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Baltimore
In Baltimore, Jelena Lengold offers an exquisite portrayal of a Belgrade writer, a woman in her forties, whose tightly packed, unresolved inner conflicts with herself and the people closest to her have led her to a sobering dead end. She is compelled to turn around and look closely at the routine of her everyday life – her marriage, family, friends, loves, lies and the likes. What she finds is a strange mixture of uncertainty and boredom, insecurity and determination which grow into fullblown frustration at sessions with her therapist. The writer’s block the protagonist suffers from is a metaphor for a blocked life, a life led in the recesses of reality represented in bouts of silence, web cam voyeurism and Internet flings.Lengold’s prose style – witty, sharp and somber– strikes a resounding tone for telling the truth of one of our lives.
134 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
About the author
Jelena Lengold
51 books30 followersBorn on 15 July 1959 in Kruševac, Serbia. She has published eleven books which include six books of poetry, four books of stories and a novel. She is represented in a number of anthologies of poetry and stories, and her works have also been translated into a number of foreign languages. Jelena Lengold has worked as a journalist and an editor in the culture desk at Radio Belgrade. She has afterwards worked as a project coordinator of Nansenskolen Humanistic Academy in Lillehammer, Norway for the subject Conflict Theory. Since September 2011 she has been a freelance artist, dedicated solely to writing as her only profession. For the collection of stories The Fairground Magician she received the following awards: Biljana Jovanović, Žensko pero, Zlatni Hit liber, as well as the European Union Prize for Literature in 2011.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 25, 2021
Poeziju Jelene Lengold volim i čitam godinama, ali do sad, iz nekog nepoznatog razloga, nisam uzeo nijednu njenu zbirku priča ili roman da pročitam, iako sam to planirao.
Baltimor je njen prvi roman i prati ženu koja na poseban način počinje da sagleda svoj život i svakodnevnicu. Sa istom lepotom kojom piše svoju poeziju, Jelena Lengold toliko moćno oslikava unutrašnji svet glavne junakinje i uvalači nas u stranice ove knjige, te sam se opirao da ga pročitam u danu već pokušavao što duže i sporije da uživam u istom.
I pre nego što sam završio roman, na adresu mi je stigao naručeni paket sa pet knjiga proze ove autorke, a to možda najbolje govori koliko sam bio oduševljen.
Baltimor je njen prvi roman i prati ženu koja na poseban način počinje da sagleda svoj život i svakodnevnicu. Sa istom lepotom kojom piše svoju poeziju, Jelena Lengold toliko moćno oslikava unutrašnji svet glavne junakinje i uvalači nas u stranice ove knjige, te sam se opirao da ga pročitam u danu već pokušavao što duže i sporije da uživam u istom.
I pre nego što sam završio roman, na adresu mi je stigao naručeni paket sa pet knjiga proze ove autorke, a to možda najbolje govori koliko sam bio oduševljen.
July 16, 2020
There's nothing especially imaginative here, nothing experimental or "new", nothing that will make you rethink what literature can,will, or could be, but as a realist novel by a talented author with a fresh, vibrant, attractive voice who appears to be speaking her mind in words that are frequently eloquent, humorous, wry and moving, this is a very good book and one I enjoyed immensely while cringing in recognition of its many painful truths.
The novel follows a middle-aged Serbian female narrator with abandonment issues and writer's block, through her first meetings with a therapist, reminiscences of childhood, awkward encounters with lovers new and old, everyday life with her husband, and, most of all, long interior monologues as she seeks to make sense of her life and get some idea of how she'd like to move forward. While everything is told in the first person, Lengold alternates the more dreamy therapeutic encounters with the narrator's daily life. It's an effective mix and gives the novel texture, allowing for a slightly surreal bleed between everyday reality and the curious, liminal mindset of the therapist's office.
I don't know that this book will work for everyone, but as a middle-aged woman of Middle-European extraction with abandonment issues, this hit my every button and I just loved it.
