Siri Hustvedt – Blazing World

‘Don’t let anyone tell you that there are no magic words.’

This phrase really got to me. Especially since it reminded me of the fact that I already knew that. An oak is not felled at one stroke, my sister once told me in a grey period of my life, at my first coming to Bucharest. And I pulled through for I had understood this.

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth, Oscar Wilde said. Can literature be a mask? What about artistic creations?

Yes. Siri Hustvedt’s novel brings arguments to support this. Also, there is an entire discussion about forms within it. How we perceive them, how we represent them, how we subject to them, how we were taught to look at them, to accept them and to live according to all prejudices we have against them.

 

There is a question that I really appreciated and with which I would like to end:

Was there ever a work of art that was not burdened with the expectations and prejudices of the viewer, reader or listener, regardless of their degree of education or refinement?

Movie and Music

I recently watched the Meddler (2015) on Netflix and I dearly recommend it. I especially liked the music, aside from the main character, Marnie, beautifully played by Susan Sarandon.

I leave you with this song below that keeps coming throughout the movie.

Between Two Enemy Lines – Oana David

Oana David’s novel is a recommendation to stop and do a little soul-searching, especially of our own prejudice, but also to reminisce and ponder upon historical consciousness.

I would be terribly wrong to categorize it as a mere love story, even though one is presented. For I understood the novel as a manifest for love in all forms (for one’s family, for one’s country, for traditions, people, places, for the past, present and, especially, for the future).

The dialogue exchange is fluid, even the couple’s. Minute descriptions present Luli’s (the main character) feelings and thoughts, but also the places where she goes to. The part of the novel where the bombing of Bucharest, in the spring of 1944, is described is really shattering, and the author manages to transpose the reader right in the middle of the events.

I dearly recommend you to read Oana David’s novel.

Hope

Slovakia - our visit

My husband suggested Slovakia for our summer holiday this year, and since we had a really nice experience in Slovenia last year, I was really looking forward to it.

We started our journey in Kosice. It has a very nice city centre, and like for almost anything we saw in Slovakia, the architecture is similar to what you can find in Austria or Hungary (and in Romania, Sibiu or Sighisoara).

Presov

A small visit through Presov, and it reminded me of the experience we had in Albania, in terms of finding Romania promoted.

Spis Castle

Slovakia has many castles one could visit. From them all, we visited Spis. The view is really nice and visitors are encouraged to come there and have a picnic.

Vysoke Tatry

The Tatra Mountains are the highest mountain range from the west Carpathian Mountains. In Slovakia, they are divided into the High and the Low Tatra Mountains.

We stayed in a lovely cottage that had quick access to the chairlift that brought us to the mountains.

Kremnica

This is such a lovely small town, built on important gold mines! It is the site of the oldest still-working mint in the world. And a bird’s eye view from the castle.

Cicmany village

This is a lovely spot to stop and see the painted wooden houses.

Banska Bystrica

Such a lovely town. Unfortunately, we were only passing by, but it defintely deserved at least one day to explore.

Nitra

A cute little town, with a castle to visit.

Bratislava

Like mostly everywhere in Slovakia, there are a lot of bronze statues in Bratislava, too.

And icecream 😊. And the Danube.

Komarno

Right at the border with Hungary, there is a small and lovely town called Komarno. Attention must be given while strolling through the city center because you might miss a small entrance to a city center within the city center.

Slovakia in literature

What kind of writer would I be, if I did not show interest in literature?!

Everytime I visit a place (here’s a funny story from when I visited Slovenia last year), I like to take that feeling with me. So I buy tea and books by local writers.

Unfortunately, in the smaller cities, I could not find translated books by Slovak writers. But I was lucky to find these below in Bratislava.

I’ve only managed to read Ivana Dobrakovova’s Bellevue (which I really enjoyed), and I am looking forward to reading the others.