Slušaj i gledaj Latice, Latica Ivanišević (ogled knjige) Listen and observe, Latica (book review)

July 03, 2017

EN Latica Ivanishevich, a Croatian artist, was born in Zagreb during forties ( in 1942 to be precise). In Croatia, Latica is known primarily for her work as a costume and stage designer. However, Latica has also exhibited on her own (jewellerly and art). This book feels a bit like ears-dropping on a family conversation. Seeing the cover and this lovely photograph of Latica Ivanishevich, you might jump to the conclusion that this is a book about her. That is, however, not the case. She is certainly the author of the book, but this book is neither her autobiography, or her memoir. This is a book about her family. Moreover, it not just about immediate family (her parents, grandparents) but about many other important members of her family. In addition, many historical and political figures are mentioned. The title of the book is a reference to the way she was raised. As Latica said in an interview for Nacional:

"Our home was frequented by some of the greatest artist and intellectuals of the time, from Jure Kashtelan to Tin Ujevich, and they would speak with my father until the break of dawn. My mother used to say: " Listen to them, until you fall asleep, that's the best school life can offer to you!". She would make a bed for me near the door and I would soak in their conversations. My father took me on long walks and said to me: "Look, Latica, look above, there you will find fascinating things!" He would set me free, showing me the sky, the windows, the architecture....He took me to the Sava river, to introvert Ervin Shinko and Vladimir Nazor, to the salon (atelier) of Motika and Paravich. During the weekends we would visit the modern gallery. They (my parents) taught me to observe and listen. That is why I have named my book: "Listen and observe, Latica!"

HR Latica Ivanišević, hrvatska umjetnica, je rođena u Zagrebu četrdesetih godina (preciznije 1942. ) Latica je najviše poznata po svom kosimografskom i scenografskom radu , ali je i samostalno izlagala svoj nakit i slike. Čitanje ove knjige pomalo sliči prisluškivanju obiteljskoga razgovora. Kad pogledate ovu lijepu naslovnicu i divnu sliku same Latice, mogli biste zaključiti da je ovo knjiga o njoj, ali bili biste u krivu. Ona je svakako autorica ove knjige, ali ovo nije njena autobiografija ili memoar. Ovo je knjiga o njenoj obitelji. To nije knjiga samo o njenoj bližoj obitelji, već i o svim važnim članovima njene daljnje obitelji, a u samoj knjizi spominju se brojne povijesne i političke ličnosti toga doba. Naziv ove knjige je odraz njena odgoja, naime tu joj je rečenicu ( Slušaj, Latice!) majka Inez često govorila kada je bila Latica bila dijete, davajući joj poticaj da koristi svaku priliku za učenje. Tako je Latica mogla slušati razgovore poznatih intelektualaca i pisaca koji su pohodili njen obiteljski dom. Ines bi poticala kćer da prisluškuje razgovore jer kao što je rekla- to joj je najbolja škola. Ovako je svoj odgoj opisala sama Latica u razgovoru za Nacional, a sličan opis se daje i u knjizi:

"- U naš dom dolazili su neki od najvećih umjetnika i intelektulaca onoga vremena, od Jure Kaštelana do Tina Ujevića, koji su s ocem razgovarali do jutra. Majka mi je govorila: "Slušaj ih, dok ti glava ne padne, to ti je najveće škola!" Napravila mi je krevet pokraj vrata i ja sam upijala njihove razgovore. A otac me vodio u šetnje i govorio mi: "Gledaj, Latice, gledaj gore, ondje su fascinacije!" On me je oslobađao i pokazivao mi nebo, prozore, arhitekturu... Vodio me na Savu, k introvertiranom Ervinu Šinku i Vladimiru Nazoru, u ateljee k Motiki i Paraću, a nedjeljom smo posjećivali Modernu galeriju. Učili su me gledati i slušati i zato sam knjigu nazvala "Slušaj i gledaj, Latice".

To put it simply, this book is a story about one well known intellectual /artistic family from Zagreb. It is neither a history book nor is it a memoir, but something in-between. This book feels more like a collection of reflections than a classical memoir or a family saga. Perhaps it would be best described a family collage. The main narrator is Latica Ivanishevich, daughter of Croatian poet/artist/ academic Drago Ivanishevich and choreographer/artist/ dance teacher Ines Ivanishevich whose maiden name was Shilovich- and whose family is very much part of this book.

