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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Ово је полуаутобиографски роман у коме пратимо ток мисли средовечног литванског емигранта Антанаса Гаршве, песника који пред совјетском војском бежи из Литваније у САД након Другог светског рата. Овај (бивши) песник у новој средини, у Њујорку, радиће као лифтбој у великом хотелу и то је одлична прилика да нам писац, кроз ток свести главног лика, прикаже све унутрашње патње имигрантског живота.
Шкема се спомиње као иноватор у литванској књижевности, јер је први користио технику тока свести, а осим тога, користио је и друге „нетрадиционалне“ технике. У поглавља у којима пратимо Гаршвине растрзане мисли (о прошлом животу, љубавној вези са женом литванског познаника, али и филозофским разматрањима), убачени су и околни звуци, делови разговора људи који улазе у лифт или излазе из њега, Гаршвино поздрављање са њима итд. што је одлично уклопљено и даје увид у звуке и ужурбаност великог града, а показује нам и Гаршвину менталну крхкост. Ова поглавља смењују се са поглављима која имају поднаслов „Из бележница Антанаса Гаршве“ у којима је традиционалнијим приступом, али опет фрагментирано, исприповедан бивши његов живот у Каунасу, детињство, младост, рат и делови живота у прихватним центрима у Немачкој након рата. Аутор се такође потрудио да убаци елементе литванског фолклора, народних песама и веровања, те и то доприноси „егзотичности“, барем нама који о балтичкој култури не знамо много. Ови делови су ми ипак мање успели.
Говорници литванског језика пишу да је овај роман, због својих игара речима, звучних асоцијација, коришћења жаргона и сл. тешко преводив. Сигурно се доста изгубило и у овом преводу на енглески, али и ово је добар увид у (модернистичку) литванску прозу која нам је потпуно непозната.
Шкема се спомиње као иноватор у литванској књижевности, јер је први користио технику тока свести, а осим тога, користио је и друге „нетрадиционалне“ технике. У поглавља у којима пратимо Гаршвине растрзане мисли (о прошлом животу, љубавној вези са женом литванског познаника, али и филозофским разматрањима), убачени су и околни звуци, делови разговора људи који улазе у лифт или излазе из њега, Гаршвино поздрављање са њима итд. што је одлично уклопљено и даје увид у звуке и ужурбаност великог града, а показује нам и Гаршвину менталну крхкост. Ова поглавља смењују се са поглављима која имају поднаслов „Из бележница Антанаса Гаршве“ у којима је традиционалнијим приступом, али опет фрагментирано, исприповедан бивши његов живот у Каунасу, детињство, младост, рат и делови живота у прихватним центрима у Немачкој након рата. Аутор се такође потрудио да убаци елементе литванског фолклора, народних песама и веровања, те и то доприноси „егзотичности“, барем нама који о балтичкој култури не знамо много. Ови делови су ми ипак мање успели.
Говорници литванског језика пишу да је овај роман, због својих игара речима, звучних асоцијација, коришћења жаргона и сл. тешко преводив. Сигурно се доста изгубило и у овом преводу на енглески, али и ово је добар увид у (модернистичку) литванску прозу која нам је потпуно непозната.
My favourite book of all time finally got an English translation and now I can share it with all my friends :))) The book itself is a solid 5/5 for me, but I'm giving the translation itself a 4/4.5 as I don't think there is much that compares to the way nature is described in the original Lithuanian, and the flavour emigrant slang adds to the book. It's just the perfect bundle of perpetual thoughts and existentialism and just the ideal amount of hopelessness. love love love love love
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Written thoughts
There are some truly interesting parts in this, but they are infrequent. Overall I found it a slog. Too difficult to follow, both due to being disjointed (which is not bad in itself) and uninteresting.
This is the first full novel by a Lithuanian writer and/or writer in translation that I have read, although I do remember an anthology of translated plays [b:Confrontations With Tyranny: Six Baltic Plays With Introductory Essays|8704751|Confrontations With Tyranny Six Baltic Plays With Introductory Essays|Alfreds Straumanis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1523468234s/8704751.jpg|13577556] (1977) which had a theatrical work by Antanas Škėma (1910-1961) called "The Awakening." I can no longer find my own copy of it to refresh my memory, so I may have lent it out and never got it back.
I found this first-time English translation of the Lithuanian émigré writer's best known work to be quite approachable and not far removed from my own family experience & background of post-World War II Baltic immigrants to North America. An additional quirky coincidence is that my first-ever job as a teenager was as an elevator operator in an era when such jobs still existed, although not for very much longer. That did make the cross-hatched pattern of the trellis on the book cover easily identifiable as that of an elevator guard rail whereas most would likely view it as that of a prison or other barrier (which it is also likely meant to suggest).
Škėma's lead character Antanas Garšva is a proxy for all émigrés and refugees who may come from skilled backgrounds and trades in their home country but who are forced to take menial work in their new homeland to survive. The sometime poet is working as an elevator operator in a huge New York City hotel while avoiding dealing with a health condition and juggling an on-again/off-again affair with another man's wife. Alternating chapters take us back and forth from this present world to his early life in Lithuania before and during the Soviet and Nazi occupations of WWII.
Although the synopsis for the book stresses its occasional stream-of-consciousness writing and somewhat experimental nature for its time of 1958, it was not at all difficult to follow in terms of its two interweaving plotlines. The very thorough background information and Lithuanian folk text translations and reference explanations in the footnotes were especially helpful in this new edition published by Scotland's Vagabond Voices who have been producing an excellent translation series with their Changelings imprint.
I found this first-time English translation of the Lithuanian émigré writer's best known work to be quite approachable and not far removed from my own family experience & background of post-World War II Baltic immigrants to North America. An additional quirky coincidence is that my first-ever job as a teenager was as an elevator operator in an era when such jobs still existed, although not for very much longer. That did make the cross-hatched pattern of the trellis on the book cover easily identifiable as that of an elevator guard rail whereas most would likely view it as that of a prison or other barrier (which it is also likely meant to suggest).
Škėma's lead character Antanas Garšva is a proxy for all émigrés and refugees who may come from skilled backgrounds and trades in their home country but who are forced to take menial work in their new homeland to survive. The sometime poet is working as an elevator operator in a huge New York City hotel while avoiding dealing with a health condition and juggling an on-again/off-again affair with another man's wife. Alternating chapters take us back and forth from this present world to his early life in Lithuania before and during the Soviet and Nazi occupations of WWII.
Although the synopsis for the book stresses its occasional stream-of-consciousness writing and somewhat experimental nature for its time of 1958, it was not at all difficult to follow in terms of its two interweaving plotlines. The very thorough background information and Lithuanian folk text translations and reference explanations in the footnotes were especially helpful in this new edition published by Scotland's Vagabond Voices who have been producing an excellent translation series with their Changelings imprint.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes