Norman Manea: the Trenchcoat

 I want to start by saying that I had high expectations for this book solely because I thought the title sounded cool. I thought it would have a black-and-white film noir murder mystery vibe to it. However, the book completely subverted my expectations. I can't say that I liked it or hated it because I'm too confused to have an opinion on this book. I have so many questions that remain unanswered after the conclusion of the novel, I am going to talk about my biggest ones in this post in hopes of getting some answers. One such question I had is what caused the Learned one’s change in demeanour towards Dina? and if Felicia cheated on? I am aware that Ioana believes there is something awry once she spots Dina and the Guileless one together I feel she illudes to something promiscuous going on between the two of them “What is this farce, they’re playing ghosts, or what? No, no, there’s something going on, something” (257). However, though Ali tries to clear the situation we never get further details of what caused the Kid's complete change in attitude towards Dina. Ali states that the Kid is sympathetic towards Dina after hearing about her sickness but what causes his sympathy? Looking at this holistically this book does not spend a lot of time helping readers to understand the individual motivations driving each character but instead spends more time illustrating the circumstances present in their surroundings that have caused their weary shared mentality. Again I can't tell if I enjoy this or not because it heavily contributed to my confusion, however, helps to maintain the mystery of the novel. Another big question I have is what is the significance of the woman who died in the rug and that story? How did it relate to what Ioana was ranting about? I know that Dina mentioned it as part of their small talk while they were on the street. But I wonder why it had such a salient impact on Ioana and why it was mentioned during the climax of the novel. The woman’s story definitely gives more context to the political unrest within the country at this time as the people are not allowed the right to bury their loved ones where they please, But I can't understand why it was so significant to Ioana. One final question I have about this book is what was the significance of Dina’s clubbed thumb? “Freshly manicured nails. Freshly manicured, even that revolting thumb of hers…The perfect mask, Cleopatra, Queen Nefertiti. (249) I originally thought it was meant to be a flaw contrasting her otherwise perfect exterior that is frequently described. That fixating on the thumb allowed them to ignore to a certain extent the grandeur that Dina existed within. However, They point out more than one flaw in Dina throughout the book, they are constantly commenting on her rigid/ passive personality and talking about her illness, so I just do not understand why the thumb is so noteworthy. It even has The Learned one transfixed for the entire night throughout their dinner “ he keeps… his eyes glued to Dina’s thumb. The club-like thumb of the left hand. As though he wanted to convince himself that this thumb [was] the same as the one he knew quite a long time ago”(208). Maybe the thumb is meant to serve as a reminder of the history between Dina and the Kid and demonstrate that no matter how distant they act they will always be interconnected. 

My question to you is what do you think is the significance of the dead woman mentioned in Ioana’s climactic monologue? And also what do you think is the meaning of the remarks surrounding Dina’s clubbed thumb?