The novel follows a middle-aged Serbian female narrator with abandonment issues and writer's block, through her first meetings with a therapist, reminiscences of childhood, awkward encounters with lovers new and old, everyday life with her husband, and, most of all, long interior monologues as she seeks to make sense of her life and get some idea of how she'd like to move forward. While everything is told in the first person, Lengold alternates the more dreamy therapeutic encounters with the narrator's daily life. It's an effective mix and gives the novel texture, allowing for a slightly surreal bleed between everyday reality and the curious, liminal mindset of the therapist's office.
I don't know that this book will work for everyone, but as a middle-aged woman of Middle-European extraction with abandonment issues, this hit my every button and I just loved it.
February 6, 2018
Uopšte nije loša ova Jelena Lengold! Drago mi je što nisam dopustila sopstvenoj predrasudi da prevlada i što sam dala šansu Baltimoru. Kasnije ću sjesti za laptop, jer je toliko toga što bih citirala, da citirala! A žena je jednom na svom fb profilu napisala virtOUz i ja sam je htjela za sva vremena otpisati. Ne smijem puno analizirati, jer ćemo u četvrtak u našem malom čitalačkom klubu svakako razgovarati o ovoj knjizi.
Evo i sabranih utisaka:
https://sputnjik1.wordpress.com/2018/...
Evo i sabranih utisaka:
https://sputnjik1.wordpress.com/2018/...
January 24, 2017
Četri zvjezdice samo zato što smatram da su joj kratke priče bolje (Rasčarani svet posebno).
Lengold je našem malom book clubu poslala svoje knjige u pdf formatu jer ih tada nismo mogle nabaviti, a htjele smo je rado čitati. Iz tog je proizišlo da sam prvom prigodom kupila sve što sam našla od nje i čitam sve redom - oduševljena sam svim i svakome je preporučujem!
Lengold piše o stvarima koje sebi sami teško priznajemo, a još teže stavimo u riječi. Svatko će se naći u svim njenim pričama, u svim rečenicama, u ovom romanu, pa čak i ako baš i nije srednjovječna žena, pajel.
Lengold je našem malom book clubu poslala svoje knjige u pdf formatu jer ih tada nismo mogle nabaviti, a htjele smo je rado čitati. Iz tog je proizišlo da sam prvom prigodom kupila sve što sam našla od nje i čitam sve redom - oduševljena sam svim i svakome je preporučujem!
Lengold piše o stvarima koje sebi sami teško priznajemo, a još teže stavimo u riječi. Svatko će se naći u svim njenim pričama, u svim rečenicama, u ovom romanu, pa čak i ako baš i nije srednjovječna žena, pajel.
September 17, 2021
After reading Jelena Lengold's wonderful short story collection 'Fairground Magician', I wanted to explore more of her work. The only other book of hers available in English translation was her novel 'Baltimore'. So I decided to read that.
'Baltimore' starts with our narrator, who is a forty-something woman living in Belgrade, looking at her computer everyday afternoon. She has somehow managed to hook up to a camera in Baltimore, Maryland. And she waits for a young man, who comes at a specific time everyday, and waits for the bus, and boards it when it arrives. She makes up imaginary stories about him and even has a name for him. The second part of the chapter is about a woman who is of similar age, who meets her therapist and talks about her problems. We are taken deeply into this therapy session during this section. Both these women look like the same person – the voice is similar, their age is similar, their moms look similar. So we conclude, it is the same person. The first section of a chapter sometimes assumes a Dostoevskian shape. Our narrator shares her thoughts on life, which was one of my favourite parts of the book. She then proceeds to describe events from her life which serve as examples which prove the truth of her views on life. I loved this structure. In one of these chapters, the narrator talks about how once she stopped going to work, became silent and refused to talk to anyone, but did the household chores and kept things running, and every morning, after her husband went to work, she took a book and went to a park and read for most of the day (sometimes she went to the park to crochet and watch children play) and how it made her happy, while her family thought that it was strange and she was not well. I loved that chapter and it made me smile, because I did that once. I didn't go silent, but I quit my job and went to the cafe in the morning and read for the whole day there. I carried this on for a while, and I loved it and it made me happy, but others thought it strange. Towards the end of the book, all the different story strands come together (or do they? You have to read the book to find out 😊) and there is even a surprise (it was a surprise atleast to me), and the ending was interesting.
