Heroism: The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati

Are you heroic if you are ready to engage and sacrifice but never get the opportunity? The Introvert Book Club considers the introvert-flavored novel The Tartar Steppe.

In the 1945 novel The Tartar Steppe by Italian author Dino Buzzati, a young soldier named Giovanni Drogo graduates from an officers’ academy and heads off to a border posting in the mountains. Supposedly the Tartars in the Northern Kingdom, whom none of those on guard duty there have ever seen, might attack at any time. Although Drogo understood this to be a temporary assignment, he ends up staying at the remote fortress year after year after year. By the time illness forces his retirement, the enemy still has not shown up. During his 30 years of service, vigilance never yields to glory.

To some readers, this story shows us a wasted life, full of dreary monotony, listless desperation and useless sacrifice. It reminds us to pursue tangible experiences and more meaningful opportunities within society. On my reading, however, the book challenges us to think more deeply about heroism, achievement and routine. Buzzati sprinkles clues throughout the novel that belie a takeaway of futility and senselessness. Like several other works featured in the Introvert Book Club, The Tartar Steppe’s complex, existentialist message may appeal mainly to those who value the inner life and introspection.