What do you think?
Rate this book
Landscape Painted with Tea
By the author of the highly acclaimed literary bestseller Dictionary of the Khazars, this is a tale of a mysterious quest that is part modern Odyssey and part crossword puzzle. It begins with the story of a brilliant but failed architect in Belgrade and his search for his father, an officer who vanished in Greece during World War II.
The truth about his fate--some of it set in motion 2,000 years ago and some of it by the Nazis--is raveled in the history and secrets of Mount Athos, the most ancient of all monasteries, perched atop its inaccessible mountain on the Aegean.
The truth about his fate--some of it set in motion 2,000 years ago and some of it by the Nazis--is raveled in the history and secrets of Mount Athos, the most ancient of all monasteries, perched atop its inaccessible mountain on the Aegean.
356 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
About the author
Milorad Pavić
181 books524 followersMilorad Pavić was a Serbian poet, prose writer, translator, and literary historian.
Pavić wrote five novels which were translated into English: Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel, Landscape Painted With Tea, Inner Side of the Wind, Last Love in Constantinople and Unique Item as well as many short stories not in English translation.
Pavić wrote five novels which were translated into English: Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel, Landscape Painted With Tea, Inner Side of the Wind, Last Love in Constantinople and Unique Item as well as many short stories not in English translation.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
September 8, 2019
The present and the past, generation gaps, religion and faith, relationships of sexes: Landscape Painted with Tea consists of heterogeneous fragments and they don’t add up into the whole smoothly…
And like a crossword it doesn’t strive after having much sense… It is an effervescent play of mind… It resembles a sort of some talking tree…
“…any virtue is just a way station between two vices.” – Probably this is the quintessence of the story…
Or perhaps simply this: “He took along just one family icon John the Baptist Shaving His Chopped Off Head.”
This style of the Slavic magical realism rather resembles surrealism with a strong flavor of absurdist comedy…
But as the water in a cup is after all similar to the water in the sea so any tale, however surreal it may seem, is in some degree similar to reality.
This novel can indeed be read in the same way that one does a crossword. Across here, down there, a name here, a surname there…
And like a crossword it doesn’t strive after having much sense… It is an effervescent play of mind… It resembles a sort of some talking tree…
I like the talking tree best; it alone bears a double fruit, and on it one can distinguish between quiet and silence. For a man with a heart full of silence and a man with a heart full of quiet cannot be alike…
“…any virtue is just a way station between two vices.” – Probably this is the quintessence of the story…
Or perhaps simply this: “He took along just one family icon John the Baptist Shaving His Chopped Off Head.”
This style of the Slavic magical realism rather resembles surrealism with a strong flavor of absurdist comedy…
But as the water in a cup is after all similar to the water in the sea so any tale, however surreal it may seem, is in some degree similar to reality.
Read
December 30, 2019This book opens like your standard novel of a Serbian middle aged architect's life falling apart and his road trip to Mount Athos to search for his father who disappeared during the second world war with your usual division of men into either cenobites (sociable, communal, and adherents of Jesus Christ) or idiorrhythmics (solitary, generally hermits, and devotees of the Virgin Mary) . Although these are the two fundamental varieties of monks, this division comes to be important in illuminating the architect Atanas Svilar's life and those of his contemporaries.
Then things start to get strange, as you are meant to solve a crossword puzzle to determine the order in which to read the remaining two-thirds of the book. Indeed what else could one expect from the author of Dictionary of the Khazars? Reading through in a linear fashion doesn't particularly help since the central chapters could be rearranged and read in a variety of different orders.
The dislocation I feel brings the central character divide into the cenobitic and idiorrhythmic into sharper relief. The implication is that each character will always run true. Through parallel stories in historical myth the same dramas can be repeated to reinforce the same fable.
The text seems rich in folklore, whether general or the free invention of the author I can not say, although in the case of the man who remarks on how many days it will be before he can sleep with a woman after his penis has been urinated on I can only hope that the degree of personal experience involved was minimal .
Then things start to get strange, as you are meant to solve a crossword puzzle to determine the order in which to read the remaining two-thirds of the book. Indeed what else could one expect from the author of Dictionary of the Khazars? Reading through in a linear fashion doesn't particularly help since the central chapters could be rearranged and read in a variety of different orders.
The dislocation I feel brings the central character divide into the cenobitic and idiorrhythmic into sharper relief. The implication is that each character will always run true. Through parallel stories in historical myth the same dramas can be repeated to reinforce the same fable.
The text seems rich in folklore, whether general or the free invention of the author I can not say, although in the case of the man who remarks on how many days it will be before he can sleep with a woman after his penis has been urinated on I can only hope that the degree of personal experience involved was minimal .
May 31, 2019
DOWNWARD --> fate
<< You know, I've had a feeling for a long time. A perfectly ordinary feeling, which maybe most people have. I'm walking, but I simply can't pace my steps properly, or measure my stride; I keep hitting against somebody's heel. I try to be careful, but somebody's heel keeps getting in my way. Lying in wait, it's forever leaping out right in front of my toes. As though the toes, apart from their own heel in the back, always have to have somebody's else heel in front, too. Whose, I wonder. Maybe it's the Achilles' heel, where we are vulnerable, not our own but somebody's else heel, the heel that forever waits ahead of our toes to slow down our walk, shorten our every step...As though one has to step on somebody's else heel in order to be able to walk at all, to move forward. And our Alexander, you know, maybe he never came upon a heel. That's why he left so quickly...>>
CROSSWAY --> story
<< There is only one piece of advice I can give you. Live for today. That will place you on a par with everybody else. Because all of us are really always dead to our tomorrow. There is no us in this tomorrow, as though we had never even been born; we are buried in tomorrow's day as if it were a moving grave, which shifts through time and flees in front of us, always postponing the final outcome for another twentyfour hours. And then, one day, we catch up with it, with tomorrow's day. And that tomorrow, where we are not, where we have never been before, crosses over and moves into our today. And that is the end of everything. There is no more tomorrow. Think of all of us who are in the same position and you will see where you are yourself... >>
to be continued...
<< You know, I've had a feeling for a long time. A perfectly ordinary feeling, which maybe most people have. I'm walking, but I simply can't pace my steps properly, or measure my stride; I keep hitting against somebody's heel. I try to be careful, but somebody's heel keeps getting in my way. Lying in wait, it's forever leaping out right in front of my toes. As though the toes, apart from their own heel in the back, always have to have somebody's else heel in front, too. Whose, I wonder. Maybe it's the Achilles' heel, where we are vulnerable, not our own but somebody's else heel, the heel that forever waits ahead of our toes to slow down our walk, shorten our every step...As though one has to step on somebody's else heel in order to be able to walk at all, to move forward. And our Alexander, you know, maybe he never came upon a heel. That's why he left so quickly...>>
CROSSWAY --> story
<< There is only one piece of advice I can give you. Live for today. That will place you on a par with everybody else. Because all of us are really always dead to our tomorrow. There is no us in this tomorrow, as though we had never even been born; we are buried in tomorrow's day as if it were a moving grave, which shifts through time and flees in front of us, always postponing the final outcome for another twentyfour hours. And then, one day, we catch up with it, with tomorrow's day. And that tomorrow, where we are not, where we have never been before, crosses over and moves into our today. And that is the end of everything. There is no more tomorrow. Think of all of us who are in the same position and you will see where you are yourself... >>
to be continued...
November 1, 2020
Un libro muy complejo y difícil de catalogar. El puntaje es por esa compleja elaboración y no por el placer que me produjo. Si en algún momento logro ordenar mis pensamientos al respecto, completaré una reseña digna.
Read
May 6, 2018Moj prvi susret sa Pavićevim delom je totalni fijasko...a još naglasih u biblioteci da mi daju nešto zgodno za početak... Ako je ovo zgodno, ne smem ni da pomislim šta će biti sa sledećom knjigom.
Elem, mislila sam da nema šanse da se dogodi da knjigu ostavim na pola, no, dogodilo se...(čak i policu "unfinished" otvorih). Koliko god da to ne volim, morala sam je napustiti...mučila me, mučila i ubila u pojam. A pošto želim da mi čitanje bude gušt i samo gušt, više ne pravim kompromise...tako da smo se lepo razišle.
Ne mogu da dam nikakav suvisao komentar, osim da, očigledno, gosopdina Pavića ne razumem.
Uprkos tome, želela bih bar pokušati da nešto njegovo pročitam (u celosti :D), pa molim da mi neko da predlog. Posle ovoga sam navukla traume i ne usuđujem se dohvatiti Hazarski rečnik...još ne.
Elem, mislila sam da nema šanse da se dogodi da knjigu ostavim na pola, no, dogodilo se...(čak i policu "unfinished" otvorih). Koliko god da to ne volim, morala sam je napustiti...mučila me, mučila i ubila u pojam. A pošto želim da mi čitanje bude gušt i samo gušt, više ne pravim kompromise...tako da smo se lepo razišle.
