ATOMZoran Zivkovic: Miss Tamara, the Reader
Miss Tamara, the Reader
Zoran Živković
translated by Alice Copple-Tošić
In this suite of eight stories, the three ages of woman—youth, midlife and senescence—engage in a complex and fruitful dance. A young Miss Tamara is lured by a series of postcards concealed in library books. A middle-aged Miss Tamara discovers that her new reading glasses turn the pages blank. An afternoon's reading is disturbed by the realization that all books have turned fatally toxic. A mysterious phone call leads to a book which blinds its readers but also to romance. Woven through these seemingly simple narratives are deep themes of youth and ageing, memory and loss, solitude and companionship, and the relationship between the physical and the mental life. Above all this is a book about reading: its pleasures, rituals, essential preciousness. Reading as an obsession which can not only isolate, but also lead to discovery and love.
Reviews
"Though it is too soon to crown [Zoran Živković] the new Borges, [he is] a leading candidate."—The New York Times Book Review, USA
"Once again the author has shown his control and mastery over his spare prose, a style entirely appropriate to the quietude of his subject and themes, where silence is as much an element as melody."—Sfsite.com, USA
"Živković is, as ever, polished, and frighteningly intelligent; book-lovers will recognize intimately the frissons and frustrations he evokes."—Nicholas Gevers, Locus, USA
"Živković's unnerving gems cast the rest... into the shade."—Washington Post, USA
Details:
- 120 pages
- Trade paperback 5" x 8" (127mm x 203mm)
- ISBN 978-4-902075-32-8
- Kurodahan Press Book No. FG-RS0003-L28
- List Price: U$7.50
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