The young lady in the above photo was just about to leave the city after her conference but at the last moment decided to spend the afternoon taking in the sights - first stop, a coffee shop. She spots another conference attendee, introduces herself to the gent and is invited to take a seat. Within minutes, they click. Phone numbers are exchanged, a relationship develops and the couple eventually marry and raise a family.
What role did fate play in their meeting?
According to the ancient Greeks, three goddesses of Fate preside over the cycle of human life, each person's destiny a thread spun by Clotho, measured by Lachesis and cut by Atropos.
How much freedom and choice do we really have?
In his Author's Note serving as the novel's preface, Jorge Consiglio writes, "The key question is: fate or chance? Life presents itself as a series of events, and we will never know if we are fulfilling a pre-established path or if fortuitousness - the accidental in the strictest sense of the word - is the decisive factor."
The author tells us the English translation by Carolina Orloff and Fionn Patch is nothing short of impeccable, capturing all the nuances of the original Spanish. Thank you Charco Press. Incidentally, while reading this novel, I discovered that Charco is a province in northeast Argentina known for its nature reserves and wildlife.
Jorge Consiglio frames his novel thusly: We're in modern day Buenos Aires and each short chapter of three or four pages snaps back and forth between a trio of characters: Amer the taxidermist, Marina the meteorologist and Marina's husband Karl the oboe player.
Three more characters quickly enter the picture: Clara, Zárate and Simón. Amer sees Clara for the first time at his self-help group for those wishing to quit smoking and he quickly becomes infatuated with the young lady twenty years his junior. Marina meets Zárate, a biologist from the Institute of Experimental Medicine, when on a field project north of the city. Like Marina, Zárate is also married but the couple begin an affair that turns into something much more. Simón is the son of Karl and Marina, a moody schoolboy hovering around age seven.
We watch, chapter by chapter, as their respective lives unfold. Is what happens fate or is it chance? I wonder if I would have tuned into Jorge Consiglio's prime intention in writing Fate if the Author's Note was not included and if the title of the novel was something else, say Six in Buenos Aires.
Either way, I would undoubtedly pick up on two things. First, let me share a quote from German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer: "A novel will be the higher and nobler the more inner and less outer life it depicts...The art lies in setting the inner life into the most violent motion with the smallest possible expenditure of outer life; for it is the inner life which is the real object of our interest.The task of the novelist is not to narrate great events but to make small ones interesting."
This dynamic is both the beauty and the strength of Fate: Jorge Consiglio makes the events of six ordinary people extremely interesting. A reader will take delight in turning those pages.
Second, although we'll never know definitively if key events in our lives happen by fate or by chance, one thing is certain: as humans we're in the realm of desire, that is, we're always yearning, hankering for more. Going back to the wisdom traditions East and West - Greek philosophy, Roman philosophy, Yoga practice, Buddhism - the issue is how much insight we bring to understanding and dealing with our desires.
The novel's characters chase happiness and feeling good by smoking and drinking and a rainbow of pills such as Paracetamol and Xanax. To what degree does wisdom figure in their lives? As a way of addressing this question, I'll share a Fate highlight reel -
Character, Charisma and Confidence - To emphasize her strong sense of identity, Jorge Consiglio frequently uses Marina Kezelman's full name or only her last name. Marina sips her macchiato in a cafè with aristocratic bearing and deft, assured movements. Marina understands she's always been an attractive woman who can get her own way. However, she does consult the I Ching from time to time since, after all, even a woman of her stature doesn't know the future.
Outrageous Outing for an Oboist - Karl on a subway platform: "The sensible response would have been to let life carry on as usual, but things went awry from the outset. Rage spiked not because of the intensity of the impact, but because both men stared daggers at each other....They hit each other wherever they could: stomach, arms, face. They kicked, bit, strangled....In the frenzy, they rolled into a wall and stayed there, bunched up and immobile, until the police came and pulled them apart." Come, come, Karl! You play oboe in the orchestra. You're a tall, refined, distinguished looking, middle-aged man. When responding to that uptight lawyer, a measure of Stoic philosophy would have come in handy.
Tension Tango - Amer and Clara play a game of Truco in the park. "They took it way too seriously. Absurd as it may seem, the prospect of defeat was tragic to them." Things boil up into an argument, the aftermath no less emotional. "After a while, Amer took a deep breath, held the air in his lungs and let it out. He opted for peace, but Clara chose to pursue her indignation." Does this sound like the makings of a lasting relationship?
Father and Son - Karl calls Simón to the table for lunch. Doing his best to ignore the buildup of disharmony between mom and dad, Simón doesn't respond. Karl loses patience. "He grabbed Simón by the shoulders and shook him as if trying to wake him up. The boy - less out of rancour than out of astonishment - threw an open-handed blow at his father." What are the odds Karl will act with fatherly compassion?
Perfect Execution - Marina and Zárate together. "The first part had transpired in slow motion, with graceful placidity. This second sequence, meanwhile, was electric. Kezelman and Zárate were sprinters in a 100-metre race. Perfect and luminous." What does this description refer to? You'll have to read this fine novel to find out.
I can't recommend Fate highly enough. For me, I'm looking forward to the other Jorge Consiglio novel available in English courtesy of Charco Press - Southerly.
Author Jorge Consiglio from Argentina, born 1962
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