Ne mogu da dam nikakav suvisao komentar, osim da, očigledno, gosopdina Pavića ne razumem.
Uprkos tome, želela bih bar pokušati da nešto njegovo pročitam (u celosti :D), pa molim da mi neko da predlog. Posle ovoga sam navukla traume i ne usuđujem se dohvatiti Hazarski rečnik...još ne.
September 22, 2019
Ovo je roman koji ti se sviđa ili se ne pronađeš u ovom stilu pisanja. Jezik romana je toliko melodičan da je mene najpre to oduševilo. A onda specifičan tok radnje, stil pisanja i sami kraj.
August 31, 2021
This gorgeous edition has been on my shelves since I very first started collecting books for what I called my Around the World challenge in 2012. It's just never stopped. But in my focus on Europe in 2021, I have a shelf of books like this that have been with me an unread for too long.
Set in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, at least in part, the story starts with an architect in search of his father, an officer who vanished in Greece during World War II. This journey takes him to Mount Athos and quickly turns into a lot of italicized portions detailing dreams, stories, myths, fables, etc. I've dropped this book a lot as it drifted me off to sleep.
The second half is based on a crossword with esoteric segments that vary between raunchy and mystical and frankly gave me a huge headache. I can tell this author thinks highly of myself but it took me since January to force my way through it. The conclusion is so ridiculous and annoying, well can you tell what I think of this book.
Set in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, at least in part, the story starts with an architect in search of his father, an officer who vanished in Greece during World War II. This journey takes him to Mount Athos and quickly turns into a lot of italicized portions detailing dreams, stories, myths, fables, etc. I've dropped this book a lot as it drifted me off to sleep.
The second half is based on a crossword with esoteric segments that vary between raunchy and mystical and frankly gave me a huge headache. I can tell this author thinks highly of myself but it took me since January to force my way through it. The conclusion is so ridiculous and annoying, well can you tell what I think of this book.
September 6, 2021
Люблю подібні книжки, коли спочатку читаючи захоплюєшся майстерн��стю автора і тим наскільки тонкі та витончені його думки, а через декілька сторінок дивуєшся: "як узагалі і чому таке безглуздя могло прийти комусь на думку". З книжкою Милорада Павича подібне я відчувала не раз і не два.
Книжка складається з двох частин-романів, які розповідають нам про долю одного й того ж головного героя - архітектора Афанасія Свілара. Ці частини не є продовженням одне одного, а розповідають про те як могло б скластися життя Свілара, якщо змінити декілька основоположних чинників.
Обидва романи мають дуже цікаву структуру та ідею написання. Перша частина - "Маленький нічний роман" - це два романи в одному: паралельно з розповіддю про пошуки Свілара, ми дізнаємося історію гори Афон. У другій частині - "Романі для любителів кросвордів" - потрібно розгадати кросворд і для того щоб це зробити, автор пропонує два варіанти: читати глави тільки по вертикалі і читати глави тільки по горизонталі. Я вибрала третій спосіб - читати одразу і по вертикалі, і по горизонталі, тобто так як зазвичай заповнюю кросворди. Якщо читати "Пейзаж, намальований чаєм" у такий спосіб - ви матимете змогу познайомитися з усіма історіями, які містить другий роман, а також ризикуєте заплутатись в частинках цих різних історій, які подані у випадковому порядку. Я, на щастя, не заплуталась, хоча ця особливість трохи гальмувала швидкість читання книжки.
У цілому ця книга про зв'язок поколінь, взаємовідносини людини з оточуючими у бідності та багатстві, трохи тут є про кохання та багато про релігію. Милорад Павич залишає у своєму тексті багато прихованого, і читачу потрібно розшифрувати той сенс, який автор вкладає у вуста своїх персонажів. Не скажу, що всюди впоралась і все розшифрувала.
Читати "Пейзаж, намальований чаєм" однозначно варто, щоб познайомитися з одним з найяскравіших представників постмодернізму і магічного реалізму XX століття - Милорадом Павичем. Проте, раджу читати тільки в тому випадку, коли дійсно любиш книжки, в яких присутній магічний реалізм.
Книжка складається з двох частин-романів, які розповідають нам про долю одного й того ж головного героя - архітектора Афанасія Свілара. Ці частини не є продовженням одне одного, а розповідають про те як могло б скластися життя Свілара, якщо змінити декілька основоположних чинників.
Обидва романи мають дуже цікаву структуру та ідею написання. Перша частина - "Маленький нічний роман" - це два романи в одному: паралельно з розповіддю про пошуки Свілара, ми дізнаємося історію гори Афон. У другій частині - "Романі для любителів кросвордів" - потрібно розгадати кросворд і для того щоб це зробити, автор пропонує два варіанти: читати глави тільки по вертикалі і читати глави тільки по горизонталі. Я вибрала третій спосіб - читати одразу і по вертикалі, і по горизонталі, тобто так як зазвичай заповнюю кросворди. Якщо читати "Пейзаж, намальований чаєм" у такий спосіб - ви матимете змогу познайомитися з усіма історіями, які містить другий роман, а також ризикуєте заплутатись в частинках цих різних історій, які подані у випадковому порядку. Я, на щастя, не заплуталась, хоча ця особливість трохи гальмувала швидкість читання книжки.
У цілому ця книга про зв'язок поколінь, взаємовідносини людини з оточуючими у бідності та багатстві, трохи тут є про кохання та багато про релігію. Милорад Павич залишає у своєму тексті багато прихованого, і читачу потрібно розшифрувати той сенс, який автор вкладає у вуста своїх персонажів. Не скажу, що всюди впоралась і все розшифрувала.
Читати "Пейзаж, намальований чаєм" однозначно варто, щоб познайомитися з одним з найяскравіших представників постмодернізму і магічного реалізму XX століття - Милорадом Павичем. Проте, раджу читати тільки в тому випадку, коли дійсно любиш книжки, в яких присутній магічний реалізм.
September 2, 2012
You might ask yourself: "Isn't it a bit too much to expect, that a reader should become an author at the very end of the book?" - "Would it be too much to expect a person solving crossword puzzles to make use of a pencil?" While possibly a poor translation of the Serbian original, the quote should suffice as a glimpse into the unique relationship the book and it's characters have with the reader (while certainly no metafiction). In fact, it is the first novel which made me pick up a pencil and underline every gem in the narrative pavement that appealed to me poetically, logically or linguistically - resulting in a rather scribbled copy. The amount of fatigue and capricious mistreatment your mind may suffer through the baroque mirror-maze of interwoven imagery is a possible turn off, but it is also a guarantee of quality literature which has had a fair amount of fatigue result from it on behalf of the author in the name of art. If you're the type of reader, that does not care for innovative narrative techniques, originality in style or a treasury of expression, this book (or any other of the same author) will definitely teach you to.
February 29, 2024
Uh, sad bih mu keca zalepio...kao i sve što je pisao, nije mogao da piše a da njegov tekst ne pređe do samog kraja u takav manirizam i toliko karikaturalno počne da zvuči da je to bogu plakati što bi se reklo.
Ispravniji naslov za ovu knjigu bio bi: "predeo slikan levim jajem."
Ispravniji naslov za ovu knjigu bio bi: "predeo slikan levim jajem."
January 15, 2013
Hmmmm. I wanted to like this book more. The author is a poet and it shows. This book is densely packed with arresting images, entertaining descriptions and entirely unpredictable events. I don't mind a disjointed plot, twisted time sequences, and surrealism in general, but by the end, I just didn't care anymore. While it was sometimes beautifully written and always inventive, the last third of the book or so I found I was having to force myself to get back to it, as the author seemed to become lost in the mire of his own creativity. Entertaining on one level, frustrating on another. Don't expect a plot. I even hesitate to call this a novel, but rather, half a novel with a series of loosely connected short story/prose poem/ chapters attached. If you love to observe someone play with words and language, I recommend it. If story comes first, you might want to pass or consider it a book for browsing.
January 30, 2018
Knees Need To Read, Thumbs Only Twiddle
As exceptional Serbian author, Milorad Pavic always says, "The future always starts from the large intestine." This may be taken as either prophecy or advice. In either case, you should begin the rest of your future by getting ahold of this novel. Of course, as he says, "Whoever wants the second half of life has to remain in the first half of everything else." Let's hope this does not mean your large intestine. But if we concentrate on Pavic' story, rather than on his aphorisms, I think we can quickly conclude the dude is a genius, though one who is not easily understood. What can we say about a heroine who falls in love with you, the reader ? The protagonist with several pasts has several futures too. He is a Yugoslav architect whose designs are never built, but in one future he builds exact replicas of Tito's luxury palaces in the New World. His father was a Yugoslav soldier who disappeared in Greece, or else he was a Russian mathematician who could shovel snow extremely well. The hero winds up extremely rich, but lonely. Or maybe extremely lonely, but rich. Does it have to do with those people who like to work in sync with others or those who prefer to be lone wolves ? Pasts intersect and divide, the future is over though it hasn't started either. Yes, you will dig the leaping non-sequiturs that lead to larger truths or else you will be left scratching your head. Hey, if you always admired Bob Dylan's great songs like "Subterranean Homesick Blues" or if you found Dali's paintings intriguing, you are going to grok this novel in all its fullness. If however, you want a linear, conventional book, forget this one completely.