'Baltimore' had everything that Jelena Lengold's readers look forward to, in her stories – a little dreamy surrealism, the occasional erotica, a kick-ass main character who speaks her mind (the book starts with these lines – "Let’s get something clear first : If this is going to be one of those stories in which everyone is nice and polite, then we’d better stop now. I would like to tell you everything about everything, and there is so much to say. You get that, don’t you? When you want to say it all, not everyone can be pleasant and polite. Least of all me." How can we not fall in love with the narrator after reading that?), the profound commentary on contemporary life which is almost Dostoevskian in depth, and lots of quotable passages. I enjoyed reading it.
I'll leave you with one of my favourite passages from the book.
"I don’t know exactly when I made the decision not to have children. Or if it even was a decision or just one of those things you keep putting off indefinitely, knowing full well the time that you have is limited. Maybe only fifteen, twenty years at the most. And then, you suddenly realize that the decision is no longer up to you. You definitely can’t have them, even if you wanted to. Stories like: A woman in India gave birth at the age of sixty! Both mother and infant are healthy and doing fine…. You somehow know this doesn’t apply to you and that this is just a newspaper article. Was this another one of those decisions I tend to make for the sole purpose of making myself feel bad? Either way, that’s how it turned out. It’s not that bad for now. We have our time. And time is one of the rare things a person can actually have. We have our afternoons and our weekends. We have order in our kitchen and neatly stacked shelves. We never had to use the washing machine twice a day because of dirty diapers. Nor did we have to get out of bed ten times during the night. You don’t think that’s really a plus? Okay. Maybe you’re right. I’m just presenting my arguments. Your family and friends resign themselves to the idea when you reach your late thirties. This is when they definitely lose all hope. But, there are always those times when you need to get your hair done. In hair salons, most of the talk is about children. Photographs are taken out. Pregnant women get their hair done out of turn. There’s mention of C-sections, pelvic births, measles, baby-teeth are shown around, and sometimes even the children are brought in to get their hair cut with their mothers, at which time we all have to sigh and cry oh, he’s so cute and swear the child is the spitting image of its mother. I’ve yet to see a woman who comes into a salon and talks about her ill mannered, full-grown child. I’ve never heard a woman talk about how her son had to repeat a grade, as she was getting a perm. Or how he robbed a corner store. Or how he started taking drugs. Or how he beat up a neighbor. Or how he can’t get into college. Or how he moved to another continent and calls only once a year, just to ask for money. In a hair salon, children exist solely in their angelic form. A form that only gives rise to plain, unadulterated envy. A form which makes you want to get out of there, with the curlers still in your hair, but not before you apologize to everyone for being there, even though you’re not worthy of their company. Because they, these women, know something that you don’t. And they have felt something you never will. They are a family. You are a couple, at the most."
Have you read 'Baltimore'? What do you think about it?
'Baltimore' starts with our narrator, who is a forty-something woman living in Belgrade, looking at her computer everyday afternoon. She has somehow managed to hook up to a camera in Baltimore, Maryland. And she waits for a young man, who comes at a specific time everyday, and waits for the bus, and boards it when it arrives. She makes up imaginary stories about him and even has a name for him. The second part of the chapter is about a woman who is of similar age, who meets her therapist and talks about her problems. We are taken deeply into this therapy session during this section. Both these women look like the same person – the voice is similar, their age is similar, their moms look similar. So we conclude, it is the same person. The first section of a chapter sometimes assumes a Dostoevskian shape. Our narrator shares her thoughts on life, which was one of my favourite parts of the book. She then proceeds to describe events from her life which serve as examples which prove the truth of her views on life. I loved this structure. In one of these chapters, the narrator talks about how once she stopped going to work, became silent and refused to talk to anyone, but did the household chores and kept things running, and every morning, after her husband went to work, she took a book and went to a park and read for most of the day (sometimes she went to the park to crochet and watch children play) and how it made her happy, while her family thought that it was strange and she was not well. I loved that chapter and it made me smile, because I did that once. I didn't go silent, but I quit my job and went to the cafe in the morning and read for the whole day there. I carried this on for a while, and I loved it and it made me happy, but others thought it strange. Towards the end of the book, all the different story strands come together (or do they? You have to read the book to find out 😊) and there is even a surprise (it was a surprise atleast to me), and the ending was interesting.
