The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander is a gripping narrative about family, sacrifice and grief.
Although those elements are far from uplifting, Englander’s characters demonstrate the power of parental love and the ability to find inner strength where it once seemed impossible to exist.
Set in Buenos Aires during the time of Argentina’s Dirty War when people were “disappeared”, Kaddish Poznan is a ne’er do-well Jew, the illegitimate son of a prostitute. The sins of his mother taint all aspects of Poznan’s life. Only his wife, Lillian, tries to see his potential; but his son, Pato, despises him.
Poznan is always one scheme away from success; some are near brilliant and others simply far-fetched. His steady, albeit clandestine, work involves removing names on tombstones in the Jewish section of a cemetery for wealthy families wanting to stay under the regime’s radar.
When Pato disappears, Poznan and Lillian do everything possible to find him. Much involves needing large sums of money which leads to some humorous but agonizing situations for the parents. In their search for Pato, the couple ends up at the Ministry of Special Cases. This proves to be an exercise in futility thanks to the maze of bureaucratic red tape and ineptitude. All of this stumps Poznan, but motivates Lillian, which creates a rift between them.
Englander’s characters are vividly described as is the situation in Argentine at the time when thousands of people were killed or kidnapped by the country’s military leaving families ripped apart.
The Ministry of Special Cases
Four Bookmarks
Vintage International, 2007
339 pages
The Blue Page Special 