"All readers of this book are entirely imaginary. Any resemblance to actual readers is coincidental." M. Pavic
So be warned.
When I was very little, I had a small purple stone which I swallowed. I never let on to anyone. I felt purple inside. So when I saw a purple stripe on the cover of this book in the library, I knew I would either read it or eat it. Now I can't remember what happened, but as a character exclaims in LANDSCAPE PAINTED WITH TEA, "In sleep, one doesn't age." The same is true with volumes in your stomach. Or was that `brain' ? You can read this book like a crossword puzzle---literally. The author took great pains in its construction, which recalls (Argentine author) Julio Cortazar in some bizarre way. I read the novel in the conventional fashion (or I ate it with a knife and fork) not because I have a stolid or military personality, as Pavic would claim, but because I admire turtles, who always take the shortest route to the pond. The Tajiks say that eels never swim towards the sun. The readers of this book will not wind up enlightened either, but they will be delighted by the author's wit and imagination. Or they will get a stomach ache.
As exceptional Serbian author, Milorad Pavic always says, "The future always starts from the large intestine." This may be taken as either prophecy or advice. In either case, you should begin the rest of your future by getting ahold of this novel. Of course, as he says, "Whoever wants the second half of life has to remain in the first half of everything else." Let's hope this does not mean your large intestine. But if we concentrate on Pavic' story, rather than on his aphorisms, I think we can quickly conclude the dude is a genius, though one who is not easily understood. What can we say about a heroine who falls in love with you, the reader ? The protagonist with several pasts has several futures too. He is a Yugoslav architect whose designs are never built, but in one future he builds exact replicas of Tito's luxury palaces in the New World. His father was a Yugoslav soldier who disappeared in Greece, or else he was a Russian mathematician who could shovel snow extremely well. The hero winds up extremely rich, but lonely. Or maybe extremely lonely, but rich. Does it have to do with those people who like to work in sync with others or those who prefer to be lone wolves ? Pasts intersect and divide, the future is over though it hasn't started either. Yes, you will dig the leaping non-sequiturs that lead to larger truths or else you will be left scratching your head. Hey, if you always admired Bob Dylan's great songs like "Subterranean Homesick Blues" or if you found Dali's paintings intriguing, you are going to grok this novel in all its fullness. If however, you want a linear, conventional book, forget this one completely.
"All readers of this book are entirely imaginary. Any resemblance to actual readers is coincidental." M. Pavic
So be warned.
When I was very little, I had a small purple stone which I swallowed. I never let on to anyone. I felt purple inside. So when I saw a purple stripe on the cover of this book in the library, I knew I would either read it or eat it. Now I can't remember what happened, but as a character exclaims in LANDSCAPE PAINTED WITH TEA, "In sleep, one doesn't age." The same is true with volumes in your stomach. Or was that `brain' ? You can read this book like a crossword puzzle---literally. The author took great pains in its construction, which recalls (Argentine author) Julio Cortazar in some bizarre way. I read the novel in the conventional fashion (or I ate it with a knife and fork) not because I have a stolid or military personality, as Pavic would claim, but because I admire turtles, who always take the shortest route to the pond. The Tajiks say that eels never swim towards the sun. The readers of this book will not wind up enlightened either, but they will be delighted by the author's wit and imagination. Or they will get a stomach ache.
September 24, 2020
if you are the kind of reader who loved Dictionary of Khazars, here is another exciting work of fiction from the same author, a book of histories and fables and mysterious dreams. A journey in search of meanings that open up more riddles.
March 11, 2020
https://yukioblogg.blogspot.com/2020/...
Уколико желите да ми поставите тешко питање питаћете да вам наведем десет или још теже, пет омиљених и најбољих књига које сам прочитао. Али ако желите да ми поставите лако питање питаћете да вам кажем која ми је омиљена књига. Укључити Андрића и Булгакова, случајно избацити Селимовића или Рота, двоумити се између Мишиме и Ишигура, случајно заборавити Ћопића и Малуфа, огрешити се о Михаиловића и Селинџера, патити што не могу да издејствујем место за Луа или Барика, заиста је тешко изабрати десет или пет. А онда је ту Павић и без проблема вам могу рећи да омиљена књига на постољу изнад других бесмртних књига, која лежи на полицама испод лаганог слоја прашине, носи име Предео сликан чајем.
„Постоје три Сунца- (...)- прво Сунце види све. Друго Сунце виде неке животиње, рецимо змија, а сва три Сунца виде само мртви...“
Предео сликан чајем се састоји из две књиге, две стварности, прошлости и бдућности, питања и одговора, светла и таме. Мали ноћни роман нам нуди лик Атанасија Свилара, неуспешног и непоштованог архитекте чији се пројекти не граде, који није извор надахнућа своме сину и жени, и друге књиге назива Роман за љубитеље укрштених речи који нам нуди успешну верзију архитекте који мења свој идентитет и своје име у Атанасије Разин, мења своју судбину у успешну, (ако је богатство и углед мера успеха ?), мења погледе на свет и место живљења. Лице и наличје једног живота, питања са датим одговорима, празна укрштеница са могућношћу избора животних решења. Ко жели да чита водоравно, а ко усправно, ко се креће праволинисјки линијом мањег отпора, а ко без логике срља из грешке у грешку, на том животном путу пуном трња? Потрага за одговорима за Свилара се налази у траговима изгубљеног оца, траговима који воде на Свету гору, али његова судбина није била у том језику, језику који захтева или да будеш самац или да будеш цењени архитекта. Потреба за одговорима нашла је своје место у промени језика, а промена језика изискивала је и промену места живљења и животних навика, а нове навике тражиле су и ново име, нову судбину, прошлост и будућност. Име није само збир вештачких словних знака, име даје други идентитет, друго тело.
„И тада је помислио на језике, на оне језике које су бесумучно учили у младости и заборављали двапут као Адам. А ти језици били су, у ствари, путоказ, једна од могућности да се изађе из зачараног круга самачког реда одређеног његовом нараштају. (...) Носећи једино те енглеске, руске, немачке и француске речи, које су сањали годинама, и које су могле капу окренути, они су узимали пасош и одлазили да постану оно што нису били и што нису моглипостати у свом језику: од самаца општежитељи, од идиоритмика кенобити.“
Грађевине без сенки добијају своје обличје са другим именом, а онај који је целог живота омаловажаван бива добродошао на пријему код председника. Гради своје виле у Америци по угледу на Бели двор, по угледу на летњиковце Бриона, по угледу на највећег наших народа и народности. И слика, слика пределе акварел четкицама на којима се уместо боје налазе нијансе разводњеног чаја копирајући Тита и његов раскош. Онај који је био неуспешан имао је крв и идеје, ватру у очима, искру у жилама, а овај успешни копира, бедна имитација живота. А та бедна имитација живота тражи нови препображај јер је западна цивилизација инфицирана злом, самоћом и усамљеносшћу, одсуством емпатије и алтруизма. А повратак тражи и старо име, тражи повратак на кладенац живота, извориште и прву искру, јер богатство нема моћ искупљења. Оно што је некада била мана, сада је жеља, самоћи од које је бежао, сада се раширених руку очекује, тој магловитој, али непробојној заштитници.
Бројне споредне приче уобличавају нам целокупни магијско реалистични концепт приче и то на начин типично павићевски са пуно мита, историје, прича са овога и онога света, неизбежне астрологије, чудесних љубави и прелаза идеја из сна у сан. Као да је из темеља Плаве џамије изашао текст који се винуо пут звезданог неба ка Сунцу и Месецу по нове мисли, обогаћене, божанске, да би се вратио кроз сјај звездане прашине равно до бунарске кофе бабе Витаче Милут и приказао нам се у виду решења укрштенице, као пун месец у води.
