Entering Olshan’s Marshlands
Matthew Olshan’s THE MARSHLANDS
Written from end to beginning, The Marshlands reveals the story of a man who dedicates, loses and finds his role helping the people of the Iraqi marshes. Spanning three decades, Matthew Olshan’s story begins with a broken down, nameless old man being released from prison into a place and a time unfamiliar to him. Wandering the city, finding scraps to eat like granola bars given by the skinny new shop girls, the man is living in the streets until an elegant young woman takes him in, rescuing him from a street assault and bringing him into a warm, well-cared for home. After years in the harshest conditions, it’s all so unknown.
The Marshlands is the first full-length novel written for adults by Olshan. Although it’s much more mature in theme, including violence, crimes and issues of race, for a book dealing with a war-torn country, it offers a surprising amount of the same magic and the courage found in Olshan’s work for young readers (The Mighty Lalouche, Finn and The Flown Sky).
From the beginning of the story there’s the mysterious sense that the old man is the hero of the story, or at least he will become one, even though his behavior does nothing to suggest this. It’s not until a little while into the story, when the man begins avoiding eye contact with strangers for fear they may recognize his face that the curiosities really begin to arise. A little while later, a dentist fixing the man’s teeth, the trip provided by the lady who has taken him in, does indeed recognize his face, pulling out a magazine from years earlier with his face on the cover, the headline on the front stating “Betrayal.” Suddenly, we question what he must have done. From this first-person narrative, all we see is a hero – how could this be?
Although we’re shocked by this revelation, the women, a philanthropist and museum curator working on a new exhibit dedicated to the marshland the man has came from, seems to have already known. Suddenly, it’s clear she knows exactly who the man before her is, even though we have no name for him.
The first jump back in time, going back 21 years, brings us a new insight: this old man was once a doctor amongst the people of the marshes, treating their ailments, respecting their culture and caring for them as best he can. He’s treating the sick, helping burying the dead, even doing his best to comfort the grieving. It’s his way of caring for these people on the fringes of the Iraqi society that ultimately gets him trouble with the government.
We flash back in time again, 11 more years, and our hero now has a name: Gus. Gus is a visitor to the marshes, an officer just off the hospital ship, trying to absorb their culture and practices while still bringing their healing remedies into the current century. He’s no longer the poor man we meet in the beginning, or even the marsh dweller we saw in the previous section. Yet, the question remains: What happened to make him stay?
It’s a beautiful tale filled with grim moments. A tale of suspense, untold treasures and hope in the good of mankind, I’m hoping The Marshlands won’t be Olshan’s only foray into adult literature.