Latica is the author of this book, but there are also other (narrative ) voices (from this family). The book actually opens with letters from Latica's grandmother Irena. Her grandmother wrote those letters to her parents while she was a student in Vienna. It was wonderful reading these letters from the start of the last century. Funny how much of myself I could find in the meditations of this young girl written at the start of the twentieth century! The next narrator is doctor Srechko Shilovich who writes letters from South America to which he had to flee the country for political prosecution.

These letters (or articles) were written in a manner of a travelling diary and it is quite possible they were intended for publications in newspapers. Despite all the difficulties Shilovich encounters settling on that content, his writing is filled with humour and funny episodes. Until he managed to establish his reputation as a doctor, his family survived eating only oranges from an orange tree that was planted in the garden of house they bought. Instead of being bitter about it, the whole family laughed about it- and they claim those oranges were delicious, very nutritive and had to be eaten with a spoon. People obviously didn't complain as much in the old days!

Najjasnije bi se moglo reći:ova knjiga je priča o poznatoj zagrebačkoj intelektualnoj i umjetničkoj obitelji. To nije ni povijesna knjiga ni memoar, već nešto što se čini više kao skup refleksija ili obiteljski kolaž. Glavni pripovjedač djela je Latica Ivanišević, kćer hvatskoga pjesnika i akademika Drage Ivaniševića i koreografkinje i učiteljice plesa Ines Ivanišević, čije je djevojačko prezime bilo Šilović, a priča njezine obitelji Šilović važan je dio ove knjige.

Osim pripovijedanja same Latice, pristutni su i drugi obiteljski narativni glasovi. Knjigu zapravo okrivaju pisma Laticine bake Irene. Njena baka je napisala ta pisma svojim roditeljima dok je studirala u Beču. Bilo je divno čitati ta pisana s početka prošloga stoljeća. Neobično koliko sam sebe mogla prepoznati u razmišljanjima te mlade djevojke s početka dvadesetoga stoljeća! Sljedeći pripovijedać je Srećko Šilović koji piše pisma iz Južne Amerike u koju je morao pobjeći iz političkih ratloga.

Ta su pisma (ili članci?) pisana u maniri putopisa, a sasvim je moguće da su bila i pripremljena za objavu u novinama. Unatoč svim teškoćama koje je Srećko Šilović susreo tražeći dom na tom kontentu, njegovo pisanje je puno humora i smiješnih epizoda. Dok nije uspio izgraditi ugled kao doktor, njegova je obitelj preživljacala jedući samo naranče sa stabla naranče koje je bilo u vrtu kuće koju su kupili. Umjesto da budu ogorčeni oko toga, cijela obitelj se tomu smijala- i tvrde da su te naranče bile jako ukusne, hranjive i da su je morale jesti žlicom. Očito su se ljudi nekad puno manje žalili.

Latica Ivanišević, Slušaj i gledaj Latice

In general, there is not much complaining in this book. I never had a feeling there was a narrator who felt sorry for themselves- they seem to be willing to take whatever life throws at them. Considering that we're talking about a wealthy family who (more than once) lost everything they had, that says something about their character. In addition, some members of this family lost their lives due to their partisan/ political activities. All the cultural shifts and ideological struggles are reflected on the life of this family, some less, some more tragically. A quite large part of this book is narrated by Ines, Latica's mother, an artist and ballerina in her own right. Ines Ivanishevich has had a very interesting life. Not that many people know and remember that she was the first director of Lado. This book covers time period from the early 2o th century to present times, but the main focus is on the Second World War (probably because all the family members were known communist and partisans).