„Опколи ме милошћу својом, у сваком углу уста мојих по једна смрадна суза учи о чистој небеској сузи, која лечи. Ти си вечита, увек све млађа, ја нисам. И брзо ћеш заборавити ове речи којима ти се обраћам, а то су моје једине речи и других неће бити. Ти си млада и неискусна Богиња, а ја још увек сричем своје прве вереничке молитве Теби. Тек се учимо шта можемо да учинимо једно за друго. Услиши ме и посаветуј, јер сам сам, од мене и мог живота као Пилат, већ пере руке ракијом и онај што ме је створио, још ми је једино уздање у тебе. Искупи ме својом љубављу! Ја знам, ко спасе јунака приче, убија причу, али покушај да ми спасеш живот не убијајући своју причу. Непоштедно ратују пред твојим оком моје две душе, црна и бела, затворене у овај текст, који ја имам као што ти имаш свој једини живот. Ако својим погледом спречиш једну од мојих душа да не убије другу, онда мени не мораш подарити ништа, имаћу све. Ако заувек склопиш очи и ја нестајем заувек. Помисли да је ово наш једини сусрет пре тог страшног краја. И дозволи да бринем за тебе и због тебе, као што се брине због оних који су и наш живот.“
Уколико желите да ми поставите тешко питање питаћете да вам наведем десет или још теже, пет омиљених и најбољих књига које сам прочитао. Али ако желите да ми поставите лако питање питаћете да вам кажем која ми је омиљена књига. Укључити Андрића и Булгакова, случајно избацити Селимовића или Рота, двоумити се између Мишиме и Ишигура, случајно заборавити Ћопића и Малуфа, огрешити се о Михаиловића и Селинџера, патити што не могу да издејствујем место за Луа или Барика, заиста је тешко изабрати десет или пет. А онда је ту Павић и без проблема вам могу рећи да омиљена књига на постољу изнад других бесмртних књига, која лежи на полицама испод лаганог слоја прашине, носи име Предео сликан чајем.
„Постоје три Сунца- (...)- прво Сунце види све. Друго Сунце виде неке животиње, рецимо змија, а сва три Сунца виде само мртви...“
Предео сликан чајем се састоји из две књиге, две стварности, прошлости и бдућности, питања и одговора, светла и таме. Мали ноћни роман нам нуди лик Атанасија Свилара, неуспешног и непоштованог архитекте чији се пројекти не граде, који није извор надахнућа своме сину и жени, и друге књиге назива Роман за љубитеље укрштених речи који нам нуди успешну верзију архитекте који мења свој идентитет и своје име у Атанасије Разин, мења своју судбину у успешну, (ако је богатство и углед мера успеха ?), мења погледе на свет и место живљења. Лице и наличје једног живота, питања са датим одговорима, празна укрштеница са могућношћу избора животних решења. Ко жели да чита водоравно, а ко усправно, ко се креће праволинисјки линијом мањег отпора, а ко без логике срља из грешке у грешку, на том животном путу пуном трња? Потрага за одговорима за Свилара се налази у траговима изгубљеног оца, траговима који воде на Свету гору, али његова судбина није била у том језику, језику који захтева или да будеш самац или да будеш цењени архитекта. Потреба за одговорима нашла је своје место у промени језика, а промена језика изискивала је и промену места живљења и животних навика, а нове навике тражиле су и ново име, нову судбину, прошлост и будућност. Име није само збир вештачких словних знака, име даје други идентитет, друго тело.
„И тада је помислио на језике, на оне језике које су бесумучно учили у младости и заборављали двапут као Адам. А ти језици били су, у ствари, путоказ, једна од могућности да се изађе из зачараног круга самачког реда одређеног његовом нараштају. (...) Носећи једино те енглеске, руске, немачке и француске речи, које су сањали годинама, и које су могле капу окренути, они су узимали пасош и одлазили да постану оно што нису били и што нису моглипостати у свом језику: од самаца општежитељи, од идиоритмика кенобити.“
Грађевине без сенки добијају своје обличје са другим именом, а онај који је целог живота омаловажаван бива добродошао на пријему код председника. Гради своје виле у Америци по угледу на Бели двор, по угледу на летњиковце Бриона, по угледу на највећег наших народа и народности. И слика, слика пределе акварел четкицама на којима се уместо боје налазе нијансе разводњеног чаја копирајући Тита и његов раскош. Онај који је био неуспешан имао је крв и идеје, ватру у очима, искру у жилама, а овај успешни копира, бедна имитација живота. А та бедна имитација живота тражи нови препображај јер је западна цивилизација инфицирана злом, самоћом и усамљеносшћу, одсуством емпатије и алтруизма. А повратак тражи и старо име, тражи повратак на кладенац живота, извориште и прву искру, јер богатство нема моћ искупљења. Оно што је некада била мана, сада је жеља, самоћи од које је бежао, сада се раширених руку очекује, тој магловитој, али непробојној заштитници.
Бројне споредне приче уобличавају нам целокупни магијско реалистични концепт приче и то на начин типично павићевски са пуно мита, историје, прича са овога и онога света, неизбежне астрологије, чудесних љубави и прелаза идеја из сна у сан. Као да је из темеља Плаве џамије изашао текст који се винуо пут звезданог неба ка Сунцу и Месецу по нове мисли, обогаћене, божанске, да би се вратио кроз сјај звездане прашине равно до бунарске кофе бабе Витаче Милут и приказао нам се у виду решења укрштенице, као пун месец у води.
„Опколи ме милошћу својом, у сваком углу уста мојих по једна смрадна суза учи о чистој небеској сузи, која лечи. Ти си вечита, увек све млађа, ја нисам. И брзо ћеш заборавити ове речи којима ти се обраћам, а то су моје једине речи и других неће бити. Ти си млада и неискусна Богиња, а ја још увек сричем своје прве вереничке молитве Теби. Тек се учимо шта можемо да учинимо једно за друго. Услиши ме и посаветуј, јер сам сам, од мене и мог живота као Пилат, већ пере руке ракијом и онај што ме је створио, још ми је једино уздање у тебе. Искупи ме својом љубављу! Ја знам, ко спасе јунака приче, убија причу, али покушај да ми спасеш живот не убијајући своју причу. Непоштедно ратују пред твојим оком моје две душе, црна и бела, затворене у овај текст, који ја имам као што ти имаш свој једини живот. Ако својим погледом спречиш једну од мојих душа да не убије другу, онда мени не мораш подарити ништа, имаћу све. Ако заувек склопиш очи и ја нестајем заувек. Помисли да је ово наш једини сусрет пре тог страшног краја. И дозволи да бринем за тебе и због тебе, као што се брине због оних који су и наш живот.“
June 25, 2014
Brilliant, beautiful, weird, obtuse, and ultimately satisfying if you let it be what it is. If a novel is a road to somewhere and you occasionally look out the window, you'll hate this book. If the road is a means to experience things as they come then read this book. It takes a certain sense of whimsy, and a love of unusual language. If you like Marquez and Murakami, this is the deep end of the pool.
July 14, 2008
Each sentence is a pleasure to read
March 25, 2020
We all need more Pavic in our lives
September 30, 2023
Kome ne smeta pretjerano kitnjast jezik i nadrealizam većeg dijela teksta, čeka ga izuzetno zanimljiv i osvježavajući roman o preklapanju života i transgeneracijskoj traumi ispričan u inovativnom i beskrajno kreativnom formatu.
September 11, 2022
A strange book that I didn't really connect with very much, feels too gimmicky at times but it had parts that were interesting even if they didn't lead to good pay offs.
April 16, 2020
Not sure what to make of this puzzle!
This is my first pavic's work and instead of starting with the most famous Dictionary of the Khazar's I have started with this. I guess the title looked interesting or the fact that reading a novel in crossword sounded interesting for my ears. Probably both were the factors.
While the writer is gifted with his language - the striking imagery (reminding me of Hrabal), classical aphoristic dialogues, deep knowledge in various cultures and history and many more, he fell bland to me with his crossword meta techniques! I thoroughly enjoyed the first 100 pages, where we have the character named Svilar - an architect by profession - subject himself to strong introspection for his fruitless life. He was considered the best architectural mind by his peers and expected to shine in his field, but never any single of his plans made into concrete reality. This pressed him badly and he goes in search of the answer - through his never returned father from war - to mount athos.
And all along we are educated about the way of life for the monks there. About the solitaries and solidaries, their history, their profession, their faith and how they have had conflicts for centuries and what was the contemporary historical position when Svilar visits these monastery in athos.
The writer had me in hooks throughout these early parts. But once the character learns enough from the monks about his father, himself and his future course of action the books snaps shut and goes into a crossword mode!
This rather piquing my interest further, hampered the flow. As I progressed the zig zag way the crossword wanted me, with separate stories for the characters and themes involved, my interest dipped.
Still, the writer has to be appreciated for his ability in weaving stories. I loved most of the short tales (most of the chapter has some short tale in it) he came up with. Whether it helped the main story is another question.
Perhaps the tea lost its essence, as the story progressed making the water - which instead of layering it had overflowed and murdered it - surface more.
This is my first pavic's work and instead of starting with the most famous Dictionary of the Khazar's I have started with this. I guess the title looked interesting or the fact that reading a novel in crossword sounded interesting for my ears. Probably both were the factors.
While the writer is gifted with his language - the striking imagery (reminding me of Hrabal), classical aphoristic dialogues, deep knowledge in various cultures and history and many more, he fell bland to me with his crossword meta techniques! I thoroughly enjoyed the first 100 pages, where we have the character named Svilar - an architect by profession - subject himself to strong introspection for his fruitless life. He was considered the best architectural mind by his peers and expected to shine in his field, but never any single of his plans made into concrete reality. This pressed him badly and he goes in search of the answer - through his never returned father from war - to mount athos.
And all along we are educated about the way of life for the monks there. About the solitaries and solidaries, their history, their profession, their faith and how they have had conflicts for centuries and what was the contemporary historical position when Svilar visits these monastery in athos.
