tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932429135630556215.post3608924346540702680..comments2024-02-26T13:12:10.143-05:00Comments on Lizok's Bookshelf: Crossing Over: Zhadan’s VoroshilovgradLisa C. Haydenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139281544357167953noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932429135630556215.post-66903087955356472892015-04-16T08:48:21.106-04:002015-04-16T08:48:21.106-04:00I've read only bits of his poetry but the nove...I've read only bits of his poetry but the novel (in the Russian translation, at any rate) is often very lyrical. Lisa C. Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10139281544357167953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932429135630556215.post-53191746714595184832015-04-16T03:46:17.043-04:002015-04-16T03:46:17.043-04:00- You lead an active social life , managing to pub...- You lead an active social life , managing to publish new novels , writing poems . How do you do it ?<br />Zhadan<br />- Time we all have a lot. Just not everyone has the desire to work. I write always and everywhere. Computer with me constantly . Because rather spend most of his life on the road , then compose often at airports or train stations.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932429135630556215.post-8390681668159990322015-04-16T03:39:23.674-04:002015-04-16T03:39:23.674-04:00Very good poetry .Very good poetry .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932429135630556215.post-38999738337846562742012-12-22T20:04:39.632-05:002012-12-22T20:04:39.632-05:00Understood! (Sometimes I wish there were "agr...Understood! (Sometimes I wish there were "agree" buttons or something similar on here...) Lisa C. Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10139281544357167953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932429135630556215.post-89598922540930247732012-12-21T14:18:06.374-05:002012-12-21T14:18:06.374-05:00I agree that the book is very competent and compul...I agree that the book is very competent and compulsively readable. But every once in a while I run across something like the following and feel a little silly:<br />"Bони ніби зрослись між собою, так і йдучи — з двома головами на плечах, з двома серцями у грудях і з двома смертями про запас."<br />"Они какбы срослись между собой, так и идя — с друмя головами на плечах, с двумя сердцами в грудях, и с двумя смертями про запас." (Ch. 2, quick translation)Alexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932429135630556215.post-3010945453112953042012-12-21T09:47:31.705-05:002012-12-21T09:47:31.705-05:00Alex, thank you for your comment... I'd hoped ...Alex, thank you for your comment... I'd hoped to hear from you about your impressions of <i>Voroshilovgrad</i>. I can definitely understand having doubts about your reading: I have them all the time when I read, too but in this case, the book kept sucking me back in. I've never spent time in this part of Ukraine (I've been to Kiev a few times but that's it), but I still had similar feelings to yours, perhaps because the blend of reality and irreality felt similar to what I've experienced in Russia. The lyricism didn't bother me at all, in fact I thought it fit nicely, probably because I remember finding beauty and kindness in the midst of some very chaotic times. That contrast has really stayed with me... and is probably why the book felt like such a full-on experience for me. Lisa C. Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10139281544357167953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7932429135630556215.post-20535094935655067722012-12-20T21:53:19.702-05:002012-12-20T21:53:19.702-05:00I'm still trying to find time to finish V. in ...I'm still trying to find time to finish V. in the original. It's a strange book, not the least because I'm originally from Donetsk and spent a lot of summers in the rough area where the book is set. I know how an Ikarus moves and smells. I've been in city parks where the last functioning attraction is the dive bar (and, possibly, the тир). So far, the novel occupies an uneasy place between "yeah, but so what" and a weird feeling of deja vu, interrupted with occasional misplaced lyricism. By way of comparison, I can read Makanin's Андерграунд for the novelty, but I can't quite identify why I'm reading this.Alexnoreply@blogger.com