Konteksti

Težko bi stal za besedami, da je biografija Leonarda Cohena, ki jo je spisal Anthony Reynolds in izdal pod naslovom A remarkable life , kvalitetno napisana. Od dela, ki se dotika življenja enega največjih umetnikov, bi  pričakoval nekaj več. Čeprav v resnici žanra ne poznam tako dobro, da bi vedel, kaj bi moral avtor storiti, da bi bilo bolje. A vseeno. Ponudi sicer nekaj zanimivih vpogledov v življenje Leonarda Cohena, čeprav bi najraje svetoval, da v izboru branja njegove biografije posežete po kakem drugem avtorju. Najbolje Cohenu samemu. Zato nekoliko manj o tej biografiji in nekoliko več o tem, kako Cohena vidim sam. Leonard Cohen. Njegov izraz deluje na mnogih področjih. Tako je tudi z uvidom v to kar je. O stvari sami, pa naj si bo to o jutranji skodelici kave ali pa o ljubezni, se z besedo lahko približamo le delno. Zdi se, da besedi umanjka tisti notranji presežek, ki bi ji dovoljeval, da se dotakne stvari same. Zdi se tudi, da je po drugi strani ravno to tisti perpetuum...

Po priporočilih imdbja za knjige, kot nekateri imenujejo spletišče Goodreads.com , sem se lotil branja romana Gillian Flynn z naslovom Gone Girl . To nikakor ni samoumeven stavek. Med različnimi tipi bralcev bi se uvrščal med takšne, ki se trudijo svoje bralne navade podvreči nekemu sistemu, ki ima nek določen cilj. Ne glede na to, ali je uresničljiv. Zato sem vedno v nekakšnem suspenzu obsedenosti s tem sistemom, v katerem očitno še nisem spoznal, da je knjižna produkcija preobsežna, da bi lahko prišel do konca. Vedno - ne glede na to, ali gre za tematsko usmeritev, žanrsko besedoploatacijo, pretekle subjektivne dolgove ali dolgove, ki mi jih nalaga zgodovina – se zakvačkam. A v tem tudi uživam in se tolažim s tem, da je izbor branja nekaj, čemur sledim na podlagi imanentne nujnosti, ne pa arbitrarnih zunanjih vplivov. Zato sem v tem primeru mehurček z veseljem razbil in se lotil knjige, ki jo je spletna skupnost Goodreads izbrala za eno izmed najboljših branj leta 2012 . Mimogre...

Zdi se mi edino prav, da letošnje leto tudi na tak način sklenem neko obdobje, v katerem sem se precej ukvarjal z bratoma Grimm . Letošnji božič je namreč zaznamovala  200. obletnica prve izdaje njunih pravljic, ki jih pozna ves svet. Tudi Slovenci smo bili zelo pridni v prevodih in prevajamo jih – nekatere več, druge manj – že več kot 150 let. Kar je edino prav, kajti malo katero delo je tako kompleksno in izzivalno, kot je njuna zbirka 211 pravljic. Zanimive so tudi vse teorije, ki postavljajo kontekste o izpuščanju, popravkih, spremembah in stalnicah, ki so jih mnogi učenjaki postavljali (in jih še) o bratih in njunem izboru pravljic. Recimo ena takšna noro dobra zadeva je zapis Jacka Zipesa na The Public Domain Review. V tem trenutku se mi slednje niti ne zdi toliko zanimivo. Bolj si bom v tem zapisu potrudil podati mali prerez te zbirke pravljic. Mnogo je namreč zanimivega, kar se skriva v teh zgodbah, likih in dialogih. Tozadevši se zdi, da je ena večjih zmot, v ...

My reading of Bradbury’s  Martian Chronicles  had different stages. Firstly there was an anxious state of expectation. Searching for the truth about horrible Martian race but none was there to be found. Secondly, the desire to meet the truth about fine Martians, the saviors of our doom, but there were also none there. After a while I learned that the Martian Chronicles aren’t about Martians at all. It’s  on the truth of our, human race . Here are two examples. Firstly, the chapter  The Earth Men  is a good example of what can be scary when exploring the unknown land. There is no bigger disappointment than not being accepted as you expect to be. Captain Williams and his team suffer the inevitable death, but the lesson here is pretty simple: never forget that your reality can be regarded merely as a delirium of a madman. And what is more, there is no way you can prove otherwise. Ad usum delphini here is a Bradbury’s logical statement repeating Leibniz’s: ...

Wells is one of those authors who explored the vast space outside known realms and at the same time dug into the questions of inner laws that rule the societies. One thing he managed to convince me, is that some lines aren’t meant to be crossed. In at least two of his superb works. The Island of Doctor Moreau  is a tale of many themes and motifs. I understand it mainly as a tale of frustrated, “mad” scientist, who is banished from the native country because of his idea of mocking the nature itself and having the god-complex. Moreau managed to create the world in which he is the creator and the ruler of all beings. He did everything to create a new civilization, where even laws appear to work as they have to. But things have their inner necessities. As such, “stubborn beast-flesh” (1) can’t become human. That line, as story tells us, isn’t meant to be broken. Another work and even harder argument:  The country of the blind  addresses the argument how the borders of o...

Shelley's novel Frankenstein is one of the best examples of Romanticism. The very nature of a human and his/hers desire to reach his/her individual perfection leads to deadly utopia. The story of Frankenstein teaches that the radical search for perfection ultimately terminates the searcher. Victor is a protagonist of Romanticism par excellence, doing a lot of self-reflection, contemplating the nature and being very sensitive. When his dying mother addresses him her wish (“… my firmest hopes of future happiness were placed on the prospect of your union…”, p.41) and later his father (“… I have always looked forward to your marriage…”, p.161), this becomes ultimately deadly for Elisabeth. Victor marries her in spite of his knowledge of what will happen. Victor is attached to fulfilling his parent’s wish until the very end. And with this “attachment”, Victor goes to Ingolstadt, where he seems to find his own inner desire,”…animated by an almost supernatural enthusiasm” (p.50), to make...

Fantastic literature can often be seen as a writers attempt to tell us what ought to be done in order to keep the world out of the hands of evil. In the case of Stoker's Dracula, the novel can be read as symbolic representation of virtues and tools needed to keep the prosperity of London safe. Dracula is a representation of pure evil. It desires to come to London (" I long to go through the crowded streets of your mighty London… " p. 60) . Why London? London seems like an allegory of Eden. A Place that is embraced by objective (modernity and prosperity of the developed city) and subjective good (cosmopolitan city with Lucy’s, Mina’s and Jonathan’s stories of love; lunatics hidden behind the bars). This perfection is ruined by a coming of Dracula. Evil works in many ways so there are many things needed to defeat it. What is crucial here is the author's choice of characters: the protagonists could be randomly picked through the story, but we can see their roles of l...