The Promised Land: These Are the Names by Tommy Weiringa

Fifteen desperate people hand over their life savings and documentation to the traffickers; they’ve been told they have a better chance of being granted asylum if they arrive with no names. Crouched in a fetid space at the back of a lorry, the sound of barking dogs convinces them they’ve safely crossed the border. Later, the door is opened and they’re told to walk towards the east and safety. But, as their journey stretches from hours to days, as the sun scorches their skin and the rain chews their bones, as they lose track of time along with their identities, they fall one by one by the wayside. When the remaining three men, one woman and a boy arrive on the border town on the steppe, people flee them as if from ghosts. Surely these wild emaciated figures could not be people?

Meanwhile, police commissioner Pontus Beg, as corrupt as anyone in this lawless town, is discovering, and gradually embracing, his Jewish heritage. When the refugees stumble into his territory, he’s loth to get involved – until a severed head is found amongst their luggage. As he investigates what’s brought them here, he can’t help but draw parallels between their epic journey and the exodus of his forefathers. But is their journey one of hope and inspiration or wild folly?

This is a beautiful story of humanity in extremis, of the pull of the mystical and the fight for survival. Like the Jews of old, the surviving refugees consider themselves special, the chosen ones. But hardship does not bring out man’s best nature; within the group we find bitter rivalries, racism and rape. Kindness is met with suspicion and a bitter indebtedness that turns to hate. Yet we can’t help caring for, and about, these dregs of humanity as they discover how much they’ve lost (p84):

Home – a place that seemed pleasant to him now, not poor and desperate like when he left. There was a fire in the stove, a soft bed, his warm wife.

Winner of the English Pen Award, and translated from the Dutch by Sam Garrett, These Are the Names is a timeless tragedy that nevertheless offers a glimmer of hope for a better future. A page-turning read, despite the harrowing subject, somewhat reminiscent of the epic journey in a different kind of extreme weather conditions depicted in White Hunger. My thanks to Scribe for my review copy.