم جونز الراغب في الانتحار بسحب صندوق، ولكنه يجد فيه شيكا ً، فيقوم بسحب الثاني فيجده شيكا ً أيضا ً، وهذا يعني أن الصندوق الأخير الذي يستقر أمام اللواء يحوي القنبلة، يعطي جونز اللواء شيكه، ويخطف الصندوق ويركض إلى البحيرة القريبة، وعندما يفتح الصندوق يجده فارغا ً، عندها يظهر له شتينر الذي خرج من المستشفى وجاء ليواجه الدكتور فيشر، ليفرغ حرقته ببصقة في وجهه، يظهر لهما فيشر وبعد حوار قصير يتركهما ويمضي، يسمعان بعدها طلقة ويجدان الدكتور وقد قتل نفسه. كما قلت الرواية عن شجع الأغنياء الذين يحاولون جعل الأمر يبدو أسهل بالتظاهر بأن هذا كله لعب، وأن الأمر لا يعدو مزاحا ً، حتى عندما يصل الأمر إلى قنبلة قد تودي بهم، وكذا هي عن الحب الذي تسلل إلى حياة جونز، ثم غاب فخلفه على شفا رغبة هائلة في الموت، وهو عن الدكتور فيشر الذي يبدو لنا وكأنه يعاقب نفسه في تصرفاته مع الأثرياء أمثاله، لقد فقد زوجته، ماتت وهو يشعر بحسرة كبيرة لأنها وجدت عزائها في رجل آخر يشاركها شيئا ً تحبه، وهكذا تغلق الرواية على فيشر وعائلته موتى، وجونز وشتينر يسترجعان ذكريات قصتي حب لا تعودا.

Doctor Fischer Of Geneva Or The Bomb Party is one of Graham Greene’s late novels. At around fifty thousand words, it’s also quite short, and can easily be read in a single sitting. Do not think, however, that this quality might equate in any way with labels such as miniature or sketch, or even light. The book may not present a broad canvas, but compression is a word that might summarise its effect, since it addresses some very big and serious themes in a simple, succinct but profound way.Graham Green’s observations of character are often absurdly realistic. Here we have Doctor Fischer of the title, a widower millionaire, who has never overcome the loss of his darling wife. His fortune arose courtesy of an infection-busting toothpaste called Dentophil Bouquet, but his wealth has provided little comfort since his loss. He has a daughter called Anna-Louise, who has a name in common with her mother and, according to her father, also shares her mother’s character, and some her weaknesses.Anna-Louise develops a surprising attraction for a Mr Jones, a man thirty years her senior, and it is through his eyes that we view the couple’s story. Mr Jones is a remarkably surreal figure whom the reader simply takes for granted. He is a translator and letter writer in a Geneva chocolate factory, offering what seems to be a veritable barrow-load of languages, his acquisition of which we must merely imagine. He also lost a hand serving as a fire fighter in the London blitz.Doctor Fischer is rich; Mr Jones is not. The difference does not seem to worry Anna-Louise, who is rather dismissive of her father’s vanity. But these feelings are nothing compared to detestation of a small group of hangers on she calls the Toads.These fawning, even obsequious sycophants are regularly patronised by Doctor Fischer. He throws parties to which the Toads are always invited. The gatherings often involve activities that range from the culinary to the theatrical, often combining different strands of experience, but also often ending in some form of reward, the outcome that the Toads have come to seek. To be rewarded, however, it is sometimes necessary to grovel. Anna-Louise’s husband, Mr Jones, is co-opted somewhat unwillingly into this group, and his observations, dismissals and judgments are keen.When momentous events knock holes through lives, it is hard to predict how those affected might react. And when Doctor Fischer lost his wife, he could not even bring himself to attend the funeral, an absence that, in itself, changed a daughter’s view of a father. He had his reasons, no doubt. There had been hints of infidelity, perhaps more imagined than real, but then the evidence… Base emotions, even when merely imagined, can come to dominate a life.It is such base emotions that Doctor Fischer is feeding when he parties his Toads. Their fawning is so complete, they are willing to crawl, a pose the good Doctor tries to promote. Mr Jones, the Doctor’s son in law, however, is not a willing participant. After all, he is a little older, from a different way of life, has lost a hand. Neither can he be bribed.Other momentous events persuade Doctor Fischer to have one last party, a great bang, if you like. This is the Bomb Party of the title. It’s an event that the good Mr Jones is hardly in a mood to attend, but attend he does, to play a crucial role in the evening’s proceedings. Luckily, he has already suffered loss, so he suffers less fear. Just how low will people stoop to feed their greed?Doctor Fischer Of Geneva Or The Bomb Party is replete with Graham Greene’s lively, thought provoking one liners. It is the territory that these near-asides take the reader that give this little tale its sense of the epic. Here, Greene may as even claim the role of story-teller, but the writing is always that of the thinker. And there exists a world to open up between these roles, the world that is imperfectly human, the world that Graham Greene uniquely observed.

