Marek Toman and a shocking story of terrible murder
We are in Prague’s Jewish Ghetto at the end of the 17th century. A young boy dies under mysterious circumstances. Did he die of natural causes or was it murder? This real life mystery is the starting point for the latest novel by the Prague writer, Marek Toman. The book takes us on a journey where past and present intertwine, and where rumour, prejudice, fear and deception draw us ever further from the truth. David Vaughan went to meet the author.
“It’s the combination of two storylines and one is based on a true story from 1694 when a Jewish father in the Jewish town of Prague was accused of the murder of his son Šimon Abeles because of the boy’s inclination to Christianity.”
So the boy wanted to convert to Christianity, he was “murdered”, and the book tells the story of what happened…
“Well, the boy died. That much is true. There was a grave at the Old Town Jewish cemetery, but then there was a trial and the father, Lazar, was accused. He faced terrible conditions, accusations and so on, but there were some doubts and these doubts still remain, about whether this was what really happened. So I used this mystery – one of the many Prague mysteries – to build my story on.”
They led Lazar to a bench where the torturer displayed his tools one after another, as if he were trying to attract Lazar as a customer. The prisoner watched him closely, stood straight up, without moving, but did not utter a word. When the torturer had finished, Lazar looked at the commission members. No one had any more questions.
“In the 17th century story we have a conflict between a father and a son, relating to religion, while now, in the contemporary storyline there is a conflict based on computer games. The son of an anthropologist, Ladislav Albrecht, is a devoted player of computer games. He disappears and his father is actually trying to trace him inside a game.
And there is a bridge between the two stories, because at the same time the anthropologist is trying to carry out analysis of the bones of the 17th century child, Šimon Abeles.
And what appealed to you so much about this story? It strikes me that it looks at some issues that remain current: anti-Semitism, prejudice and the theme of so many novels – the relationship of father and son. Is that what inspired you to write the book – the fact that it brings together several of these themes in one?
“Definitely, but first of all the story of Šimon Abeles is not solved yet. It’s still a mystery, so it belongs to this Prague theatre of mysterious stories and I really felt there is something about it. And I thought that the technique of the thriller would go along very well with the substance.”
“Definitely. That was an astonishing moment for me to see that in the 17th century the media had this power. In those days this took the form of leaflets – some sort of primitive newspaper – but they spread the story in great numbers and with great power. So it was shocking to see that one side of the case was able to promote their version, using all these rather modern tools, while the other side didn’t have the same possibility.”
“People don’t buy our pamphlets to savour fancy turns of phrase. No – they want to escape their wives’ wagging tongues and their boys’ endless claptrap! Write… I don’t know… Write how the dead kid looked as if he were just asleep! No, just a minute, don’t write kid, call him an innocent infant! Or just write martyr, so there can be no doubt at all what we’re talking about! [...] I’m not interested in what you really saw at the cemetery. We won’t get anywhere if it’s not juicy. Every sentence should feed your expectations, keep you reading on. You understand?”
“I hope that the relevance is obvious, because when the father from the present day is trying to trace his son their story leaks to the current media and the father is not only facing the awful situation of looking for his child, but he is also facing the terrible reaction from internet discussions and the media world, which complicates his life even more.”
It is interesting that in your book the role of religion in the 17th century is taken over in the present day by the virtual world of the social media of computer games. To what do you think that we can make that analogy?
“I feel that there is some similarity because for the current boy, also called Simon, the internet and computer games are similar to some religion, which the father is not familiar with and he actually sees a sort of gap between himself and his boy, which might be similar to the gap between the Jewish father and his son who is trying to get closer to Christianity in the 17th century.”
“Personally I am not a player, I am a father. So I wasn’t familiar with the games myself, but I really was familiar with the way that my sons play the games. So I created some sort of new game and then I had to consult it with my boys. The consultations concerned vocabulary, because I picked up some slogans, overhearing their reactions when they were playing. But then I had to compare it with reality, so they gave me some advice, and I constructed a game which I really hope doesn’t exist and won’t be existing, because it’s a game based on religious conflict, and then I tried to put it in a similar sort of atmosphere as existing games.
Ladislav lurched out, trying various combinations of keys and it occurred to him how amazingly quickly he was getting the hang of it. He was surprised by the strength and flexibility with which his body reacted to the commands. He hurled himself into each blow, at the same time trying to use cunning. An axe proved to be a better weapon than the sword, which was too long and kept getting caught in the beams of the ceiling.
Have your sons read the book?
“Yes. Sure.”
And how did they react?
And you actually managed to find some descendants of the family of Šimon Abeles…
“Yes. There are descendants of his family who live in Israel and Australia, so I contacted them, I met them, we had a talk and that was really a great thing because – especially the family in Israel – they emigrated to Israel as pioneers of Zionism, wanting very much to get rid of the past, together with all these difficult stories, and now they are discovering their past again and they are probably even more surprised than I am.”
