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Vardas tamsoje
Romane savitai sulydyti modernios psichologinės prozos ir detektyvinės fabulos elementai. Pagrindinė veikėja yra policijos tardytoja. Romane susipina jos tiriamas nusikaltimas ir prisiminimai apie savąją jaunystę.
204 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
51 people want to read
About the author
Renata Šerelytė
36 books19 followersRenata Šerelytė (g. 1970) – prozininkė, poetė, dramaturgė, kritikė, žurnalistė. 1988 m. baigė Šimonių vidurinę mokyklą, metus dirbo mokyklos bibliotekoje. 1994 m. Vilniaus universitete baigė lietuvių kalbos ir literatūros studijas. Dirbo vaikų žurnale „Žvaigždutė“, kultūros savaitraštyje „7 meno dienos“, žurnale „Jaunimo gretos“. Šiuo metu bendradarbiauja „Šiaurės Atėnuose“, internetiniuose dienraščiuose. R. Šerelytė debiutavo 1986 m. žurnale „Moksleivis“. Pirmasis novelių rinkinys – „Žuvies darinėjimas“ (1995). Išleido novelių rinkinius „Balandų ratas“ (1997), „O ji tepasakė miau“ (2001), romanus „Ledynmečio žvaigždės“ (1999), „Vardas tamsoje“ (2004), du nuotykinių istorinių apysakų rinkinius vaikams, eilėraščių rinkinį vaikams, esė rinkinį „Laukiniai mėnesiai“ (2006). Nuotykinių istorinių apysakų rinkinys vaikams „Jundos lemtis“ pažymėtas kaip geriausia 1997 m. lietuvių autoriaus knyga vaikams. Jos pjesė „Stoglangis“ 1999 m. laimėjo II vietą Atviros Lietuvos fondo paskelbtame pjesių, skirtų vaikų ir paauglių teatrui, konkurse. 2000 m. autorė apdovanota Žemaitės premija už romaną „Ledynmečio žvaigždės“. 2001 m. už novelistiką, išspausdintą literatūros mėnraštyje „Metai“, R. Šerelytei įteikta A. Vaičiulaičio premija. „ Moteris, kuri nekompleksuoja, kad ji moteris, – retas literatūroje atvejis; pasaulis atsiveria netikėtu rakursu, su švelnia ironija ir simpatija, piešiama viskas – nuo Gagarino iki Donelaičio, nuo Arteko iki psichoanalizės, nuo tautinių televizijų marazmo iki teisinių absurdų“ (Gintaras Beresnevičius).
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 27, 2018
My first entanglement with Lithuanian crime, swathed in hugely descriptive imagery, lyrical pontifications, and poetical flights of fancy, that to my mind completely overwhelmed the premise of this book as a crime novel. I like to consider myself a not unintelligent person, but must confess that after being taken off on some roaming poetical tangent for what seemed like an eon, I began to lose sight of what was actually happening. Although I am a regular reader of slightly pretentious literary fiction, and do achieve a perverse sense of enjoyment from it, this just irritated me, and I began to care less and less as we were endlessly enveloped in this loop of a exceedingly tedious love affair. With hindsight, I can’t tell you why the girl was murdered, or who did it, or if they were brought to justice, as all I remember for some reason is that electricians are full of negative energy, and quite frankly I feel much the same. Disappointing.
March 19, 2018
The Music Teacher, by Renata Šerelytė (translated by Marija Marcinkute), is a crime fiction novel set in Lithuania. I found it a strange tale to read until the crux was explained in the final reveal. Unlike other contemporary crime fiction it lacked ongoing tension. The story is told around: numerous flashbacks to the narrator’s childhood; her vivid dreams; the characters who appear in her office demanding that the police deal with issues clearly not within their remit; her depressing social life.
Told in the first person, the protagonist is a provincial investigator dealing with the death of a teenager found drowned in a bath. It could be murder or suicide. With council elections imminent word comes from on high that the case should be closed. Young women are generally treated with contempt, beaten and sexually abused without retribution. Mothers appear more worried about what others will consider their offspring’s promiscuity and how this will affect attitudes towards them and their future prospects.