What do You think about Doctor Fischer Of Geneva Or The Bomb Party (1981)?

Dr Fischer of Geneva or the Bomb Party explores love and greed. At around 150 pages the book is almost a novella. It is an "easier" read, both in density of writing, and in ideas, than Brighton Rock or The End of the Affair, for example, being closer to what early in his writing career Greene labelled his "entertainments", such as The Ministry of Fear.Dr Fischer of Geneva is the richest man in that city, and hosts parties to which he invites other wealthy guests. At these parties, Fischer humiliates his guests but then provides expensive gifts as recompense, thus ensuring their return. Alfred Jones, a linguist who works in translation for a Swiss chocolate company, meets and marries Dr Fischer's daughter. Jones is in his mid-fifties, and missing a hand after an accident during the war; Fischer's daughter is in her twenties, young, fit and active. She hates her father, and although Jones is wise enough to realise that perhaps the daughter loves him for the wrong reasons, still he loves her. Their marriage is a happy one. Because of the marriage, Jones is invited to Dr Fischer's parties; Fischer's daughter refuses to go. Jones is our narrator, the first-person eye through which we see first-hand the humiliations his guests are willing to suffer for their end-of-evening gifts. For Fischer the parties are a game, an entertainment in which he can demonstrate that no matter how rich a person becomes, he or she will always want more, in a spiral of greed. Jones is, of course, outside of this, he has neither wealth nor power; for Fischer, Jones provides a rare chance to have an audience, a witness to how very desperate are the desires of the very wealthy.Yet Jones needs Fischer's daughter; that is his wealth. If that were to be taken away, how would Jones feel? And how does Fischer feel -- about himself, his parties, his guests, Jones, and his daughter? There is complexity to Fischer, as there is too Jones. Fischer is not simply rich; Jones is not simply a happy husband in an ideal marriage. They are, perhaps, mirror images, even if the riches each posses are different. The conclusion is, perhaps, unsurprising, if cunningly wrought.There are issues with the narrative - the characters of the recurring guests are thinly drawn, leaving Fischer and Jones to carry the novel. The humiliations -- until the final one -- seem no more than sixth-form japes, leaving this reader to wonder why Jones should be so amazed that the guests would return again and again.With all the craftsmanship at Greene's command, it is no surprise that it is a well-written novel that easily carried me through to its conclusion; and if I felt there was substantially less moral and ethical fibre than the rather breathless back-cover review from The Times implies, there were nonetheless ideas enough about, love, greed, desire and happiness to chew on.
—Steve Dewey

This deliciously light bite of Greene's shows the sparkling Swiss snow and neutral overtones of a self-satisfied band of expats to be hiding a multitude of sins. While the themes of limitless greed and tax avoidance are apposite to my Hong Kong home (I ordered a battered copy from HK library that looked like it had been shipped directly from colonial times..) I was keen to read it because of a friend's claim that his father had been represented amongst Dr Fischer's Genevan 'Toads' (ah yes, the story: Fischer - a toothpaste magnate - tests the greed of his already fabulously wealthy friends - the toads - by humiliating them at his famous parties, in return for a diamond-encrusted gift or two). While I had fun wondering who the pater horribilius might actually be - the lawyer? the general? the tax advisor? - there remains a clinging doubt that this amusing fancy lacks the flesh of Greene's best work.
—Peter Humphreys

Graham Greene divided his work into two categories he defined as ‘novels’ and ‘entertainments.’ He was also a comic genius, which skill is demonstrated in this short novel and the longer ‘Travels With My Aunt.’He uses his wit, not merely to entertain, as do some others, but to indict the foibles of mankind.Doctor Fischer is a rich man who delights in humiliating others. The story is narrated by Alfred Jones, a man who has suffered many losses but is given a new chance at happiness when he marries Fischer’s daughter.The novel is a study of greed and the depths of human nature. Despite its brevity, it is a gripping examination of wealth and poverty, faith, love and death.It was made into a TV movie in 1985 (which I haven’t seen), starring James Mason in his last role.
—J.R.

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