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An interesting and rather daunting interview with professor  for philosophy Ernst Tugendhat at SignAndSight.com archive.

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To Live or Not to Live, To Die or Not to Die

Skimming through the pile of books received as an unexpected and precious gift, and coming across Colette’s books,  I didn’t fail to mention that I am not a fervent consumer of stories. It turns out I advanced a false statement. True to my habit of passing hastily through the pages of the books added to my reading list before I decide the order of the attack, I commenced and soon completed both collections of stories authored by Colette Ni Reamonn Ioannidou.

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Interview with Mr. Harry Mavromatis, author of Lost Edens

With the permission of Armida Publishing I am posting the interview with Mr. Harry Mavromatis, the author of Lost Edens. The interview was originally posted on Armida’s blog.

 

How would you describe your book to a new reader and why should somebody read it? 

This is a book about Cyprus the decade before it gained its independence from Britain.  The perspective is that of an adolescent who comes to the island with his parents from the United States, and consequently experiences a clash of cultures.  It is worth reading partly because the author’s family had connections at the very highest levels of Greek Cypriot and Greek society, and hence the author saw and heard things at first hand and describes events that are not common knowledge.  Additionally it is worth reading because it describes very candidly and graphically several of the islanders, and how life was like before Cyprus achieved a flawed independence that precipitated the Turkish invasion and occupation of its northern third.

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Lost Edens

Reading Lost Edens before setting foot on the island for the first time in 2004, not anticipating that after seven years, mirroring the length of the writer’s stay I would still be living in Cyprus and learning about its culture, past and present, would have made a fine introduction to a life I would only learn to appreciate years after.  Mr. Harry Mavromatis’s collection of essays is  the book of my childhood nostalgia, written in another language and of a different and distinct space, but sharing the same heartfelt stories about a carefree life at the countryside where each tree is known, nurtured and cherished like a true member of the family.

But  Lost Edens  is more than just memoirs of an idyllic Cypriot life in the beautiful Kyrenia of the 50ties. Political essays about British occupation and the Turkish invasion of the north side abound  towards the fin of the collection. Their mood is in stark contrast with one depicted in the essays on the peaceful life and the harmony of the period preceding the violent events, and while an informative lecture for a foreigner, they are possibly better suited for a local audience.

 

I could not finish this brief note on  Lost Edens without mentioning the cover design. Emanating of loss and of solitude, preparing the reader for what awaits him.

 

One can enjoy a book excerpt and author interview on the publisher website, Armida Publishing here ,  here or here.

In Praise of Older Women

I find myself, after being uncomplimentary of the summer reading lists, rediscovering an old bookstore of which very existence I forgot about, and feverishly searching for literary works that should be relatively light, though not superficial and safe as in the author should have been receiving acclamation from trustworthy sources for his piece of work.

In Praise of Older Women fits the description and on the plus side it does hold the promise of rapturous encounters.

Shortly into the depths of the novel it does come as a surprise, and not as a disappointing one that sex is not at the center. At least not sex talk as we are accustomed to in 2011. In Praise of Older Women is more about the young man and his journeys then about the older women, but because he measures his life against the treasures each new such female encounter drops at his feet, the reader’s attention tends to block onto the next lady to enter the scene.

It is also not that much a piece of advice (as the author advertises his novel) but a belittling of young men’s risible, common choices, turning their ardurous desires to inexperienced, juvenile young ladies. Andras seems to haven’t had the pleasure of reading Lolita, a novel of immense ardor for a nymphet, an under aged girl pursued by a much older, and not so noble suitor. Andras himself, thus, proves superficial, promoting his view and his view only as the valid one.

Inevitably, the mother figure is overly present in this novel which leaves little to question regarding the events that shaped the character’s disposition for older women.

All in all, a  very delightful reading on a quiet summer afternoon, sipping coffee on the veranda’s old recliner.

You can visit Stephen Vizinczey‘s blog and see what the author is ruminating on here and his website here.

Or read other reviews of the same here and here or here just to point a few.

Not Absent

Books on my radar, yet abandoned to a certain extent:

The Black Book of Communism – a never ending reading not because of the page count, but due to the negative state it inflicts after just a few pages. I was only eleven when the communist regime fell. Readings on this subject help me attach proper tags to my memories, but they are not very healthy. Still, I prefer to know.