The investigator’s dreams replay scenes from her unhappy childhood interspersed with present day events. She drinks to try to forget, vomiting when stressed. While still at school she had an affair with a music teacher who, although long since abandoning her, remains the love of her life.
Poisonous plants mysteriously appear on the investigator’s desk which she assumes come from a secret admirer. Psychics offer to help with the investigation much to the chagrin of the church, recently returned to influence in Lithuania. Memories become merged with dreams, obscuring what is real from that which is imagined. As the investigation progresses the narrator shows signs of increasing neurasthenia which threatens to spiral out of control when the music teacher reappears, now a government official, possibly a spy.
There is acknowledgement that memories can be corrupted by what subsequently happens and that crimes are rarely solved as is portrayed in TV dramas where the action is intense and never ceasing:
“The thing you needed most to solve a case was time”
This is a dark portrayal of life in Lithuania coloured by the apparent mental trauma affecting the everyday life of the protagonist. The shifting narrative made it a challenge to differentiate between dream and reality. Although marketed as a crime novel its atypical composition may appeal more to fans of literary structualism. A memorable but not entirely satisfying read.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Noir Press.
Told in the first person, the protagonist is a provincial investigator dealing with the death of a teenager found drowned in a bath. It could be murder or suicide. With council elections imminent word comes from on high that the case should be closed. Young women are generally treated with contempt, beaten and sexually abused without retribution. Mothers appear more worried about what others will consider their offspring’s promiscuity and how this will affect attitudes towards them and their future prospects.
The investigator’s dreams replay scenes from her unhappy childhood interspersed with present day events. She drinks to try to forget, vomiting when stressed. While still at school she had an affair with a music teacher who, although long since abandoning her, remains the love of her life.
Poisonous plants mysteriously appear on the investigator’s desk which she assumes come from a secret admirer. Psychics offer to help with the investigation much to the chagrin of the church, recently returned to influence in Lithuania. Memories become merged with dreams, obscuring what is real from that which is imagined. As the investigation progresses the narrator shows signs of increasing neurasthenia which threatens to spiral out of control when the music teacher reappears, now a government official, possibly a spy.
There is acknowledgement that memories can be corrupted by what subsequently happens and that crimes are rarely solved as is portrayed in TV dramas where the action is intense and never ceasing:
“The thing you needed most to solve a case was time”
This is a dark portrayal of life in Lithuania coloured by the apparent mental trauma affecting the everyday life of the protagonist. The shifting narrative made it a challenge to differentiate between dream and reality. Although marketed as a crime novel its atypical composition may appeal more to fans of literary structualism. A memorable but not entirely satisfying read.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Noir Press.
March 18, 2024
Myślę, że dobrą recenzją tej autorki jest fakt, że sprzedawczyni na OLX dała mi jej drugą książkę gratis, bo "nie ma cierpliwości do sprzedawania tego". To na pewno jedna z najdziwniejszych rzeczy jakie przeczytałam w życiu. Nie wiem czy sięgnę po kolejną powieść, jeśli tak to raczej nieprędko. Potrzebuję czasu, żeby pozbierać się po tym chaosie.
Większość książek ma na uwadze, że po drugiej stronie schematu komunikacyjnego jest czytelnik, i warto, żeby cokolwiek zrozumiał. Inne powieści są swego rodzaju eksperymentem artystycznym. Chyba nie muszę mówić, do której kategorii zalicza się ta historia. Przez pierwszą 1/3 jeszcze jesteśmy się w miarę w stanie połapać o co chodzi - mamy panią detektyw w prowincjonalnym litewskim mieście, która poza rozwiązywaniem spraw kryminalnych musi dodatkowo zmagać się ze swoimi traumami na podłożu seksualnym oraz ze swoim alkoholizmem.
Później pojawiają się schody. Jesteśmy obrzuceni tak niewiarygodną ilością retrospekcji z różnych okresów czasu, że nie wiemy już, co czytamy. Nic się ze sobą nie łączy. Przeskakujemy między różnymi sprawami, które toczyły się na przestrzeni lat, odbiegając zupełnie od głównej linii fabularnej. Opisy z dzieciństwa są przeplatane tymi z teraźniejszości, a akapit później z nastoletnich lat. Taki zabieg, retrospekcja, zwykle w literaturze działa, ale pod warunkiem, że potrafimy zorientować się, do którego okresu dany opis należy. Tutaj bardzo szybko można się zgubić.
