Pythagoras in times of postmodernity

Nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Award

Frederik Lång
My life as Pythagoras
Schildts FIN

By Þórdís Gísladóttir

The philosopher and mathematician, Pythagoras, who lived ca. 2.500 years ago, is the main character in a historical novel by Finnland-Swede Frederic Lång, a philosopher and author. The novel was short listed for the Nordic prize for literature in 2006. All those who have taken courses in mathematics are familiar with Pythagoras' rule, but very little is in fact known about the man himself. Legend would have it that he was the son of the god Appolonious, son of Zeuz and a woman from the Greek island of Samos where Pythagoras was born. He travelled widely, studied in Egypt, visited Babylon and Persia and ended up in Kroton in Italy, where he attracted disciples and trained them in his theories.

The book is remindful of a maze, with countless entrances and exits, where poetry and theory mix and the reader is offered approaches to the subject matter from more than one angle. The characters are numerous and composed from different materials. At the start of the novel Pythagoras is a virtual layabout who is bullied around. During a great part of his life he is often cast in the role of an outsider living on the edge of society, having to suffer injustice and degradation. Later in life he becomes a Jesus-like personality, surrounding himself with "Friends", and becoming the leader of a quaint sect. Even though Pythagoras is the main character of the novel he is quite distant from the reader. While I read the book, I felt as if I was looking at the man from   the outside; I followed him in his wandering trip to various places and saw him in interaction with many different characters but between the two of us there remained a certain distance.

It is tempting to label My Life as Pythagoras as a postmodernist novel. The text continually refers to something outside itself. The reader, who may forget himself in the atmosphere of ancient times, is constantly jerked, quite harshly, back into the present. In the back of the book one finds a number of endnotes, some of them quite long, that inform the reader about various things that the book discusses, or that tell him where the different references come from; this from Shakespeare, that from Dostoyevsky, etc. This is probably a boon to some readers while others may feel that they should be left on their own to recognize the references.

Þemu sögunnar eru sígild, peningar, ástir og kúgun. Þótt sögusviðið sé fjarlæg fortíð er nútíminn alltaf handan við hornið, enda fjallað um efni sem standa nærri mönnum á öllum tímum. Línur sem fengnar eru að láni   úr verki Thukidydes um stríðið milli Spörtu og Aþenu hafa óneitanlega skýran snertiflöt við nútímann:

The themes of the story are classic: money, love and oppression. Even though the setting of the novel is the distant past, the present is always around the corner, as the subject matter is one that does not go out of style and is relevant at all times. An excerpt from Thucidydes' work about the strife between Sparta and Athens undeniably has some relevance for the present times:

They do not equip themselves with weapons. Instead, the sell weapons to anyone and the highest bidder, and equip themselves with money and their business sense. They buy friends and status quo's for money without risking anything themselves, by pressuring other states to pay interest, thanks to their financial power. Their strength lies not in men, but money." (109)

Fredrik Lång has his characters speak in an ancient manner but occasionally allows them to utter totally modern phrazes. The style of the book is quite poetic and the text is often both serious and ironic. Discussions about history, the memory of man and the essence of time, may encourage the reader to consider the phenomena of past and present and the continual journey of man's mind in between the two.

My Life as Pythagoras is a challenging book and not a good choice for those looking for a quick read.

Þórdís Gísladóttir is a free-lance writer and a radio reporter