The Book / The Writer

In this limited edition reprint of three separate, thematically interlinked works, award-winning Serbian author Zivkovic (""Impossible Encounters"") explores the concepts that make up the building blocks of literature, reading and writing. The Writer is a dense, dreamlike stream-of-consciousness account narrated by an unnamed author, who struggles with his inability to complete a novel. The Book alternates between the ranting of a self-aware book and a satirical examination of the publishing industry as a whole. The capstone is The Reader, eight interconnected vignettes focusing on how books, fruit and men play parts in the life of bibliophile Miss Tamara. Zivkovics uniquely stylized, experimental prose, as adeptly translated by Copple-Tosic and Nedeljkovic, appeals to a certain literary mindset, but its hard to see it capturing mainstream attention. ""(May)"" .