Comedy in a Minor Key--Hans Keilson
Prowling through the aisles of my local library, looking largely for science fiction and dark fantasy, I stumbled across two books by Hans Keilson. Mr. Keilson appears to be Belgian and he celebrated his 100th birthday last year. I have not heard or seen any sign that Mr. Keilson is no longer with us, so I assume he is still going strong. Comedy in a Minor Key written in 1947 and the translation date for the work is 2010. It is a story set during World War II. Wim and Marie, a young Belgian couple, agree to take in Nico, a Jew. Many in their community have performed similar service and most seem to be favorably oriented toward the Jewish community. Still, there is a great deal of risk involved. Nico succumbs to pneumonia while staying with Wim and Marie and so the story is propelled forward. Comedy in a Minor Key is a comedy in the classic sense of that word. While there may be some dark humor á la The Trouble with Harry , there is l...