When William Wharton appeared on the literary scene, he had already experienced more than most debuting writers. He was a soldier seriously wounded in World War II, an art teacher, a painter and an American who chose life in France. His first novel "Chicken" was published when the author was 53 years old, and immediately poses an unusual question: where does imagination end and salvation begin?
Wharton died on October 29, 2008, in Encinitas, California, at the age of 82. He was born on November 7, 1925, in Philadelphia as Albert William du Eime. His pseudonym is related to his middle name and his mother's maiden name – a decision that reflected his enduring reluctance to transform his personality into a public role.
The Boy with 250 Canaries
The most important character in “Chicken“ was not invented remotely. As a child, Wharton raised up to 250 canaries. At 17, he volunteered for the army and was seriously wounded during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, he studied art, earned a doctorate in psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and taught in Los Angeles schools for 11 years.
In 1960, he moved with his family to Europe. He lived in Spain, Italy, and Germany before settling in Paris. There, he lived on a houseboat on the Seine and continued to paint, while his manuscripts remained in drawers. He had been writing novels since 1950, but it was not until 1977 that a friend convinced him to send "Chicken" to a literary agent.
A Story of War and Flight
The novel tells the story of two friends - Al and Birdie. After the war, Birdie is in an army psychiatric ward and has withdrawn so deeply into the world of birds that he believes he himself is a bird. Al tries to bring him back to the human world, but it gradually becomes clear that their friendship is a mutual salvation.
"Chicken" won the National Book Award for first novel in 1980. The book was also a finalist for the "Pulitzer" Prize for fiction. Critic Peter S. Prescott wrote in Newsweek that only "the most rigorous imagination" could make such a story convincing to a reader who is generally indifferent to birds.
In 1984, Alan Parker adapted the novel for the screen, starring Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage. The film changed the military setting from World War II to the Vietnam War, but retained the central theme - the trauma that separates man from himself. The production won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes.
The Writer Behind the Pseudonym
Wharton continued to write about fathers and sons, memory, war, and the strange refuges one builds when reality becomes unbearable. His books include "Father," "Midnight Strike," "House on the Seine," and the memoir "After All," about the loss of his daughter.
"By not thinking of myself as a writer, I am free to be one," he says. In this sentence lies the key to all his work: Wharton does not strive to appear like a writer. He simply leaves behind stories of people trying to survive - sometimes by clinging to reality, sometimes by learning to fly.
Sources: washingtonpost.com, theguardian.com, elpais.com