'Baltimore' had everything that Jelena Lengold's readers look forward to, in her stories – a little dreamy surrealism, the occasional erotica, a kick-ass main character who speaks her mind (the book starts with these lines – "Let’s get something clear first : If this is going to be one of those stories in which everyone is nice and polite, then we’d better stop now. I would like to tell you everything about everything, and there is so much to say. You get that, don’t you? When you want to say it all, not everyone can be pleasant and polite. Least of all me." How can we not fall in love with the narrator after reading that?), the profound commentary on contemporary life which is almost Dostoevskian in depth, and lots of quotable passages. I enjoyed reading it.
I'll leave you with one of my favourite passages from the book.
"I don’t know exactly when I made the decision not to have children. Or if it even was a decision or just one of those things you keep putting off indefinitely, knowing full well the time that you have is limited. Maybe only fifteen, twenty years at the most. And then, you suddenly realize that the decision is no longer up to you. You definitely can’t have them, even if you wanted to. Stories like: A woman in India gave birth at the age of sixty! Both mother and infant are healthy and doing fine…. You somehow know this doesn’t apply to you and that this is just a newspaper article. Was this another one of those decisions I tend to make for the sole purpose of making myself feel bad? Either way, that’s how it turned out. It’s not that bad for now. We have our time. And time is one of the rare things a person can actually have. We have our afternoons and our weekends. We have order in our kitchen and neatly stacked shelves. We never had to use the washing machine twice a day because of dirty diapers. Nor did we have to get out of bed ten times during the night. You don’t think that’s really a plus? Okay. Maybe you’re right. I’m just presenting my arguments. Your family and friends resign themselves to the idea when you reach your late thirties. This is when they definitely lose all hope. But, there are always those times when you need to get your hair done. In hair salons, most of the talk is about children. Photographs are taken out. Pregnant women get their hair done out of turn. There’s mention of C-sections, pelvic births, measles, baby-teeth are shown around, and sometimes even the children are brought in to get their hair cut with their mothers, at which time we all have to sigh and cry oh, he’s so cute and swear the child is the spitting image of its mother. I’ve yet to see a woman who comes into a salon and talks about her ill mannered, full-grown child. I’ve never heard a woman talk about how her son had to repeat a grade, as she was getting a perm. Or how he robbed a corner store. Or how he started taking drugs. Or how he beat up a neighbor. Or how he can’t get into college. Or how he moved to another continent and calls only once a year, just to ask for money. In a hair salon, children exist solely in their angelic form. A form that only gives rise to plain, unadulterated envy. A form which makes you want to get out of there, with the curlers still in your hair, but not before you apologize to everyone for being there, even though you’re not worthy of their company. Because they, these women, know something that you don’t. And they have felt something you never will. They are a family. You are a couple, at the most."
Have you read 'Baltimore'? What do you think about it?
December 31, 2014
Ultimately, I enjoyed this novel. It was wonderfully written and very easy for me to relate to. I couldn’t stop reading once I started. I immersed myself in the story so completely at times that I occasionally felt I was the main character, and I would behave in ways that she would behave when I was disturbed in the real world. The protagonist’s analytical mind was likely the book’s most redeeming quality. Since it’s written entirely from her perspective, there is hardly a dull moment.