Općenito, u samoj knjizi nema puno žaljenja. Nisam primijetila nikakvo samosažaljevanje i čini mi se da su svi pripovijedači spremni prihvatiti sve što im život pripremi. S obzirom da se ovdje radi o bogatoj obitelji, koja je više nego jednom, izgubila sve što je imala, to nešto govori o njihovom karakteru. Uz to, neki su članovi ove obitelji izgubili svoje živote zbog svoga političkoga/ partizanskoga djelovanja. Sve kulturne promjene i ideološke borbe su se reflektirale na život ove obitelji, neke više, a neke manje tragično. Dosta velik dio knjige pripovijeda Ines, Latičina majka, umjetnica, pedagoška djelatnica i balerina. Ines Ivanišević je imala veoma zanimljiv život, a puno ljudi se danas i ne sjeća da je ona bila prva direktorica Lada. Sama knjiga pokriva vremenski period od početka prošloga stoljeća do modernih vremena, ali većinom je usredotočena na drugi svjetski rad (vjerovatno jer su svi članovi obitelji bili istaknuti komunisti i partizani).

On goodreads I gave it four (out of five) stars because I found it extremely interesting. Perhaps I would give it 3 stars if I was trying to be really objective and strict, but there is no need for that- I liked it and that is that. I've always loved history and I feel like this book has given me historical insight into those turbulent times from a more humane point of view. What probably fascinated me the most were those intimate details about well known Croatian writers ( and painters). It was interesting to see them as real people, not as larger than life figures.

Dala sam joj četiri zvjezdice na goodreads-u jer mi je bila veoma zanimljiva. Kada bi pokušala biti objektivnija, možda bi joj dala i tri zvjezdice (dobra, ali ne odlična knjiga) no mislim da imam pravo na svoje osobno mišljenje, svidjela mi se i to je to. Uvijek sam voljela povijest i osjećam da mi je ova knjiga dala uvid u povijest tih turbuletnih vremena iz neke više ljudske dimenzije. Vjerovatno je meni osobno bilo najzanimljivije čitati te neke osobne detalje o hrvatskim piscima (i slikarima), bilo ih je fascinatno vidjeti kao osobe od krvi i mesa, a ne kao neke mitske figure ( za mene kao kroatista oni su uvijek bili upravo to- mitske figure) .

That being said, I'm aware that this book won't appeal to everyone. There are almost no footnotes and explanations. There are many photographs and letters included, but very little historical information or explanation. Unless you're well familiar with Croatian and Serbian intellectuals/ artists/ writers/ poets of that time, you probably won't be able to make heads of tails of it all. Names, names, names. A lot of international politicians are mentioned as well. At one point, you start to ask yourself---- Is there ANYONE this family didn't know? Apparently not. From Picasso to Modigliani, from Tito to Stalin, they had dealings with everyone.

However, it didn't always end up well. This book has a fair share of tragedy and sadness, especially when it covers wars. Those parts of the book felt very honest but certain losses were not elaborated on, which is understandable from the human point of view, but if these losses were spoken of more, it would have had made the book feel more complete. Still, with its 600 pages, this book managed to cover a great deal.

No, svjesna sam da se ova knjiga neće svidjeti svima. Skoro pa i nema fusnota i objašnjenja. Postoje fotografije i pisma, ali jako malo povijesnih podataka. Osim ako niste dobro upoznati s hrvatskim i srpskim intelektualcima, umjetnicima, piscima i pjesnicima toga doba, vjerojatno se u tomu svemu nećete najbolje snaći. Jako puno imena se ovdje spominje. Puno je međunarodnih političara također spomenuto. U nekom trenutku, upitate se- Postoji li ITKO koga ova obitelj nije poznavala? Izgleda da ne. Od Picassa do Modiglianija, od Tita to Staljina, sa svima su imali kontakte.

No, to nije uvijek dobro završilo. Ima dosta tuge i tragedije u ovoj knjizi, pogotovo kada priča o ratnom razdoblju. Ti su se dijelovi knjige činili dosta iskrenim- ali o nekim gubicima se zapravo jako malo govorilo što je razumljivo sa ljudske strane, ali opet knjiga bi bila potpunija da je bilo više riječi i o tome. Svejedno, sa svojih 600 stranica ova je knjiga doista uspjela dosta toga pokriti.

The book could have been edited better. It would have helped if the chapters had been better marked (so that we can be sure who the narrator is). A bit more information about the narrators would be helpful as well. It is not a perfect book. On one hand, there was some repetition and yet, I had a feeling that some things were left unsaid. Good editing could have fixed that- but it is a big task. Because of this wideness, perhaps a book like this is bound to left many things unsaid. I still think it could have been organized a bit more clearly. It would have made the reading easier.

However, I don't think we can hold it against the author who really had her work set out for her. Considering everything, I think she did a great job. With the help of her mother and family letters, she tells an epic story about several generations of her family, taking us from South America to Scandinavian countries, from Paris to Russia, from Italy to Croatia. The writing isn't poetical, nor does it flow absolutely effortlessly, but it is intelligent and fluent (natural) enough.

Ova knjiga je mogla biti bolje uređena. Pomoglo bi kada bi poglavlja bila bolje označena (tako da u svakom trenutku možemo znati tko je pripovjedač. Malo više podataka o pripovijedačima bi isto bilo dobrodošlo. Knjiga nije savršena. S jedne strane ima dosta ponavljanja, a opet se čini da su neke stvari ostale neizrečene. Bolje uređivanje bi to moglo popraviti- ali to je velik zadak. Zbog svoje širine, možda ovakva knjiga i mora neke stvari ostaviti nedorečene. Svejedno mislim da je mogla biti bolje i jasnije organizirana. To bi olakšalo čitanje.

Mislim da to i ne možemo zamjeriti autorici koja je imala jako puno posla. Kad se sve uzme u obzir, mislim da je napravila odličan posao. Uz pomoć svoje majke, priča tu epsku priče o svojoj obitelji koja nas vodi u razne zemlje Južne Amerike i Europe. Samo pisanje nije poetično i ne teče posve bez zastajanja, ali je inteligetno i dosta prirodno.

I always feel a sense of responsibility when I'm the first person to review some book on goodreads or a similar site, although I'm aware that reviews like this one (that is not pretentious/ or professional ones) are bound to be subjective. I suppose that it can be argued that the fact that some work hasn't been reviewed yet is all the more reason to do it, but it still makes me a bit nervous. I hope I managed to give you some indications about what kind of book this is.

Uvijek osjećam neki osjećaj odgovornosti kada sam prva osoba koja piše ogled neke knjige pa bilo to na goodreads-u ili na nekom drugom mjestu, iako sam svjesna da su svi ogledi ove vrste ( amaterski i bez pretenzije profesionalnosti) kao takvi većinom posve subjektivni. Može se reći da činjenica kako neko djelo nema recenziju (osobno preferiram riječ ogled kada su u pitanju knjige) zapravo još dodatan razlog da se o njemu prvi piše, ali mene to ipak čini pomalo nervoznom. Nadam se da sam vam uspjela prenijeti o kakvoj se knjizi radi.

"Krležini su bili moji prijatelji do kraja i moje razgovore s njima želim posebno opisati jer su duboko intimni. Dala sam nekoliko intervjua, ali uvijek sam govorila da ono što hoću reći nije za novine, to je za knjigu." Latica Ivanišević, Slušaj i gledaj Latice

" Mr. and Ms. Krleza were my friends until the end. The reason why I particularly want to describe my conversations with them is because they were deeply intimate. I gave several interviews, but I always maintained that what I want to say is not for newspapers, it is best suited for a book." Latica Ivanishevich, Listen and observe, Latica

My final thoughts? It is a very interesting book that offers a wide range of historical information and anecdotes. How accurate is that information? Is it more a personal view of things? Well, I suppose it is up to us to discover. Since it is not a history book, I won't hold its subjectivity against it. This book made me want to do some historical research. Books that make us want to learn more are always good, right? This is an interesting glimpse into the last century and present century. In the history of this family and its dynamics, we can see reflected much of past European sorrows and happiness.

Nekakav zaključak? Jako zanimljiva knjiga koja pruža pregršt povijesnih informacija i anegdota. Koliko je su sve one točne, a koliko su više neki osoban pogled, pa pretpostavljam da svatko može istraživati i donijeti za sebe te zaključke. S obzirom da se ne radi o povijesnoj knjizi, ne smeta mi njena subjektivnost. Ova knjiga je probudila u meni želju da malo pretresem povijest. Knjige koje nas potiču da učimo su uvijek dobre, zar ne? Ova je knjiga zanimljiv pogled u prošlo i sadašnje stoljeće. U povijesti ove obitelji i njenoj dinamici, možemo vidjeti kao u ogledalu, puno prošle europske tuge i sreće.