Zakładam, że bałagan jest wpisany w koncept, bo [SPOILER] z tego co zrozumiałam na końcu dowiadujemy się, że narratorka- detektyw, ma po prostu schizofrenię i tak naprawdę nawet nie jest odpowiedzialna za śledztwo, tylko detektywem jest ktoś inny, a jej bycie w policji sobie sama wymyśliła? [KONIEC SPOILERU]. Ale to pozostają jedynie moje domysły bo ta powieść nie zostawia nas z żadną pewną wiedzą. Są tu anioły, demony, duchy, szatan, złe istotny, przestępstwa, dysfunkcyjny ludzie. Jeśli miałabym zaklasyfikować tę historię do jakiegokolwiek gatunku to pewnie wybrałabym realizm magiczny, bo kryminał, mimo informacji na okładce, to to nie jest. Owszem, mamy wątek morderstwa, ale nie śledzimy go przez lwią część powieści, autorka go porzuca na rzecz surrealistycznych, emocjonalnych opisów przyrody, które są bardzo poetyckie, ale, znowu, kompletnie nieintuicyjne w zrozumieniu.
Nie polecam tej książki, chyba że ktoś interesuje się w jakimś stopniu prozą z peryferii i, powiedzmy, realizmem magicznym/wątkami onirycznymi w prozie, tak jak ja. Niestety ta pozycja jest wyjątkowo irytująca i często zastanawiałam się, czy przypadkiem nie przeszkadzam tej autorce, bo ten plot jest zrozumiały chyba tylko dla niej.
Większość książek ma na uwadze, że po drugiej stronie schematu komunikacyjnego jest czytelnik, i warto, żeby cokolwiek zrozumiał. Inne powieści są swego rodzaju eksperymentem artystycznym. Chyba nie muszę mówić, do której kategorii zalicza się ta historia. Przez pierwszą 1/3 jeszcze jesteśmy się w miarę w stanie połapać o co chodzi - mamy panią detektyw w prowincjonalnym litewskim mieście, która poza rozwiązywaniem spraw kryminalnych musi dodatkowo zmagać się ze swoimi traumami na podłożu seksualnym oraz ze swoim alkoholizmem.
Później pojawiają się schody. Jesteśmy obrzuceni tak niewiarygodną ilością retrospekcji z różnych okresów czasu, że nie wiemy już, co czytamy. Nic się ze sobą nie łączy. Przeskakujemy między różnymi sprawami, które toczyły się na przestrzeni lat, odbiegając zupełnie od głównej linii fabularnej. Opisy z dzieciństwa są przeplatane tymi z teraźniejszości, a akapit później z nastoletnich lat. Taki zabieg, retrospekcja, zwykle w literaturze działa, ale pod warunkiem, że potrafimy zorientować się, do którego okresu dany opis należy. Tutaj bardzo szybko można się zgubić.
Zakładam, że bałagan jest wpisany w koncept, bo [SPOILER] z tego co zrozumiałam na końcu dowiadujemy się, że narratorka- detektyw, ma po prostu schizofrenię i tak naprawdę nawet nie jest odpowiedzialna za śledztwo, tylko detektywem jest ktoś inny, a jej bycie w policji sobie sama wymyśliła? [KONIEC SPOILERU]. Ale to pozostają jedynie moje domysły bo ta powieść nie zostawia nas z żadną pewną wiedzą. Są tu anioły, demony, duchy, szatan, złe istotny, przestępstwa, dysfunkcyjny ludzie. Jeśli miałabym zaklasyfikować tę historię do jakiegokolwiek gatunku to pewnie wybrałabym realizm magiczny, bo kryminał, mimo informacji na okładce, to to nie jest. Owszem, mamy wątek morderstwa, ale nie śledzimy go przez lwią część powieści, autorka go porzuca na rzecz surrealistycznych, emocjonalnych opisów przyrody, które są bardzo poetyckie, ale, znowu, kompletnie nieintuicyjne w zrozumieniu.
