Trafika Europe 1 - Northern Idyll

ago, and the result had been some purely sentimental, pedagogical drivel! And a third might have edited a festschrift for some alcoholic sleepwalker in the Academy. Such was the society’s membership roster – at least for the most part. The few authors who actually deserved to be there had been branded “cultural mafia” by the media. The danger here was that when another Árni Dahl decided to write a new literary history in half a century or so, that the person would turn to the Society’s membership roster in search of fitting representatives. People who were no doubt skilled with a copy machine would be called notable bearers of Faroese culture. Eigil could see only one reason that Dr. Napoleon was honored with a place among the Faroese full and half gods. He had the right DNA profile! The doctor was the son of the old business manager Jákup Nolsøe, and therefore the nephew of poet and national icon, Nólsoyar-Páll. It was solely for that reason that Árni Dahl had smuggled him in through the back door of his literary history! When Eigil reached Napoleon’s grave, he set down his bag. It was August 26th, exactly one hundred and eighty-five years since Napoleon was born. Eigil placed a hand on the stone and wished him happy birthday; as so often before, he also asked Napoleon’s forgiveness for having sullied his sleeping bones.

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