The content is a bit lewd at times, but tame in its lewdness. These sections resonated with me much less than others, but I wasn’t averse to them. In fact, I think it’s necessary for modern authors to be vulgar. At least, they shouldn’t leave out the gruesome details for the sake of politeness. Audiences tend to enjoy these moments, because it makes stories more real and, sometimes, more relatable.
I often questioned whether or not the story came from the author’s own life, and I still don’t know the answer to that. If it didn’t, then Jelena Lengold’s ability to write such genuine, personable fiction is truly astounding. I applaud her skills either way—as well as the skills of the translator, Persida Boskovic. It is a perfect book for young adults and, primarily, middle aged women. I would encourage anyone who can handle adult material to give this amazing novel a read!
The content is a bit lewd at times, but tame in its lewdness. These sections resonated with me much less than others, but I wasn’t averse to them. In fact, I think it’s necessary for modern authors to be vulgar. At least, they shouldn’t leave out the gruesome details for the sake of politeness. Audiences tend to enjoy these moments, because it makes stories more real and, sometimes, more relatable.
I often questioned whether or not the story came from the author’s own life, and I still don’t know the answer to that. If it didn’t, then Jelena Lengold’s ability to write such genuine, personable fiction is truly astounding. I applaud her skills either way—as well as the skills of the translator, Persida Boskovic. It is a perfect book for young adults and, primarily, middle aged women. I would encourage anyone who can handle adult material to give this amazing novel a read!
April 16, 2026
I went from interested to bored and back to interested. If you skip this one you aren’t missing anything but I did enjoy it.
October 26, 2020
Baltimor je jedna intimna priča koju pripoveda žena srednjih godina koja oseća ubrzanje, koju strahovi ograničavaju, godine sustižu i rutina ubija, a ona pokušava da pronađe svoj način da se nosi sa tim. Priča ide kroz tri vremenska toka koji se vešto prepliću i smenjuju, i koji ujedno predstavljaju i tri dela naše junakinje, njen stvarni život, njena maštanja i njen unutrašnji život. Kompozicija je labava, ali u suštini takva i pogoduje samoj radnji. Jelena tečno i lako piše, modernim jezikom, i ubitačno pogađa u centar. Izgovara i ono što se i ne pomišlja.
Spoljašnji okvir priče čini činjenica da naša junakinja sama piše knjigu, odnosno baš ovu, tako da nam u 1. poglavlju iznosi i siže onoga što nas čeka, a u poslednjem se poigrava sa čitaocem i ostavlja da mi kroz sve tri linije pripovedanja izaberemo svoj kraj.
Čitajući sve vreme sam imala utisak da je Andrićeva Žena na kamenu, dobila šansu da nam iz prvog lica ispriča o sebi. Ovaj put je ta priča još ubedljivija, paše ženi 21.veka, i prosto se ne mogu otrgnuti od mišljenja da bi ova knjiga imala ogromnu popularnost da je napisana na nekom velikom jeziku, jer Jelena Lengold ni u čemu ne zaostaje za Elizabet Straut i Alis Manro, kao i Elenom Ferante (iako je sa njom ne povezuje ta stilska već ženska nit).
Spoljašnji okvir priče čini činjenica da naša junakinja sama piše knjigu, odnosno baš ovu, tako da nam u 1. poglavlju iznosi i siže onoga što nas čeka, a u poslednjem se poigrava sa čitaocem i ostavlja da mi kroz sve tri linije pripovedanja izaberemo svoj kraj.
Čitajući sve vreme sam imala utisak da je Andrićeva Žena na kamenu, dobila šansu da nam iz prvog lica ispriča o sebi. Ovaj put je ta priča još ubedljivija, paše ženi 21.veka, i prosto se ne mogu otrgnuti od mišljenja da bi ova knjiga imala ogromnu popularnost da je napisana na nekom velikom jeziku, jer Jelena Lengold ni u čemu ne zaostaje za Elizabet Straut i Alis Manro, kao i Elenom Ferante (iako je sa njom ne povezuje ta stilska već ženska nit).