Nie polecam tej książki, chyba że ktoś interesuje się w jakimś stopniu prozą z peryferii i, powiedzmy, realizmem magicznym/wątkami onirycznymi w prozie, tak jak ja. Niestety ta pozycja jest wyjątkowo irytująca i często zastanawiałam się, czy przypadkiem nie przeszkadzam tej autorce, bo ten plot jest zrozumiały chyba tylko dla niej.
October 16, 2019
Labai gražiai autorė rašo. Tiesiog net pavydu skaitant. Vietom gal trupučiuką net per gražiai ir per saldžiai, tiesa (sekso scena, pavyzdžiui, pastebėjau užkliuvo ne man vienai).
Kas man labiausiai nepatiko, tai kad iš šito romano tikėjausi ne visai to. Anotacija ir romano pradžia nuteikė, kad skaitysiu gerai parašytą detektyvą su psichologiniais elementais, tačiau kuo toliau tuo mažiau tai buvo detektyvas, tuo daugiau alkoholio (ar šizofrenijos) sukeltų haliucinacijų ir kliedesių aprašymas. Tai, žinoma, irgi buvo parašyta labai gražiai ir vaizdžiai, bet na... jei atvirai tai atsibodo.
Kas man labiausiai nepatiko, tai kad iš šito romano tikėjausi ne visai to. Anotacija ir romano pradžia nuteikė, kad skaitysiu gerai parašytą detektyvą su psichologiniais elementais, tačiau kuo toliau tuo mažiau tai buvo detektyvas, tuo daugiau alkoholio (ar šizofrenijos) sukeltų haliucinacijų ir kliedesių aprašymas. Tai, žinoma, irgi buvo parašyta labai gražiai ir vaizdžiai, bet na... jei atvirai tai atsibodo.
January 13, 2019
Bought this as when I was in Vilnius to help get insight into Lithuanian way of life/culture etc - but don't think it did this. I like crime, but this is not crime. This was an ethereal journey through a policewoman's mind. Whilst I enjoyed parts of it - it is definitely not like any other book I have read - and the poetic prose is impressive, as a book the storyline fell short. I'm not even sure how it ended...
October 30, 2021
A drunk police officer tells you all about her dreams, and the ghosts she sees. She also tells us about the "relationship", grooming and sexual abuse she has with her teacher have while she is a young teenager, as well as other sexual trauma throughout her life. There is apparently a murder, but not really talked about besides the finding of a body and the fact the forensic scientist was off digging potatoes.
I mean, that sums up the book. A lot of something possibly, going somewhere, but a whole heap of fuckery taking up all the time and space.
Apparently this won the book of the year award in Lithuania. Maybe the translation let this down a lot. But part of me thinks because it took me months to find this book, maybe the pickings are slim? That is rude and disingenuous to Lithuania writers. But jesus, I would love my hours back that I spent reading this. Definitely a net loss in my life.
P.S. I remembered there was a cat. Two in fact. They were mentioned so much they may have been important? Or not. I dunno. If you like cats, then there is that.
I mean, that sums up the book. A lot of something possibly, going somewhere, but a whole heap of fuckery taking up all the time and space.
Apparently this won the book of the year award in Lithuania. Maybe the translation let this down a lot. But part of me thinks because it took me months to find this book, maybe the pickings are slim? That is rude and disingenuous to Lithuania writers. But jesus, I would love my hours back that I spent reading this. Definitely a net loss in my life.
P.S. I remembered there was a cat. Two in fact. They were mentioned so much they may have been important? Or not. I dunno. If you like cats, then there is that.
September 30, 2024
Sugaištas laikas.
January 7, 2020
First of all I have to thank Jackie Law, who reviewed this novel in her blog Neverimitate
Generally when I read a book in translation, I look for evidence of the country’s culture. I know that a writer can choose any topic they want but, if I’ve never been to a country, I do like to read about the traditions. In this case, The Music Teacher is by the Lithuanian author, Renata Serelyte (translated by Marija Marcinkute) and the book takes place in Lithuania as well ( bonus points!)
