Dr. Sefer

by Ewa Lipska, Ad van Rijsewijk (Translator)

Dokter Jan Sefer, een zonderlinge psychotherapeut met een grote liefde voor muziek en literatuur, woont in Wenen. Naarmate hij ouder wordt, confronteert zijn vader hem met telkens terugkerende herinneringen uit de oorlogstijd in Krakow, de periode voor hij naar Wenen verhuisde.Op aandringen van zijn vrienden reist Dr. Sefer naar het voor hem onbekende Krakow.

134 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Ewa Lipska, born October 8, 1945, in Kraków is a Polish poet from the generation of the Polish "New Wave." Collections of her verse have been translated into English, Czech, Danish, Dutch, German and Hungarian. She lives in Vienna and Kraków.

The Adam Mickiewicz Institute commented: "While her verse may have some connections with politics, it always documents concrete personal experiences without reaching for grand generalizations. As it unmasks the language of propaganda, her poetry also indicates the weaknesses of language in general as an instrument of human perception and communication"

Reviews

[Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually I read the English translation of this, but that's not in the Goodreads database. Review to follow...

[Vivian Zenari · Rating 5 out of 5]

God, I love this book. I don't know what it is. Perhaps the tiny units (not really chapters) are like little jewels strung on an assymetrical necklace. Perhaps I harbouring a fantasy of a cultured Central Europe that this book fulfills. I liked not knowing what was going to happen next and ultimately not caring too much what happens next but savouring the moment at the place I was at. I just loved it.