Roman o Londonu 2

by Miloš Crnjanski

U "Romanu o Londonu" Crnjanski se vraća velikoj temi svojih 'seoba': temi emigracije, sudbini ljudi bez otadžbine. Istorija ume da čudno i ironično upravlja ljudskim sudbinama. Glavna ličnost ovog romana više nije Vuk Isaković, koji odlazi u Rusiju, već Ruski knez Rjepnin, čije Seobe počinju 1917. godine, odlaskom iz Rusije, da se posle Drugog svetskog rata završe u Londonu, "toj ogromnoj, varoši čiji je zagrljaj bio smrtonosan za toliko ljudi i žena" jer je sa njima stigla i ta neobična, strašna zima, koja je trajala mesecima...

307 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Miloš Crnjanski (in Serbian Cyrillic: Милош Црњански, pronounced [mîlɔʃ t͡srɲǎnskiː]) was a poet of the expressionist wing of Serbian modernism, author, and a diplomat. He initially wrote poetry but later turned to prose fiction and drama, as well. He wrote about his disillusionment, the futility of war and the destruction of his country.

Crnjanski was born in Csongrád, present day Hungary in 1893. His father was a municipal notary. The family moved to Temesvár (now Timisoara in Romania), where he grew up in a Serbian environment, favouring Serbian nationalism. After high school, he studied in Rijeka and then Vienna. After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, he was persecuted like other Serbs and then drafted into the army to fight the Russians. He was wounded in 1915, spending time in a hospital in Vienna. He was later sent back to the Italian front. He then studied art history and philosophy in Vienna and graduated from the University of Belgrade, where he had edited the student newspaper. He later worked as a teacher, a newspaper editor and an embassy press attaché in Berlin and then in the Yugoslav Embassy in Rome. He also worked as reporter in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. In World War II, he escaped to London, where he remained after the war, becoming a British citizen. He worked in Hatchards, the bookshop, while his wife sewed dolls dresses for Harrods. He returned to Belgrade, Serbia in 1965, where he died in 1977.

Reviews

[Pavle Živković · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nakon čitanja ovakvih knjiga se jesnostavno "drhti". Spora za čitanje, ali za mene najbolji Crnjanski.

[Maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tragična sudbina jednog ruskog princa, aristokrate, u sivom, sivom Londonu; u svetu gde nema mesta za emigrante, nepovodljive, koji gaje poštovanje prema svojoj časti, svojim uverenjima i zemlji.

Roman prati postepeno gašenje jedne životne iskre. Roman prati osobenjaka, romantika, koji se samo zbog svoje žene, trudio, i ponižavao; koji je patio za prošlošću, i koji je bio oličenje nečeg starog što ne može, ne može da se prilagodi onom novom. Novoj sredini.

Rjepnin je čovek ponosan, čovek dostojanstven, koji odbija svaku vrstu pomoći od onih, koji se ne drže morala; samim tim, odbija maltene svaku vrstu pomoći, i, propada. A propada i njegova voljena, lepa, mlađa žena, Nađa, koja šije i prodaje lutke kako bi oni preživeli; jer, Rjepnin uvek završi sa otpusnicom, pre ili kasnije.

U borbi za opstanak, Rjepnin gubi borbu za život. On prestaje da vidi radost, i boje. Za njega, sve gubi smisao. Samo ga Nađa, i ljubav i poštovanje prema njoj, održavaju na površini.
Ni je sluti da je trudna.


„Kao mravi, gomile su hitale, ćutke, na posao, a hiljade i hiljade lica prolazila, kao maske, u nekom ludilu…Život je uvek isti. Ustaje se, trči na stanicu, stoji se, slepljeno, tesno u vozu, pa se izlazi, automatski, iz podzemlja u Londonu. Nemo. Trči se u neki podrum, a vraća uveče, posle rada, četrdeset godina tako…Otkud to u Engleskoj? Otkud toliki pokojnici, milioni pokojnika koji u Engleskoj govore i šapuću?“.

[Minato · Rating 4 out of 5]

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