The book is a meta mystery, that is there are elements of the crime genre in the book but Serelyte takes things further. This is a book that deals with the psyche, of hidden consciousness, feminism and Lithuanian politics.
The main protagonist is an investigator who discovers a dead teenager in the bath. As she is carrying out her investigation, she starts to recall past crimes which were farcical and yet somewhat connected with this murder.
Unfortunately this investigator also had an upsetting childhood where she had an affair with her music teacher, who later works in the city council and wants to close the investigation. The narrator in panic starts to dream, retreating into childhood elements. At this point past, present and future are jumbled up but it’s not difficult to follow the different threads.
Ultimately the mystery is ‘solved’ but that’s not Serelyte’s point. Really the book is about Lithuania’s political system, which is rotten. A place rife with corruption and backhanded dealings. Despite the torrid message, Serelyte fuses everything with humor, there were some laugh out loud moments. This narrator comments on everything and all her barbs are full of sarcasm but are funny (the atavistic lecture is just one line but it’s brilliant) It is this aspect of the novel that I appreciated as I assume this sort of humor is part of Lithuanian culture.
If you want a crime/not crime novel then here’s the place to look. The Music Teacher is a crime novel with a difference.
Generally when I read a book in translation, I look for evidence of the country’s culture. I know that a writer can choose any topic they want but, if I’ve never been to a country, I do like to read about the traditions. In this case, The Music Teacher is by the Lithuanian author, Renata Serelyte (translated by Marija Marcinkute) and the book takes place in Lithuania as well ( bonus points!)
The book is a meta mystery, that is there are elements of the crime genre in the book but Serelyte takes things further. This is a book that deals with the psyche, of hidden consciousness, feminism and Lithuanian politics.
The main protagonist is an investigator who discovers a dead teenager in the bath. As she is carrying out her investigation, she starts to recall past crimes which were farcical and yet somewhat connected with this murder.
Unfortunately this investigator also had an upsetting childhood where she had an affair with her music teacher, who later works in the city council and wants to close the investigation. The narrator in panic starts to dream, retreating into childhood elements. At this point past, present and future are jumbled up but it’s not difficult to follow the different threads.
Ultimately the mystery is ‘solved’ but that’s not Serelyte’s point. Really the book is about Lithuania’s political system, which is rotten. A place rife with corruption and backhanded dealings. Despite the torrid message, Serelyte fuses everything with humor, there were some laugh out loud moments. This narrator comments on everything and all her barbs are full of sarcasm but are funny (the atavistic lecture is just one line but it’s brilliant) It is this aspect of the novel that I appreciated as I assume this sort of humor is part of Lithuanian culture.
If you want a crime/not crime novel then here’s the place to look. The Music Teacher is a crime novel with a difference.
May 19, 2014
taip - daug nuorodų į aukštąją kultūrą, tačiau čia proza stokoja kokybės. štai - nuoroda į tam tikrą klasikinę simboliką ir sunkiai paaiškinamai dėstomos mintys. pigūs sentimentai persipynę su lėtai plėtojama siužeto grandimi. istorija įdomi ir išties savita. bet tam, kad ji būtų sėkminga, reikia kažko daugiau. gal, tarkim, protagonisto, kuriam rūpi kažkas daugiau nei mokyklos laikais išnaudojęs mokytojas, alkoholis ir marinamas kolegos katinas. ciniška, koktoka ir... na, kažkam gal tiks. tad sėkmės!
February 13, 2021
Honnêtement j'ai beaucoup aimé les trois premiers quart, j'ai adoré le style, et les digressions poétiques. Par contre je l'avoue j'ai RIEN compris à la fin.
July 18, 2024
,,Kartais apima toks keistas jausmas... Gal man... šizofrenija?" - knygos pabaigoje klausia veikėjas. Skaitant šią knygą ir pačiai kilo mintis, ar tik ne šizofrenija sergu... Mėgstu sąmonės srautu parašytas knygas, su gilia mintimi, priverčiančias pamąstyti, tačiau ši knyga leido iškelti tik tokius klausimus: kodėl ji išleista ir kodėl aš vis dar tai skaitau.
