Hinter dem Bahnhof

Ingold's Alias was not the only thing I read last Saturday. In the evening I re-read Hinter dem Bahnhof (Behind the Train Station), by the Swiss author Arno Camenisch. Camenisch is from the canton of Graubünden and writes in both German and Romansh, the fourth of Switzerland's national languages. This particular book has various Romansh words tossed in among the German from time to time, giving it a very unusual and distinctive linguistic feel. There is an English translation available under the title Behind the Station.

The book is actually the second Camenisch's so-called "Bündner Trilogy" (i.e., a trilogy sent in Graubünden), though I didn't realize that when I first picked it up a few years ago, so I will have to go back and read the first one, which I also have. It's only about 100 pages long and is really quite delightful; I have read a few other things by Camenisch because I enjoyed this one so much. It is told through the eyes of a boy living in a small town up in the mountains. We see the ordinary daily activities of a town that has not changed much through the years and is in a sense hanging on, barely, as the rest of the world around it modernizes and moves on. The cast of characters includes most of the town's inhabitants, and we see the boy raise rabbits, help out in his grandfather's shop, and get into typical young-boy trouble. In a sense, nothing happens--just a slice of life. But very nicely done. Camenisch is one of my favorite contemporary Swiss authors. His short books offer a look at a vanishing world, affectionate and honest without excessive nostalgia. I recommend him.

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