The writer had me in hooks throughout these early parts. But once the character learns enough from the monks about his father, himself and his future course of action the books snaps shut and goes into a crossword mode!
This rather piquing my interest further, hampered the flow. As I progressed the zig zag way the crossword wanted me, with separate stories for the characters and themes involved, my interest dipped.
Still, the writer has to be appreciated for his ability in weaving stories. I loved most of the short tales (most of the chapter has some short tale in it) he came up with. Whether it helped the main story is another question.
Perhaps the tea lost its essence, as the story progressed making the water - which instead of layering it had overflowed and murdered it - surface more.
December 28, 2021
Como examinar la sustancia misma de los sueños...
February 22, 2023
Το διάβασα άνετα παρόλο που ο τρόπος που είναι δομημένο μοιάζει με άλυτο παζλ.Από τη μέση και μετά ένιωσα αρκετές φορές την ιστορία να βαλτώνει, όμως κλείνοντας έμεινα με θετική εντύπωση. Η πρώτη μου απόπειρα να διαβάσω σερβική λογοτεχνία στέφθηκε με επιτυχία σε γενικές γραμμές, οπότε συνεχίζω στο ίδιο κλίμα.
3/5
3/5
March 7, 2018
Možda je dovoljno reći - to je Pavić! I tu zastati, osjetiti respekt. Tačno je da se radi o vrhunskom majstoru stila, jednom od onih autora koji je našu književnost učinio sjajnijom i većom. Tačno je da se radi o piscu čije su knjige složene i višedimenzionalne. I sve je to u redu. Ponekad se pitam od kud meni, običnom smrtniku, pravo da donosim bilo kakav sud o jednom ovakvom autoru.
Ipak, moguće je i to da je moja tinejdžerska oduševljenost "Hazarskim riječnikom" najzad popustila, kao i moje oduševljenje romanom "Poslednja ljubav u Carigradu". Ne znam. Probao sam da čitam ovaj roman na više načina. Iako mislim da se radi o pukom triku pripovjedača, mislio sam kako ću možda osjetiti neki zanos ako slijepo slijedim "upute", probao sam da ga čitam i kao "klasični" roman. I tačno je da ova knjiga obiluje takvim mnoštvom divnih pasaža, tolikom snagom simbolike izraza, tačno je da obiluje vrhunskim stilom pisanja... ali - ničim više. Zaista. Možda je do mene, nikad nisam volio ukrštenice, ako to ima bilo kakve veze, ipak, očekivao sam mnogo više od tek pukog stilskog nadmudrivanja i poetskih refernci. Osim što se Paviću zaista mora skinuti kapa na vrhunskom pisanju, na jednom besprekornom stilu, ovaj roman zapravo, ne sadrži apsolutno ništa više od toga. Kad bi me neki pisac početnik upitao za djelo koje opisuje riječi "književni stil", onda bih rekao - "Predeo slikan čajem", ali dalje od toga ne bih išao. I trojka je samo zato jer je "naš", ovo je tek puko navijanje, jer je knjiga u svojoj suštini tek jedna obična prazna školjka.
Ipak, moguće je i to da je moja tinejdžerska oduševljenost "Hazarskim riječnikom" najzad popustila, kao i moje oduševljenje romanom "Poslednja ljubav u Carigradu". Ne znam. Probao sam da čitam ovaj roman na više načina. Iako mislim da se radi o pukom triku pripovjedača, mislio sam kako ću možda osjetiti neki zanos ako slijepo slijedim "upute", probao sam da ga čitam i kao "klasični" roman. I tačno je da ova knjiga obiluje takvim mnoštvom divnih pasaža, tolikom snagom simbolike izraza, tačno je da obiluje vrhunskim stilom pisanja... ali - ničim više. Zaista. Možda je do mene, nikad nisam volio ukrštenice, ako to ima bilo kakve veze, ipak, očekivao sam mnogo više od tek pukog stilskog nadmudrivanja i poetskih refernci. Osim što se Paviću zaista mora skinuti kapa na vrhunskom pisanju, na jednom besprekornom stilu, ovaj roman zapravo, ne sadrži apsolutno ništa više od toga. Kad bi me neki pisac početnik upitao za djelo koje opisuje riječi "književni stil", onda bih rekao - "Predeo slikan čajem", ali dalje od toga ne bih išao. I trojka je samo zato jer je "naš", ovo je tek puko navijanje, jer je knjiga u svojoj suštini tek jedna obična prazna školjka.
May 8, 2020
Neviem, či som niekedy čítala knihu, ktorá by bola napísaná takým originálnym spôsobom ako táto. Pavić je virtuóz v hre so slovami. Až tak, že som po niektorých vetách ohromene otvárala ústa a nechápala som, ako mohol k takej myšlienke či k takému zdanlivo nezmyselnému, ale prekvapujúcemu až zarážajúcemu zoskupeniu slov prísť („... v to ráno, keď vietor jedol dážď“; „Svilarovi sa nedalo dohodnúť s ľuďmi, ktorí jedia kyslé mlieko nožom a obočie si češú vidličkou“; „nikdy neprichádzal október tak často ako tohto roku...“ atď. atď.). Pavić sa hrá s čitateľom a aj mňa úplne dostal (je ale pravda, že v osídlach jeho hry som sa miestami trochu strácala...). Hlavným hrdinom je neúspešný architekt Atanasije Svilar, ktorého bohatý príbeh, v ktorom celý čas zaujímavým spôsobom hľadá sám seba, sa prelína s mýtickým príbehom z 1.storočia o dvoch kastách pustovníkov symbolizujúcich ticho a mlčanie ako dva úplne odlišné svety... Kniha je plná rôznych postáv a postavičiek, niektoré sa len nakrátko mihnú, zmiznú a možno sa objavia neskôr v iných súvislostiach. Toto ma trochu miatlo, ale na druhej strane aj to bolo pre túto knihu príznačné a jedinečné. Nehovoriac o tom, že knihu môžete čítať nielen tradične „vodorovne“, ale aj „kolmo“. A nehovoriac o závere, aký som ešte nikdy nezažila ani v najmenšej podobe s týmto... Toto bol skrátka úžasný literárny koncert.
January 2, 2010
Kind of like Marquez in eastern Europe, this book switches off and on between playful, haunting, and tragic, and ends up just being downright cool in its characterization and narrative patterns which keep the reader delightfully engaged in spite of the heavy mystery that pervades many of the books most beautiful moments. The reader is asked at one point to fall in love with one of the characters, and the last two thirds of the book are arranged as a crossword puzzle. Worth the trip.
June 9, 2012
Najviša ocjena. Naš Milorad Pavić je poznatiji po Hazarskom Rječniku, ali mislim da je Predeo bolji. Knjigu sam čitao u avionu, pridremao, i neko mi mazno. Vala, neka mu, barem če pročitati nešto što valja.
April 17, 2015
Faute de pouvoir lui donner cinq étrons, je lui donne une étoile.
Pavic became internationally famous with his first novel "The Dictionary of the Khazars" which was written in the form of a dictionary or lexicon. "Landscape Painted with Tea", his second novel, is written in the form of a cross-word. He explains why on pages 186-187: "Why now introduce a new way of reading a book, instead of one that moves, like life, from beginning to end, from birth to death? The answer is simple: because any new way of reading that goes against the matrix of time which pulls us toward death, is a futile but honest effort to resist this inexorability of one's fate in literature at least, if not in reality."
This would seem to be an excellent reason for adopting such an unusual format if indeed it is the true reason for in fact Pavic spends most of the book pulling the reader's leg. Like the "Dictionary of the Khazars", "Landscape Painted with Tea" is full of enigmas, jokes, paradoxes and aphorisms that that are reminiscent of Gabriel Marquez's magic realism. Pavic leaves the fourth to second last pages of the novel blank so that the reader can contribute to the work. On the very last page, he reveals that the Crossword revealed is a message from the heroine to the reader in which the heroine declares her love for the reader.
Some readers will likely be delighted as the "Landscape Painted with Tea" does indeed try very hard to provide the same pleasures as "The Dictionary of the Khazars." I was not one of them. The gags often did work with me. Having already read Tristam Shandy I was familiar with the device of an author leaving blank pages in a novel for the reader to complete. Enough of them did work however that I was able to get through the work.
My reason for not liking "Landscaped Painted with Tea" is that none of the literary trickery contributes to the central theme of the novel which is the difficulty of finding a vocation in life in communist central Europe during the second half of the twentieth century. In this way "Landscape Painted with Tea" deals with the same themes as Milan Kundera's "Unbearable Lightness of Being" but not nearly as effectively.
