About the book
This collection of Šeligo’s short prose consists of seven short stories and novellas published between 1968 and 1995. Among them is the novella “Februar” (”February”), which was written already around 1960, when the term “reism” (reizem) was coined for this prose style. In the story “Vigilija ali konec vajenske dobe pesnikove” (A vigil or the end of the poet’s apprenticeship period), a late night drive through isolated terrain near Davča leads to a witches’ Sabbath in a clearing in the woods. “Abba,” a story set down by a prison inmate, ends suddenly with the description of the writing itself. These, as well as stories such as “Hleb” (A loaf of bread), “Razlika na ostrini noža” (The difference in the sharpness of the knife), and “Rešnja podoba” (A redemptive image), are impressive and very hermetic stories that bring to mind Kafka and Borges in that the references, temporal and spatial moorings are difficult to pin down. The indeterminacy of the vague and sombre settings, and the ever-recurring nightmarish landscapes, demand utmost concentration from the reader. Andrej Inkret dubbed these texts apocrypha, but at the same time also legends, before finally settling on “literature of an extraordinary form.” The volume closes with the rather autobiographical novella “Uslišani spomin” (Granted memory), which describes the arduous path of young Timotej Vidrih of Jesenice, his discovery of music, his learning to play the trombone, and the subsequent playing that ultimately leads to joys and the peaceful times of the old age, where he finds repose in the receptive delights of music. The two afterwords are by Andrej Inkret, originally published in the volume Molčanje (Remaining silent), and by Aleksander Zorn, who writes on Rudi Šeligo’s short prose.
Edited by: Andrej Blatnik
Afterword: Andrej Inkret, Aleksander Zorn
Pages: 151
Price: 10,00 EUR