August 6, 2014
Jelena Lengold’s Baltimore offers up a beautifully rendered portrait of a middle-aged woman living in Belgrade, struggling to come to terms with a plethora of inner conflicts. The writing is concise, lyrical, and just the right amount of strange to capture the interest of anyone who is drawn to psychological reads. Our narrator recounts times from past, as well as present, and Lengold handles the times shifts deftly. The story is raw, with a real edge that is unique and attractively foreign. Baltimore is a short novel that manages to pack in a lengthy discourse on universal topics such as love, sex, family, and the human condition.
June 19, 2018
I ovo je jedan od savremenih srpskih romana o dosadnim ljudima u raljama tranzicije. Pri čemu je Lengold sigurno zanatski lošiji pisac od Velikića, kralja ovog paražanra. Mislio sam da se motiv mirišljavih dunja iz starih ormara pojavljuje samo u srednjoškolskim pismenim zadacima, kad evo ga i na stranicama Baltimora.
February 5, 2015
Срещите с психоаналитичката от сценката с малкия и големия слон нататък много ми харесаха, всичките :) Балтиморската линия също. Лука от чата е по-скоро излишен, но веднъж вкаран в повествованието, няма смисъл така безпричинно и безследно да изчезне скоро след това.
Нямам нищо общо с жената в главната роля, с нейната вечна натопорченост и негодувание ("...продължавах да усещам убождания в цялата лява страна на тялото си от бодливата тел на омразата, изникнала отникъде и изчезваща бързо след това дявол знае къде..."), но ми достави удоволствие да я гледам как не се примирява с това, което е, има и върши. И да съзнавам колко е хубаво, че нямам нищо общо, колкото и според нея всички да сме еднакви, но готови да се самозалъгваме, че не сме. Ако убедеността в значението на индивида, на любовта, на самостоятелно подредения живот е банална, то убедеността в обратното е двойно по-банална, има нещо гневно-тийнейджърско в нея.
Неща, с които абсолютно не съм съгласна: "Колкото повече ви обичат, толкова по-малко искат да знаят кой сте всъщност. Стига се дотам, че не искат да научат дори какво наистина сте правили през деня. Очакват от вас да им поднесете някоя подходяща и безопасна лъжа..." или "Искреността е напълно девалвирала категория. Хората се кълнат в своята искреност, сякаш говорят за някаква изключителна проява на честност. При това забравят, че искреността е малодушие, освен ако не е агресия..." или "Любовта е преди всичко страх от самотата. Това е то любовта. Всичко останало хората са го доизмислили впоследствие, за да се опазят от баналното..." И не съм съгласна не защото ми се ще да си мисля нещо друго, а защото от опит знам, че важи точно обратното. Не в някакъв идеален, пожелателен план, а в най-практичната практика.
Нещо, за което съчувствам, но не намирам за неизбежно: "Понякога сте убедени, че вашият живот си е наистина ваш и ви се струва, че абсолютно ви принадлежи. Друг път ясно съзнавате, че той е само един от възможните ви животи. И всички останали в един момент започват да болят като внезапно набъбнали мехури по кожата."
Нещо, което, ни в клин, ни в ръкав, ми беше много приятно: описанието на почистването на пишещата машина.
"Изкарвах разни черни боклучета от дупчицата на всяка буква и след това отстрани почиствах иглата. И така внимателно буква по буква. Първо големите букви, след това малките, после цифрите и препинателните знаци. След това идваше ред на четчицата. Тя премахваше всичко, което останеше след игличката. А после настъпваше мигът на крайното удоволствие, слагах лист в машината и проверявах резултата. Буквите се появяваха ясни, чисти и отчетливи."
Русанка страхотно се сработва с тази авторка, преводът й се лее.
Нямам нищо общо с жената в главната роля, с нейната вечна натопорченост и негодувание ("...продължавах да усещам убождания в цялата лява страна на тялото си от бодливата тел на омразата, изникнала отникъде и изчезваща бързо след това дявол знае къде..."), но ми достави удоволствие да я гледам как не се примирява с това, което е, има и върши. И да съзнавам колко е хубаво, че нямам нищо общо, колкото и според нея всички да сме еднакви, но готови да се самозалъгваме, че не сме. Ако убедеността в значението на индивида, на любовта, на самостоятелно подредения живот е банална, то убедеността в обратното е двойно по-банална, има нещо гневно-тийнейджърско в нея.
Неща, с които абсолютно не съм съгласна: "Колкото повече ви обичат, толкова по-малко искат да знаят кой сте всъщност. Стига се дотам, че не искат да научат дори какво наистина сте правили през деня. Очакват от вас да им поднесете някоя подходяща и безопасна лъжа..." или "Искреността е напълно девалвирала категория. Хората се кълнат в своята искреност, сякаш говорят за някаква изключителна проява на честност. При това забравят, че искреността е малодушие, освен ако не е агресия..." или "Любовта е преди всичко страх от самотата. Това е то любовта. Всичко останало хората са го доизмислили впоследствие, за да се опазят от баналното..." И не съм съгласна не защото ми се ще да си мисля нещо друго, а защото от опит знам, че важи точно обратното. Не в някакъв идеален, пожелателен план, а в най-практичната практика.
Нещо, за което съчувствам, но не намирам за неизбежно: "Понякога сте убедени, че вашият живот си е наистина ваш и ви се струва, че абсолютно ви принадлежи. Друг път ясно съзнавате, че той е само един от възможните ви животи. И всички останали в един момент започват да болят като внезапно набъбнали мехури по кожата."
Нещо, което, ни в клин, ни в ръкав, ми беше много приятно: описанието на почистването на пишещата машина.
"Изкарвах разни черни боклучета от дупчицата на всяка буква и след това отстрани почиствах иглата. И така внимателно буква по буква. Първо големите букви, след това малките, после цифрите и препинателните знаци. След това идваше ред на четчицата. Тя премахваше всичко, което останеше след игличката. А после настъпваше мигът на крайното удоволствие, слагах лист в машината и проверявах резултата. Буквите се появяваха ясни, чисти и отчетливи."
Русанка страхотно се сработва с тази авторка, преводът й се лее.
March 20, 2017
A female writer is suffering from writer's block. Through bizarre self-reflections and some questionable therapy sessions, she starts to analyse what is really wrong with her life.
Parts of the book are really entertaining. Her time spent watching "Edgar" in Baltimore through an online street view program and gives her opportunity to flex her creative muscles as she builds up a back story for him. Similarly, her indulgence of her therapist as she is made to go through a number of infantile exercises yet at the same time, tries to second-guess each of her sessions and spends far too much time working out her therapist's motives. Some of these events are seriously funny and were written in a convincing voice. There were a lot of problems with some of the plot events. The writer's period of silence really came out of nowhere and was obviously intended to be surprising. The root of the character's malaise is not particularly earth-shattering. A strained relationship with her mother, abandonment issues from her childhood and a husband that she cannot talk to. Basically, the usual suspects are simply revisited without anything new being written about.
Parts of the book are really entertaining. Her time spent watching "Edgar" in Baltimore through an online street view program and gives her opportunity to flex her creative muscles as she builds up a back story for him. Similarly, her indulgence of her therapist as she is made to go through a number of infantile exercises yet at the same time, tries to second-guess each of her sessions and spends far too much time working out her therapist's motives. Some of these events are seriously funny and were written in a convincing voice. There were a lot of problems with some of the plot events. The writer's period of silence really came out of nowhere and was obviously intended to be surprising. The root of the character's malaise is not particularly earth-shattering. A strained relationship with her mother, abandonment issues from her childhood and a husband that she cannot talk to. Basically, the usual suspects are simply revisited without anything new being written about.
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