The hero Antas Svilar is a Serb living in the 1970s or 1980s is the former country of Yugoslavia. He is a failed architect who has never been able to obtain commissions. His great dream had been to build a palatial summer residence for Joseph Broz (a.k.a Tito). Having concluded that he will never be an architect, Svilar decides to find out what happened to his father who disappeared at some point during World War II. He discovers the truth at Mount Athos which is a tiny Monastic state on a peninsula connected to Greece that has been a major centre for Orthodox monasteries since the seventh century. At Mount Athos, Svilar learns that his Father had been a Chetnik (i.e. a member of a Royalist resistance group)who had fled to Mount Athos hoping to be sheltered. When the Germans discover he is there, the Monks hand him over to be executed.
The Serbian or Yugoslavian reader understands that had the Russians or Tito found him they also would have executed him. In other words the father had been the target of both the major totalitarian factions (communism and fascism) while the great historical institution of Western Civilization, the Christian Church, failed in its role as protector of the persecuted.
Learning the story of his father, Svilar sets off an another trajectory which will take up the final two thirds of the novel. Svilar divorces his wife when he falls in love with a married woman. His new love divorces her husband and marries Svilar The two leave for California where Svilar will become a millionaire and continue to dream about building his place for Tito which he will never do.
The first major problem with "Landscaped Painted with Tea" is that the nature of the love affair between Svilar and his second wife is nothing but a lifeless concept. The reader feels no chemistry between the lovers and is given no reason for the attraction that the two feel for each other. Their lover affair appears to be simply one more failure in a world where all the characters simply hurtle towards their own dooms.
The second major problem with "Landscaped Painted with Tea" is that Svilar who appears to have live his entire life in Yugoslavia currently Serbia has rather odd notions about America and the lives of European Slavs who went there following WWII. I have spent sixty years talking to Poles, Serbs, Czechs, Slovaks, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Croats and Macedonians who chose to resettle in America. I have never met one that in any way resembles Svilar. Joseph Skvorecky and Milan Kundera come to mind as two writers who in contrast did wonderful jobs describing the emigrant experience but Pavic provides nothing but balderdash and nonsense.
It is however whimsical and at times charming balderdash. Those who are determined to may even find a way to enjoy "Landscape Painted with Tea." I could not.
Pavic became internationally famous with his first novel "The Dictionary of the Khazars" which was written in the form of a dictionary or lexicon. "Landscape Painted with Tea", his second novel, is written in the form of a cross-word. He explains why on pages 186-187: "Why now introduce a new way of reading a book, instead of one that moves, like life, from beginning to end, from birth to death? The answer is simple: because any new way of reading that goes against the matrix of time which pulls us toward death, is a futile but honest effort to resist this inexorability of one's fate in literature at least, if not in reality."
This would seem to be an excellent reason for adopting such an unusual format if indeed it is the true reason for in fact Pavic spends most of the book pulling the reader's leg. Like the "Dictionary of the Khazars", "Landscape Painted with Tea" is full of enigmas, jokes, paradoxes and aphorisms that that are reminiscent of Gabriel Marquez's magic realism. Pavic leaves the fourth to second last pages of the novel blank so that the reader can contribute to the work. On the very last page, he reveals that the Crossword revealed is a message from the heroine to the reader in which the heroine declares her love for the reader.
Some readers will likely be delighted as the "Landscape Painted with Tea" does indeed try very hard to provide the same pleasures as "The Dictionary of the Khazars." I was not one of them. The gags often did work with me. Having already read Tristam Shandy I was familiar with the device of an author leaving blank pages in a novel for the reader to complete. Enough of them did work however that I was able to get through the work.
My reason for not liking "Landscaped Painted with Tea" is that none of the literary trickery contributes to the central theme of the novel which is the difficulty of finding a vocation in life in communist central Europe during the second half of the twentieth century. In this way "Landscape Painted with Tea" deals with the same themes as Milan Kundera's "Unbearable Lightness of Being" but not nearly as effectively.
The hero Antas Svilar is a Serb living in the 1970s or 1980s is the former country of Yugoslavia. He is a failed architect who has never been able to obtain commissions. His great dream had been to build a palatial summer residence for Joseph Broz (a.k.a Tito). Having concluded that he will never be an architect, Svilar decides to find out what happened to his father who disappeared at some point during World War II. He discovers the truth at Mount Athos which is a tiny Monastic state on a peninsula connected to Greece that has been a major centre for Orthodox monasteries since the seventh century. At Mount Athos, Svilar learns that his Father had been a Chetnik (i.e. a member of a Royalist resistance group)who had fled to Mount Athos hoping to be sheltered. When the Germans discover he is there, the Monks hand him over to be executed.
The Serbian or Yugoslavian reader understands that had the Russians or Tito found him they also would have executed him. In other words the father had been the target of both the major totalitarian factions (communism and fascism) while the great historical institution of Western Civilization, the Christian Church, failed in its role as protector of the persecuted.
Learning the story of his father, Svilar sets off an another trajectory which will take up the final two thirds of the novel. Svilar divorces his wife when he falls in love with a married woman. His new love divorces her husband and marries Svilar The two leave for California where Svilar will become a millionaire and continue to dream about building his place for Tito which he will never do.
The first major problem with "Landscaped Painted with Tea" is that the nature of the love affair between Svilar and his second wife is nothing but a lifeless concept. The reader feels no chemistry between the lovers and is given no reason for the attraction that the two feel for each other. Their lover affair appears to be simply one more failure in a world where all the characters simply hurtle towards their own dooms.
The second major problem with "Landscaped Painted with Tea" is that Svilar who appears to have live his entire life in Yugoslavia currently Serbia has rather odd notions about America and the lives of European Slavs who went there following WWII. I have spent sixty years talking to Poles, Serbs, Czechs, Slovaks, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Croats and Macedonians who chose to resettle in America. I have never met one that in any way resembles Svilar. Joseph Skvorecky and Milan Kundera come to mind as two writers who in contrast did wonderful jobs describing the emigrant experience but Pavic provides nothing but balderdash and nonsense.
It is however whimsical and at times charming balderdash. Those who are determined to may even find a way to enjoy "Landscape Painted with Tea." I could not.
September 5, 2013
Милорад плетёт свой узор, и из него получается то словарь, то кроссворд, то книга-перевёртыш, то ящик для письменных принадлежностей... А то и вовсе пейзаж, нарисованный чаем.
upd. Прочитал эту книгу как идиоритмик и как кенобит, первый подход мне ближе. XX век в литературе начал Джойс, а закончил Павич, но их работы ещё в полной мере не оценены.
upd. Прочитал эту книгу как идиоритмик и как кенобит, первый подход мне ближе. XX век в литературе начал Джойс, а закончил Павич, но их работы ещё в полной мере не оценены.
October 21, 2021
Prošlo je nešto više od dvanaest sati od kako sam završio čitanje ove knjige ali i dalje sam pod snažnim utiskom i lavinom emocija koju je ovaj čovek izazvao u meni. Ovo neće biti klasičan osvrt. Između ostalog, zašto bi i bio, jer treba da govorim o Paviću i njegovom romanu koji je sve samo ne klasičan, a on pisac koji po svakom parametru odstupa od klasičnih normi i šablona sa kakvim se susrećemo.
Knjiga dobija sasvim novu dimenziju kada se dođe do druge knjige, ili drugog dela, koji je roman ukrštenih reči. Tada čitalac postaje mnogo više od klasičnog čitaoca, jer kreće da se pita za mnogo šta u ovom romanu, počevši od likova pa sve do velikih preokreta i zaključaka. Da, čitalac je ovde bitan, i ako se fokusirate dovoljno i pružite šansu knjizi, onda će se i jedan od likova zaljubiti u vas jer, Bože, ako vi imate pravo na knjigu, zar i knjiga nema pravo na vas? Čitaocu je dato da bira kako će čitati roman, pa bira da li će to biti vodoravno ili uspravno, dok su uputstva čitanja data na početku ukrštenih reči. U jednom slučaju čitaćete normalno gde su priče nabacane a vi sastavljate kockice vremenom (oh, mnogo kockica), dok ukoliko čitate uspravno, idete redom prateći prvo jednog lika, drugog lika, ljubavnu priču, predeo slikan čajem, crne kockice, tri sestre, i sl. Ipak, iako čitate nekim redom, to je sve samo red nije. I u tom slučaju tražiće se od vaše koncentracije da sklapa kockice čitajući ovaj roman, ali čitajući uspravnom metodom vi ćete čitati stranice potpuno naizmenično, od stote stranice idete na tristotu, i obratno. Tim rečeno, ukoliko čitate roman uspravnom metodom, kraj romana neće biti poslednja stranica romana, već neka nebitna stranica koja je sve samo nije nebitna.
U ovoj knjizi ima svega, a verovatno i za sve. Sa jedne strane predstavlja ljubavnu priču, a sa druge jedno veliko putovanje. Na tom putovanju videćemo jednog čoveka koji preko noći menja identitet u želji da postane neko drugi, ali neko ko iza sebe ipak vuče pune kofere nostalgije i predele Balkana koje je kasnije hteo da sazida po ugledu na Tita. Na tom putu naići će na svašta i svakoga. Kroz roman videćete proterivanje i suptilan prikaz Staljinove Rusije, putovanje koje je sebi iskopao lopatanjem snega bežeći od stranke koja kao da ga je jurila. Taj čovek upoznaće fascinantne ljude, fascinantnu ženu koja kao da ima tragove pepela na vrhu trepavica, ali i mnogo drugih ljudi kada se zapitate šta ste maločas zapravo pročitali. Na putu ćete takođe videti i figuru đavola, ali i delove priča skrivenih u priče, gde ćete videti i veliki humor kakvi samo jako inteligentni ljudi mogu da prenesu na papir. Pojedine rečenice delovaće snažnije nego nečije cele knjige. Pojedine rečenice delovaće kao poezija, a pojedini pasusi kao čista magija. Videćete veoma interesantne priče koje na kraju ostave jako dubok, velik trag, koji ostaje živ. Čitajući knjigu imaćete osećaj da ste pod velikom groznicom. Sadržaj je jako gust, svaka rečenica je bitna kao posebna knjiga ali, kako Pavić kaže, čitalac će shvatiti šta se desilo ukoliko, naravno, on nije glup. Ta groznica pod kojom se nalazite je nešto magično što uveliko drži pažnju, a vi se neprestano oduševljavate stvarima koje on stvar ispred vaših očiju koje deluju kao fatamorgana, vi delujete da ste bolesni ali nipošto ne želite da se izlečite od te bolesti jer vam ona otvara nove horizonte književnosti. Čak i sam Pavić kaže: „… onaj ko se od sebe izleči, propašće“. Zamislite da ste u poziciji da od vas zavisi sudbina junaka? Da, ima čak i toga u knjizi, jer knjiga je čista magija satkana besmrtnim temama koje se pojavljuju krajnje suptilno u ovom romanu. Trudio sam se svom silom da u ovim rečenicama ne otkrijem skoro ništa, kako ne bih upropastio nekome doživljaj, ali veliki broj stvar unutar knjige zahteva i zaslužuje posebno diskutovanje i analiziranje, jer knjiga je prepuna velikih i bitnih stvari koje sadrže veliku dubinu filozofskih razmišljanja.
Čitajući knjigu dobio sam utisak da bi Wes Anderson bio savršen režiser za ovu knjigu ili neki Pavićev roman, jer me je tok romana u mnogome podsetio na The Grand Budapest Hotel, što je možda opet krajnje subjektivno ali nešto što je meni zapalo za oko. Slike se neprestano menjaju, paleta boja i broj događaja je zaista velik, i vi ste tu samo da se uvalite u uživate.
Šta se na kraju sve desilo sa arhitektom Atanasijem Svilarom, kasnije Razinom, to prepuštam čitaocu da sazna.
I tako mu ja, jedan mali i nebitan čitalac i zaljubljenik književnosti, sa boravištem u Zemunu, dodeljujem titulu književnog maga. Dostojevski nije sam u besmrtnosti. Paviću nije trebao Behemot da kaže da on još živi, već su tu njegovi čitaoci koji će to pričati.
Knjiga dobija sasvim novu dimenziju kada se dođe do druge knjige, ili drugog dela, koji je roman ukrštenih reči. Tada čitalac postaje mnogo više od klasičnog čitaoca, jer kreće da se pita za mnogo šta u ovom romanu, počevši od likova pa sve do velikih preokreta i zaključaka. Da, čitalac je ovde bitan, i ako se fokusirate dovoljno i pružite šansu knjizi, onda će se i jedan od likova zaljubiti u vas jer, Bože, ako vi imate pravo na knjigu, zar i knjiga nema pravo na vas? Čitaocu je dato da bira kako će čitati roman, pa bira da li će to biti vodoravno ili uspravno, dok su uputstva čitanja data na početku ukrštenih reči. U jednom slučaju čitaćete normalno gde su priče nabacane a vi sastavljate kockice vremenom (oh, mnogo kockica), dok ukoliko čitate uspravno, idete redom prateći prvo jednog lika, drugog lika, ljubavnu priču, predeo slikan čajem, crne kockice, tri sestre, i sl. Ipak, iako čitate nekim redom, to je sve samo red nije. I u tom slučaju tražiće se od vaše koncentracije da sklapa kockice čitajući ovaj roman, ali čitajući uspravnom metodom vi ćete čitati stranice potpuno naizmenično, od stote stranice idete na tristotu, i obratno. Tim rečeno, ukoliko čitate roman uspravnom metodom, kraj romana neće biti poslednja stranica romana, već neka nebitna stranica koja je sve samo nije nebitna.
U ovoj knjizi ima svega, a verovatno i za sve. Sa jedne strane predstavlja ljubavnu priču, a sa druge jedno veliko putovanje. Na tom putovanju videćemo jednog čoveka koji preko noći menja identitet u želji da postane neko drugi, ali neko ko iza sebe ipak vuče pune kofere nostalgije i predele Balkana koje je kasnije hteo da sazida po ugledu na Tita. Na tom putu naići će na svašta i svakoga. Kroz roman videćete proterivanje i suptilan prikaz Staljinove Rusije, putovanje koje je sebi iskopao lopatanjem snega bežeći od stranke koja kao da ga je jurila. Taj čovek upoznaće fascinantne ljude, fascinantnu ženu koja kao da ima tragove pepela na vrhu trepavica, ali i mnogo drugih ljudi kada se zapitate šta ste maločas zapravo pročitali. Na putu ćete takođe videti i figuru đavola, ali i delove priča skrivenih u priče, gde ćete videti i veliki humor kakvi samo jako inteligentni ljudi mogu da prenesu na papir. Pojedine rečenice delovaće snažnije nego nečije cele knjige. Pojedine rečenice delovaće kao poezija, a pojedini pasusi kao čista magija. Videćete veoma interesantne priče koje na kraju ostave jako dubok, velik trag, koji ostaje živ. Čitajući knjigu imaćete osećaj da ste pod velikom groznicom. Sadržaj je jako gust, svaka rečenica je bitna kao posebna knjiga ali, kako Pavić kaže, čitalac će shvatiti šta se desilo ukoliko, naravno, on nije glup. Ta groznica pod kojom se nalazite je nešto magično što uveliko drži pažnju, a vi se neprestano oduševljavate stvarima koje on stvar ispred vaših očiju koje deluju kao fatamorgana, vi delujete da ste bolesni ali nipošto ne želite da se izlečite od te bolesti jer vam ona otvara nove horizonte književnosti. Čak i sam Pavić kaže: „… onaj ko se od sebe izleči, propašće“. Zamislite da ste u poziciji da od vas zavisi sudbina junaka? Da, ima čak i toga u knjizi, jer knjiga je čista magija satkana besmrtnim temama koje se pojavljuju krajnje suptilno u ovom romanu. Trudio sam se svom silom da u ovim rečenicama ne otkrijem skoro ništa, kako ne bih upropastio nekome doživljaj, ali veliki broj stvar unutar knjige zahteva i zaslužuje posebno diskutovanje i analiziranje, jer knjiga je prepuna velikih i bitnih stvari koje sadrže veliku dubinu filozofskih razmišljanja.
Čitajući knjigu dobio sam utisak da bi Wes Anderson bio savršen režiser za ovu knjigu ili neki Pavićev roman, jer me je tok romana u mnogome podsetio na The Grand Budapest Hotel, što je možda opet krajnje subjektivno ali nešto što je meni zapalo za oko. Slike se neprestano menjaju, paleta boja i broj događaja je zaista velik, i vi ste tu samo da se uvalite u uživate.
Šta se na kraju sve desilo sa arhitektom Atanasijem Svilarom, kasnije Razinom, to prepuštam čitaocu da sazna.
I tako mu ja, jedan mali i nebitan čitalac i zaljubljenik književnosti, sa boravištem u Zemunu, dodeljujem titulu književnog maga. Dostojevski nije sam u besmrtnosti. Paviću nije trebao Behemot da kaže da on još živi, već su tu njegovi čitaoci koji će to pričati.
June 16, 2021
It is all but impossible to imagine a book like this being written by an anglophone author – not even those of African or Asian heritage. Experimental works are not unknown to the anglophone tradition but I would submit there is nothing to match this. At times it bears a similarity to magical realism - odd things happen and the bodies of some of its characters are subject to even odder anatomical configurations - but it manages to transcend even that. It is all but unsummarisable.
The novel as a whole is separated unevenly into two Books of which the shorter, Book One, A Little Night Novel (whose final passage is rendered entirely in German,) has each of its chapters prefaced by a passage printed in italics relating the history of a group of monks who wind up in the Monastery of Chilandar and are themselves divided into two groups, solidaries (otherwise called cenobites ,) and solitaries (aka idiorrhythmics .) More or less failed architect Atanas Svilar (aka Atanas Razin – his origins, like those of many others here, are complicated,) travels to the monastery to try to find out what happened to his father who had fled there to avoid the Germans’ attentions during World War II. Svilar’s beliefs about himself changed by his trip, he takes a new (though old) name, plus his childhood sweetheart, Vitacha Milut, from her husband and daughters and goes to the US where he achieves fame and fortune as a pharmaceutical magnate.
