I received this book free in return for a review.
Short stories are not my favourite form of literature, but I thought I would like to give this collection a try.
I assume that “Harables” means “Haidji´s parables”, but of course I don´t know.
The author writes simply, clearly and imaginatively about the world of sensitive, dreamy young people.
The stories are written in a unique and creative style.
One little girl says “srugar” instead of “sugar”, because she finds the word “srugar” beautiful and the word “sugar” boring. Her mother presses her to say the word “correctly”, but she refuses. She does things her own way.
These are not superficial stories, but require to be read closely and perhaps re-read in order to get the most out of them, to grasp what Haidji is trying to teach us.
“Hot chocolate” is about an orphan called Lisa. It was her birthday, and she was afraid her colleagues would not remember or did not know this. But they did remember, and Lisa learns that “Family is not overrated. Sometimes, you just need to find out who your real family is, who shares your dreams and reads your wishes”. “Trust is a basic element to survive in the world, and one of the fundamental ways to happiness.”
Some of the stories, like “The name of dreams”, I find quite challenging. Kelsey loved autumn and snow and heard the call of the magic White Mountain. Richard fulfilled other persons´ dreams but forgot his own ones. We are told that “one day, because the Earth makes all its effort to put persons with common dreams together, they will meet each other".
The name for Kelsey´s dreams was the “White Mountain”. Richard was looking for someone who shared the same dreams. But he feared that Kelsey perhaps was a dream thief.
In fact, most of the stories are somewhat challenging, and all have messages. “When something belongs to you, it comes back to you, even if you move forward, even if you give up or try to replace it. It comes back.”
Or,
“Sometimes life is just like it is:
A beautiful chaotic construction made by dreams, deceptions and small miracles.”
I would recommend this small collection of stories to those who are young at heart, dreamy and imaginative, or need to be more so, The stories are about dreams, ideals, perhaps illusions, and have an innocent and pure feel to them.