Taikyta į daug stilių ir temų, bet niekas iki galo tinkamai ir neišpildyta. Viskas taip neaišku ir painu, kad net atkrato nuo knygos ir gal net šiek tiek nuo šiuolaikinės lietuvių literatūros, nors ir suprantu, kad viena knyga neatspindi realios literatūros lauko situacijos.
Taikyta į daug stilių ir temų, bet niekas iki galo tinkamai ir neišpildyta. Viskas taip neaišku ir painu, kad net atkrato nuo knygos ir gal net šiek tiek nuo šiuolaikinės lietuvių literatūros, nors ir suprantu, kad viena knyga neatspindi realios literatūros lauko situacijos.
November 7, 2023
Śerelytes literatūrinė kalba labai turtinga , pilna įdomių negirdėtų palyginimų , bûtų galima skaityti mėgaujantis , tačiau sakiniai taip perkrauti , kad pameti mintį ir man skaityti tokias liūdnas padugnių istorijas , net ir apipintas nuostabiais sakiniais , net labai nemalonu , juolab , nebesupranti, kur pasakojimas , o kur sapnas, erzino ir nuolatinis brendžio garbinimas ..
June 5, 2025
Ši knyga man patiko, nes ji įdomi, paslaptinga ir šiek tiek baugi. Pagrindinė veikėja ieško tiesos apie savo praeiti. Kartais net buvo šiurpu, bet tai tik dar labiau įtraukė.
Knyga verčia susimąstyti apie baimę, vienatvę ir praeities šešėlius. Rekomenduočiau tiems, kas mėgsta rimtesnes istorijas su paslaptimi.
Knyga verčia susimąstyti apie baimę, vienatvę ir praeities šešėlius. Rekomenduočiau tiems, kas mėgsta rimtesnes istorijas su paslaptimi.
December 2, 2025
I'm so confused to be fair.
December 29, 2022
Well, my first mistake was the assumption that the "Music Teacher" will be, at least partially, about music and that music will somehow be present. Sadly, there is no music in this novel whatsoever. The title was not well chosen and it is actually misleading. Anyway, I was already somewhat familiar with this regional style, having read recently some other Lithuanian (Birute Jonuskaite) and other Eastern European authors (the Ukrainian Serhiy Zhadan and the Latvian Inga Zolude). The writing is extremely rich in vocabulary, it seems often comical, more often dreamy, but for most of the time, it is certainly totally hopelessly convoluted and circular. The reader has to work extremely hard to get through this book. I believe that good literature does not have to be so difficult. Serelyte should try diluting her content somewhat, because we get the impression she wrote the whole thing under the influence of magic mushrooms, or at least when she was totally drunk and felt really generous. She is definitely a very talented writer with immensely rich imagination, but also someone who needs to unlearn a certain kind of generosity which parades in the form of self-indulgence, and learn instead how to achieve clarity and elegance. The post-communist linguistic rococo wears out after about 100 pages when we begin to feel that the author has no self-control. And I am from Eastern Europe and I could feel the atmosphere. What can a person who has never been to Lithuania and doesn't have a connection with the land and its history say about this book? These readers will likely be much more lost than I was. We doubt the narrator is a sane person, but at least we suspect that this person actually exists. With the possible exception of the music teacher, we're not so sure about all the other characters in the novel. Particularly annoying were the ridiculous calendar dates at the beginning of some chapters, which suddenly move the action into the future and into the past, at random. We are trying to imagine and place ourselves in September 2000 and then we are suddenly moved to March 2003. I can only say that too much nonsense is not a good thing. This calendar torture should absolutely be removed from the next edition. I just can't possibly imagine anybody making a movie out of this novel, or at least a movie with a story line.
The translator, however, did a wonderful job with this extremely generous (and wasteful) prose. As for the author, she should start now from writing short stories, no more than three pages in length.
The translator, however, did a wonderful job with this extremely generous (and wasteful) prose. As for the author, she should start now from writing short stories, no more than three pages in length.
September 30, 2013
Toks gyvenimas. Tik gal ne visus jis taip sulauzo. Ir tas gerai. Vienok, bet kurioje situacijoje gelbsti gera humoro doze. Ypac to tokio, turincio tamsesni atspalvi.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews