Book recommendation of the day / Preporuka knjige dana ( Milana Vuković Runjić, Ulica Nevjernih žena)

Are you reading Milana again? Always. All it took for me to become a fan of her writing was one visit to the library. Not so long ago, I reviewed a book of hers here on my blog. Today it is time for another recommendation. This time I'm not reviewing a collection of stories but I'm recommending a novel. What a novel it is! The Street of Unfaithful women would be the translation of this novel’s title. This time it is all about infidelity. Well, not really. In reality, it is about women. You see, there is this street. What makes it peculiar is that all women in this street are unfaithful....or so it seems. Nothing is really as it ought to be in this enchanted little street situated on outskirts of the town. In this street, so close to nature, magic still exists and history has a way of getting mixed up with present. Here the myth can still come to life and the forest still holds many secrets. Sounds interesting? It is. Often called a modern fairy tale, the novel erases boundaries between the real and the mythical world. What kind of novel is it? Is it a psychological or fantasy novel?  Should we read it as we read Jung and Freud?  Should we assume that the mythical beings that appear in this novel are just a product of imagination? Is it a psychological study of a group of women? Or is it a fantasy novel set in our times? Does it really matter? Personally, I couldn’t care less to what genre we attribute it to. I think its complexity only adds to its charm. Its ambiguity will make you search for infinite interpretations. Isn't that a sign of great literature? Do you know how I would describe it? A journey into women’s soul. Now, isn’t that something that makes it well worth reading? 

Čitaš li to ponovo Milanu? Uvijek. Sve što je bilo potrebno kako bi postala ljubitelj njenoga pisanja je bio jedan posjet knjižnici. Ne tako davno, objavila sam ogled jedne od njenih knjiga ovdje na blogu. Danas je vrijeme za drugu preporuku. Ovaj put ne objavljujem ogled zbirke priča već preporučujem roman...i to koji roman! Ulica nevjernih žena bi bio naslov ovoga djela. Ovaj put radi se o nevjeri. Ne, zapravo i ne. Zapravo se radi o ženama. Vidite, postoji ova ulica. Što je čini neobičnom je što su sve žene u ovoj ulici nevjerne...ili se tako čini. Ništa nije kako bi trebalo biti u ovoj maloj začaranoj ulici smještenoj na rubovima grada. U ovoj ulici, tako blizu prirode, čarolija još uvijek postoji, a povijest se zna pomiješati sa sadašnjošću. Ovdje mit još uvijek može zaživjeti, a šuma još uvijek čuva brojne tajne. Zvuči li to zanimljivo? Stvarno jest. Često nazvan modernom bajkom, ovaj roman briše granice između stvarnoga i mističnoga svijeta. Kakav je to roman? Je li to psihološki roman ili roman fantastike? Trebalo li ga čitati kao što čitamo Junga i Freuda? Trebamo li pretpostaviti da su mitološka bića koja se pojavljuju u ovome romanu samo proizvod mašte? Je li to psihološka studija o grupi žena? Ili je to roman fantastike smješten u naše vrijeme? Je li to doista bitno? Iskreno, nije me baš briga u koji žanr će ga neki smjestiti? Ja mislim da njegova kompleksnost samo mu dodaje šarm. Njegova dvosmislenost će vas natjerati u potragu za beskrajnim interpretacijama. Zar to nije znak sjajne književnosti? Znate li kako bi ga ja opisala? Kao putovanje u žensku dušu. Sada mi recite, zar to nešto što ga čini vrijednim čitanja? 

"Who would have hoped for that from a little girl found by her partents in some orphanage in Lika. A girl with big dark eyes and curly hair. Her parents wanted to name her Snow White. Fortunately, soon  they gave up on the idea that their child should be named Snow White. So it came to be that Maria was named after prematurely departed sister of misssus Bosanac."  Ulica Nevjernih Žena, Milana Vuković Runjić

"Tko bi se tome nadao od djevojčice koju su roditelji našli u nekom dječjem domu u Lici, velikih tamnih očiju i kovrčave kose, te su joj poželjeli dati ime Snjegulica. Srećom, uskoro su odustali od toga da im se dijete zove Snjegulica Bosanac te se Marija zove po prerano umrloj sestri gospođe Bosanac." Ulica Nevjernih Žena, Milana Vuković Runjić 

You can read my longer review (only Croatian version for now) here.

Možete pročitati moj duži ogled knjige ovdje.