Dear Theo – a poor edition. I certainly hope to be constantly drawn back to reading the book by the complexity within.

The Noonday Demon – although there is doubt on why I purchased this book. These sort of subjects are scrutinized either for the need to cement my beliefs, either for the opposite. They stand against my theories and the need to scrutinize the other side  is pushing me towards such a lecture.

Report on Solitude – this one is an unfinished reading and will, most likely, stay this way.

The culture sections of The Economist, or Slate, don’t count here, do they?

 

I am still to form an opinion on all of the above.

 

It would be good to hear from you on your literary endeavors, being them reading or writing. Email me at: anca@literaryagenda.com

On Acting

Having the privilege of behaving fearless or fearsome, bad-ass or pedant (and the list can continue for long), without real-life consequences, is one of the great advantages of being an actor. It doesn’t matter if one creates a sociable or an introvert self, a successful or a scumbag citizen. For what is counts, is solely the quality of the act.

“‘You’ve been a brilliant criminal last night. My deepest appreciation, sir. ”

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Thoughts on acting re-ignited by Bronson and this article on Maison Neuve, on monologues.

Readings June 19

Jose Saramago has passed away. The 1998 Paris Review interview here.

On a different note, admitting that it is just a miss-match between the two of us, I’ve decided to leave Small Wars lecture unfinished.

Vilnius Poker by Ricardas Gavelis

One of the hard-to-quit-books, if what I just said can be considered a category. After all, it should come easy to put an unpromising novel aside. But reading Vilnius Poker developed abruptly into a situation similar to a turbulent relationship. A relationship that fails to work despite the emotional common ground between the two, yet none wants to walk out on the other.

I felt early for the beautifully crafted phrase and, deep into forty pages, the prospect of finishing the reading for this reason alone, appeared to be reasonable. But the constant rambling in circles of Vytautas Vargalis was too irritating. To the point where I didn’t only shut the book loud (it is a hardback), I also slammed the door to the reading room. What was so irking about the novel? I would itemize the lack of novelty, of variety, of progress in any direction. The novel behaves, for a good two hundred pages plus, like the calm, immovable surface of a lake.

A Lithuanian soviet camp survivor, Vytautas might as well have died, as the life he leads after getting out is a life in constant fear of the surroundings. He despises Vilnius and its occupants. Every person or situation frightens him, suspecting that is an act of Theirs meant to exterminate his own persona, physically or just at the moral level. They are everywhere and are kanuking people. The kanuked people are slaves to an oppressive system, gladly obeying uniformity.

Vargalys’s fears are not ill-founded. What he describes as kanuked is what can be spotted with ease amongst any of the contemporary societies. But the desperation this imagined situation seeds into his soul is of unmanageable proportions and leads to emotional turmoil. And who would listen benevolently to the rants of a delusional man, even if, at times, they develop into brilliant monologue.  It took a great amount of determination to read through when I lost the hope that Vytautas will evolve.

Vytautas sees different. He is not right, nor wrong. There is more shown to his eye compare to the eye of anyone around him. His pores are larger, his eyes can differentiate not only colors, but insights and his smell is monstrous. He is paranoid. There exists an overall bad which suffocates Vilnius and the entire humanity and, in the same time, is responsible for his broken life. A bad that Vargalys considers its own personal target.

There are countless interesting passages in Vilnius Poker. The tone, in general, is incriminating, harsh, difficult to swallow even for a non-Lithuanian. Theories like the Vilnius Syndrome, or homo Lithuanicus versus homo Sovieticus spread on many pages and in the detriment of the urban space or it’s urbanites.

Vilnius Poker makes a great, worthy reading, but very wearying in the same time. At times the story becomes so violent, yet in such a natural way that one can consider that Ricardas Gavelis hates its readers.

This is not a love story, as many tend to imply. Of course, there is the intense, destructive Lolita, or the loving Stefa, or Irena, the savior. They are episodes, unlike Vilnius, which is always present. Unlike Them, who never cease to torment Vytauta’s soul.

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The cover, designed by Milan Bozic, plays an important role in attracting readers.

I admire the Open Letter translation projects.

Notable Vilnius Poker reviews:

Paul Doyle’s review here.

You can go through a preview on Google Books.

Currently reading: The Loss of Sadness and The Black Book of Communism (not a sustained reading; too dark to digest it in one go).

Our Balkans: The fragile heart of our Europe

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