This bears only a prefatory relation to Book Two, A Novel for Crossword Fans, where the monks and the monastery are forgotten but which still follows Svilar, though it focuses more heavily on his wife, and which is decidedly bizarre. This has four Sections of varying lengths denoted 1 ACROSS, 2 ACROSS, 3 ACROSS, 4 ACROSS containing chapters headed 2 DOWN, 1 DOWN, 5 DOWN, █ DOWN, 4 DOWN, 6 DOWN etc. In other words, crossword clues. (The █ DOWN chapters are apparently necessary to the whole book to bind it together, since without them, as in an actual crossword, the crossed words will fly apart.) But instructions on how to actually read this assortment, this new way of reading a book, are only given on pages 187-190, which is to say 88 pages after Book Two begins and so are, for all practical purposes, useless as the reader (unless forewarned) will have already read up to that point linearly. This same chapter at the last informs us that, “All readers of this book are entirely imaginary. Any resemblance to actual readers is coincidental.” Take that fiction fans.
Then, at the whole book’s end, there is an index containing all the words required for the solution but, as in all indexes, it is in alphabetical order and so requires further elucidation. This index is followed by two lined pages for the reader to write in for him- or herself the denouement of the novel or the solution to the crossword, and finally, printed upside down, we have the solution itself.
Not a straightforward read then, but for puzzle solvers an intriguing prospect. But what’s it all got to do with landscape painted with tea?
Svilar had a set of notebooks comtaining details about dwellings, residences, houses and summer houses lived in, worked in or visited by Josip Broz Tito, general secretary of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, and whose covers were landscapes painted with tints from different types of Camelia sinensis – tea – showing those various buildings and their surroundings.
Throughout we are treated to incident upon incident of a magical realist bent, oddness upon oddness, plus addresses to the reader, but are also supplied with plentiful aphorisms such as, “‘All sexual acts are in some way connected, in some way they interact,” attributed to Svilar, as is, “‘All births are similar, and every death is different,’” which is yet another of those attempts common in literature ever since to echo Tolstoy. “People who are afraid of life leave their families belatedly and reluctantly and are disinclined to start their own,” and “People who are afraid of death stay with their families briefly and go into the world quickly and easily, leaving one another,” are in a similar vein.
A few of Pavić’s sentences are beyond enigmatic, though, “Their road, as all roads, did the thinking for them even while it was empty,” “… only a bird on a branch can understand silence. Man cannot,” though one does reflect life in a country where thoughts have to be circumscribed, “after so many decades, when only the clocks still tell us the truth,” though “Time can harm the truth more than lies,” is more widely applicable. Some are singular, “No undelivered slap should ever be taken to the grave,” but, “October has never come as often as this year….” a saying in the Minut family, is repeated several times.
Then there are the metafictional comments, “Critics are like medical students: they always think a writer is suffering from the very disease they happen to be studying at the time,” … “a writer is like a tailor. Just as the latter, when tailoring a suit, covers up the shortcomings and defects of his customer, so the writer, when tailoring a book, has to cover up the defects and shortcomings of his reader.”
These defects in the reader do not put off Vitacha Milut. We are told, “And so Vitacha Milut, the heroine of this novel, fell in love with the reader of her book.” “‘The heroine of a novel in love with the reader!’” she herself writes. “‘When has that ever happened?’ you will say, and you will not be wrong,” with a few lines later, “ ….isn’t it all the same whether you first fall in love in a book or in life? ….. Why do you think that only you have a right to the book, but the book has no right to you?”
In a comment which could be designed by Pavić to defray criticism he has Atanas reply to the writer of his testimonial (ie part of this book,) “It’s not just one story that’s escaped me from your book, but several,” and adds, “Anyone who reads finds in books what cannot be found elsewhere, not what the writer shoved into the novel,” and goes on to say in effect that you can find any story in the text of a book if you look hard enough.
Sometimes a reader may wish not to have to look hard but the experience is usually better when that requirement is there. As the above all indicates, Landscape Painted with Tea may not be immediately accessible but it is a remarkable work and would certainly bear rereading.
The novel as a whole is separated unevenly into two Books of which the shorter, Book One, A Little Night Novel (whose final passage is rendered entirely in German,) has each of its chapters prefaced by a passage printed in italics relating the history of a group of monks who wind up in the Monastery of Chilandar and are themselves divided into two groups, solidaries (otherwise called cenobites ,) and solitaries (aka idiorrhythmics .) More or less failed architect Atanas Svilar (aka Atanas Razin – his origins, like those of many others here, are complicated,) travels to the monastery to try to find out what happened to his father who had fled there to avoid the Germans’ attentions during World War II. Svilar’s beliefs about himself changed by his trip, he takes a new (though old) name, plus his childhood sweetheart, Vitacha Milut, from her husband and daughters and goes to the US where he achieves fame and fortune as a pharmaceutical magnate.
This bears only a prefatory relation to Book Two, A Novel for Crossword Fans, where the monks and the monastery are forgotten but which still follows Svilar, though it focuses more heavily on his wife, and which is decidedly bizarre. This has four Sections of varying lengths denoted 1 ACROSS, 2 ACROSS, 3 ACROSS, 4 ACROSS containing chapters headed 2 DOWN, 1 DOWN, 5 DOWN, █ DOWN, 4 DOWN, 6 DOWN etc. In other words, crossword clues. (The █ DOWN chapters are apparently necessary to the whole book to bind it together, since without them, as in an actual crossword, the crossed words will fly apart.) But instructions on how to actually read this assortment, this new way of reading a book, are only given on pages 187-190, which is to say 88 pages after Book Two begins and so are, for all practical purposes, useless as the reader (unless forewarned) will have already read up to that point linearly. This same chapter at the last informs us that, “All readers of this book are entirely imaginary. Any resemblance to actual readers is coincidental.” Take that fiction fans.
Then, at the whole book’s end, there is an index containing all the words required for the solution but, as in all indexes, it is in alphabetical order and so requires further elucidation. This index is followed by two lined pages for the reader to write in for him- or herself the denouement of the novel or the solution to the crossword, and finally, printed upside down, we have the solution itself.
Not a straightforward read then, but for puzzle solvers an intriguing prospect. But what’s it all got to do with landscape painted with tea?
Svilar had a set of notebooks comtaining details about dwellings, residences, houses and summer houses lived in, worked in or visited by Josip Broz Tito, general secretary of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, and whose covers were landscapes painted with tints from different types of Camelia sinensis – tea – showing those various buildings and their surroundings.
Throughout we are treated to incident upon incident of a magical realist bent, oddness upon oddness, plus addresses to the reader, but are also supplied with plentiful aphorisms such as, “‘All sexual acts are in some way connected, in some way they interact,” attributed to Svilar, as is, “‘All births are similar, and every death is different,’” which is yet another of those attempts common in literature ever since to echo Tolstoy. “People who are afraid of life leave their families belatedly and reluctantly and are disinclined to start their own,” and “People who are afraid of death stay with their families briefly and go into the world quickly and easily, leaving one another,” are in a similar vein.
A few of Pavić’s sentences are beyond enigmatic, though, “Their road, as all roads, did the thinking for them even while it was empty,” “… only a bird on a branch can understand silence. Man cannot,” though one does reflect life in a country where thoughts have to be circumscribed, “after so many decades, when only the clocks still tell us the truth,” though “Time can harm the truth more than lies,” is more widely applicable. Some are singular, “No undelivered slap should ever be taken to the grave,” but, “October has never come as often as this year….” a saying in the Minut family, is repeated several times.
Then there are the metafictional comments, “Critics are like medical students: they always think a writer is suffering from the very disease they happen to be studying at the time,” … “a writer is like a tailor. Just as the latter, when tailoring a suit, covers up the shortcomings and defects of his customer, so the writer, when tailoring a book, has to cover up the defects and shortcomings of his reader.”
These defects in the reader do not put off Vitacha Milut. We are told, “And so Vitacha Milut, the heroine of this novel, fell in love with the reader of her book.” “‘The heroine of a novel in love with the reader!’” she herself writes. “‘When has that ever happened?’ you will say, and you will not be wrong,” with a few lines later, “ ….isn’t it all the same whether you first fall in love in a book or in life? ….. Why do you think that only you have a right to the book, but the book has no right to you?”
In a comment which could be designed by Pavić to defray criticism he has Atanas reply to the writer of his testimonial (ie part of this book,) “It’s not just one story that’s escaped me from your book, but several,” and adds, “Anyone who reads finds in books what cannot be found elsewhere, not what the writer shoved into the novel,” and goes on to say in effect that you can find any story in the text of a book if you look hard enough.
Sometimes a reader may wish not to have to look hard but the experience is usually better when that requirement is there. As the above all indicates, Landscape Painted with Tea may not be immediately accessible but it is a remarkable work and would certainly bear rereading.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews