The Fourth Vertebra is a book published in 1957. Martti Larni portrayed the American way of life in this satirical work , inviting the reader to look at him through the eyes of a Finnish emigrant. What are the characteristic features of the mentality of the inhabitants of the New World? What is it that a European who finds himself in the USA is not able to get used to? The content of the novel “The Fourth Vertebra, or a Cheater Involuntarily” and its main characters are the topic of the article.
about the author
Larney Martti is a journalist and writer. Born in 1909 in Helsinki. The author of the book “The Fourth Vertebra” began his literary activity with the publication of several poetic works. Already in the late thirties, Larney Martti was known in his homeland as a journalist and poet.
In 1948, the writer went to the United States and was so impressed by the American way of life that he wrote a pamphlet novel, the contents of which are described below. The work describes the hypocrisy of the inhabitants of America, the hypocrisy of the figures of charitable foundations. The translation from Finnish into Russian (1959) was very helpful due to the Cold War, which began in the mid-forties. The novel won many positive reviews from Soviet readers.
Translation from Finnish into Russian was done by the linguist Vladimir Bogachev. The book has been reprinted several times since the late fifties. It is worth saying that in our years, the novel of the Finnish author is extremely relevant. So, what is the book “The Fourth Vertebra, or the Fraudster Involuntarily” about?
main characters
Jerry Finn is a journalist of Finnish descent. At birth, he received a rather dissonant name. Many years later, turning into a “citizen of the universe”, he changed this name to a more sonorous - Jerry. The protagonist of the novel “The Fourth Vertebra” is a truth-loving journalist who creates problems for himself and the local Finnish authorities.
Charles Lawson - another character in the book - a typical hero of a crime novel. He saves on conversation, but is wasteful in money. Charlie has an expensive hat on his head, fashionable boots on his feet, and he is dressed in a luxurious suit. This is approximately what the author of the novel described this hero.
Joan is a young woman whose beautiful face perfectly replaces her brains. She is not thirty, but she has already managed to widow more than once. Fortunately, the life of each of the husbands was well insured. And Joan glows with happiness and constantly demonstrates the famous Hollywood smile.
The heroes described above have little in common. However, their life paths intersect after a former journalist steps on American soil with his indecisive step and, by the will of fate, becomes an American chiropractor.
Emigration
There is some grotesqueness in the depiction of the lives of US citizens in the book The Fourth Vertebra by Finnish author M. Larni. But it is based not on speculation, but on the personal experience of the writer. Larney had the right to talk about the “wild capitalism” of the 1950s, since it was precisely this period of his life that he spent in exile. The author of the novel “The Fourth Vertebra” is subjected to satire by American intelligence agencies who suspect Jerry Finn of smuggling, espionage, and distribution of pornographic literature. The writer also sneers at relatively new religious meetings, advertising campaigns and other phenomena witnessed by his hero in the first days of his stay in the New World.
"You are not the Old World here"
This phrase was regularly repeated by the doctor, with whom Jerry was to work. A new emigrant could not disagree with this statement. Jerry Park was extremely perplexed by the mere treatment of the chiropark. Dr. Rivers - that was the name of the representative of alternative medicine - tortured his patients. His “therapy” caused incredible psychological and physical suffering to the patients. But for Rivers, the first place was making a profit, which he achieved, despite the fact that his method of treatment was nothing more than quackery.
Jerry arrived in the United States to become an assistant chiropractic doctor. From the first hours of his life in New York, he had to plunge into a mysterious, hitherto unknown world, in which all human aspirations were reduced to making money. Jerry Finn was destined to become a recruiter of new patients in order to increase the income of his patron.
Chiropractic
Dr. Rivers miraculously heals Americans suffering from various diseases. His methods equally manage to overcome both migraine and male impotence. But even those patients who, after visiting the chiropark, do not get rid of their diseases, continue to make an appointment with him. Moreover, they recommend the services of a miracle doctor to their near and dear ones. What is the secret to Rivers success? It's all about advertising. After all, it is she who makes people acquire even what they do not need.
Jerry, despite his inherent indecision and European upbringing, quickly delves into the wisdom of American business. And just a few days after meeting a chiropractic doctor, he was promoting revolutionary methods of treatment. And their essence lies in the treatment of the spine in a rather unusual way. The doctor adjusts the vertebrae, the wrong position of which is allegedly the cause of thousands of diseases. Jerry also begins to treat the afflicted. Sometimes he is visited by thoughts that his activity resembles quackery. But the money that flows in the river dispels all kinds of doubts.
Joan
Once at a reception, a newly-made chiropractor meets a beautiful young woman who later became his wife. Joan is a typical American of the fifties. At least according to Finnish writer Larney. Having become a fraudster, he daily receives in his office women who suffer from all kinds of diseases. The worst of them is a chronic headache caused by years of idleness.
Joan is only interested in money. However, like other characters in the book. She does not know where Finland is, has no idea what other European countries exist. Joan chews gum continuously and drinks Coca-Cola. There is nothing in her refrigerator except corn flakes, reminiscent of cellulose to taste. Joan almost forcibly marries Jerry on himself. After all, he makes good money. Besides a doctor, there are no poor doctors in America. But already on the first day of life together, Joan puts forward a demand: a husband must insure his life for a large amount.
Charley
At the reception to Jerry, a wealthy eighty-year-old lady once appeared. Despite her very advanced age, she was absolutely healthy. However, she suffered from the fact that the young husband did not want to fulfill his conjugal duty. Finn failed to cure a twenty-six-year-old man from a cold attitude towards a woman who was half a century older. In addition, that day he acquired the enemy.
The wife of rich lady Charlie was called. And he was a brother of Joan. He had a criminal business with his sister. They worked according to the following scheme: Joan married a wealthy man, then the husband insured his life, and soon died unexpectedly. The merry widow began to search for a new husband.
Family life
The network of intruders caught the naive and kind-hearted Jerry Finn. And the main task of Joan was to convince her husband of the need for life insurance. She managed to achieve this with the help of her brother Charlie. And that, in turn, thanks to his gun.
Under the threat of physical violence, Jerry signed a statement in which he expressed a desire to insure his life in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars. Despite the fact that Charlie showed extreme aggression, and Joan constantly talked about her suddenly husbands, the main character of the book never came up with the idea that his beautiful wife was planning to get rid of him. And only after Rivers hinted to his Finnish colleague that the ill-fated family is conducting a criminal business and that Brooklyn already knows about it, Jerry was somewhat saddened. The plot of the novel is fascinating, but readers are perplexed by the characteristic features of the main characters, namely: Finn's naivety and the stupidity of his wife.
Finnish immigrant against American gangster
Jerry still found the strength to destroy the criminal plan of Joan and Charlie. However, the trouble is that this plan belonged to a brother. Charlie had considerable criminal experience, he had serious problems with the police, and, according to Joan, he supplied banned smoking compounds to American students. Therefore, even when Jerry's wife abandoned the idea of becoming a widow once again, preventing the crime was not so simple. At the end of the work of Larney, detective storylines appear. In addition, Jerry is losing his well-paid job. He enters into an unequal battle with the American gangster, having as a weapon only a children's toy - a hammer. But the story of the Finnish emigrant has a happy ending.
Quotes
It is worth reading the entire novel, “The Fourth Vertebra, or a Cheater Involuntarily”. The quotes below provide proof of Martti Larney’s subtle humor. And although the book of the Finnish writer refers to the life of Americans in the middle of the last century, these sayings are still relevant today.
- “People save time by believing that time is money. Despite this, many of them have much more time than money. ”
- “He loved pigeons and children. After all, the former mean peace, while the latter bring parents a reduction in taxes. ”
- “Advertising has miraculous power. It forces a person to believe that he needs a thing about the existence of which he had not even suspected before. ”
- “Matrimony is a game in which two participate, and they both lose.”
- "A woman is like a weapon: you can't play with her."
- “Experience is a good teacher. And therefore he is paid so poorly. ”
- "The US is importing scientists from Europe, sending in return radio programs and pork stew."
- “Everyone can become rich if he imagines himself as such and begins to live on credit.”
- “You can fill with wine everything but the truth.”