Absence in the book
In the fairy tale the father is the Giant. Solomon J. imagines worlds where fathers play hide-and-seek and children keep looking for them, then asks himself what kind of game it is where a child can never win. He carries a heavy question: if he found him, would his father stay? The Giant gives the absence a body, a place and a story, and lets the child look at it.
His father, for instance, is often «in his own world». The mother seems to know where he is, Solomon J. still has to find out. So he imagines worlds where fathers play hide-and-seek and children keep looking for them, then asks himself what kind of game it is where a child can never win. It is from such a question that his journey is born.
The Giant is a figure great and far away, yet able to reach the child's psyche through a way all his own. Solomon J.'s Shadow speaks with him in the night and comes to hand him a golden thread, the son's inheritance.
The meeting takes place on the Glacier of the Alcolà. Solomon J. watches the Giant immersed in the frost and understands, perhaps for the first time, that the distance between them has deep roots and predates his birth.
He recognises the pain of the father and distinguishes it from his own destiny: there are paths that belong to adults and paths that belong to children. From there the question «if I find dad, will he stay?» slowly stops orienting his whole search.
The fairy tale frees the child from the weight of having to look for a father who cannot be found, and gives them back their own road. The absence remains, but it takes a name: it is called the Giant, and it can be looked at.
Frequently asked questions
By giving the absence a body, a place and a story. In the fairy tale the father is the Giant, a figure great and far away that the child can look at without having to solve it. The child imagines worlds where fathers play hide-and-seek and children keep looking for them, and from that question his journey is born.
The Giant is Solomon J.'s father. He is often «in his own world», and Solomon J. still has to discover where he is. The mother seems to know where he is, the child does not. The Giant gives the absence a name and lets the child look at it.
That the question «if I find dad, will he stay?» slowly stops orienting the whole search. The child recognises the father's pain and distinguishes it from their own destiny. The Giant reaches the child's psyche through the Shadow, which hands him a golden thread, the son's inheritance.
No. The book shows that the distance between the Giant and Solomon J. has deep roots and predates the child's birth. The fairy tale frees the child from the weight of having to look for a father who cannot be found, and gives them back their own road.