BOOK REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION: FIMA, A NOVEL BY AMOS OZ

EN Hello there lovely readers or fellow bloggers! Today I'm back with a book review and a reading recommendation. We'll talk about a novel Fima written by Amoz Oz and published in 1991. Now, this author isn't new to me, in fact I've been a fan of his for years. I must have been public about it because I remember how when Amoz Oz died two years ago, I got texted about it. Yes, I was quite sad as you can imagine, as sad as when Umberto Eco died four years ago. There is something infinitely sad about a passing of one's favourite author. I'm sure fellow bookworms will understand.  When you read a certain number of books by the same author, it can seem like you've really looked into their soul. Well, let's get to reviewing this novel, shall we? 

HR Pozdrav dragi čitatelji ili kolege blogeri! Danas se vraćam s recenzijom knjige i preporukom za čitanje. Razgovarat ćemo o romanu Fima koji je objavljen 1991., a kojeg  je napisao Amoz Oz. Ne radi se o novom autoru za mene, zapravo mogla bi reći da sam već godinama njegov obožavatelj. Sigurno sam o tome javno govorila, jer se sjećam kako sam, kad je Amoz Oz umro prije dvije godine, dobivala poruke o tome. Da, bila sam prilično tužna kao što možete zamisliti, jednako tužna kao kad je Umberto Eco umro prije četiri godine. Postoji nešto beskrajno tužno u smrti omiljenog autora. Siguran sam da će kolege knjigoljupci razumjeti. Kad pročitate određeni broj knjiga istog autora, može vam se činiti kao da ste im zaista pogledali u dušu. No, krenimo s ogledom ovog romana, hoćemo li?

EN This is a brilliant novel, albeit a deeply depressive and pessimistic one. Indeed, at times these attributes make it quite a difficult read. It's not a novel for an average reader. Perhaps it could be said that it requires patience and concentration from its reader. It takes patience to look beyond the surface- and see that it's not just about empty ravings and endless passionate monologues of a self- centered, neurotic, depressed and lazy intellectual. It takes patience and concentration to see the meaning behind the bleakness. In fact, had it not been for Amos Oz's name on the book, I would perhaps been tempted to give Fima up at some point. However, seeing that it is Oz and that I have yet have to read a book of his that I wouldn't enjoy, I continued reading- and I was rewarded for my patience.

HR Ovo je sjajan roman, premda duboko depresivan i pesimističan. Doista, ponekad ga ti atributi čine prilično teškim za čitanje pa mislim da možemo reći kako ovo nikako nije roman za prosječnog čitatelja.Moglo bi se reći da zahtijeva strpljenje i koncentraciju čitatelja. Potrebno je strpljenje da pogledate dalje od površine - i uvidite da se ne radi samo o praznim buncanjima i beskrajnim strastvenim monologima samoživog, neurotičnog, depresivnog i lijenog intelektualca. Potrebno je strpljenje i koncentracija da bi se uvidjelo značenje sumornosti. Zapravo, da nije bilo imena Amosa Oza na koricama, možda bih u nekom trenutku došla u napast da se odustanem od Fime. Međutim, vidjevši da je to Oz i da se još nikad nije dogodilo da nisam uživala u nekoj njegovoj knjizi, nastavih čitati - i bijah nagrađena za strpljenje.

LOCATION: LJUBUŠKI, HERZEGOVINA
WEARING: A CAMEL COAT, A TAILORED BLACK BLAZER, A YELLOW SCARF, A FLORAL SKIRT, A PAIR OF BROWN BOOTS AND A BURGUNDY BAG

This book has a frustrating protagonist- Fima, an idle intellectual whose endless passive aggressive behaviour get more and more out of hand. He is passive and yet domineering at the same time. He is emphatic and full of compassion for the sorrows of the world and Israel in the particular, but he is too self-observed to have a single quality relationship or to take care of anything or anyone. He has moments of (possible genuine) empathy but his neurotic behaviour stops him from connecting with anyone or anything. At times, it really hard to put up with him- and on most if not all occasions the reader is tempted to agree with his ex- wife Jael- you've gone too far this time Fima. His mood shifts and intellectual inspirations move like a flooding river, without a concern for anyone. When inspiration strikes, Fima is desperate for an audience to whom he will deliver his long speeches on the salvation of Israel and he doesn't care if the intendent recipient of the message is asleep or has problems of his own. Fima dreams of fighting of what he sees as fanatical behaviour, but with time he becomes the thing he opposes. By that I mean that his extreme pacifism seems a form of fanaticsm in itself. 

Ova knjiga ima frustrirajućeg protagonista: Fimu, nesređenog i lijenog intelektualca čije beskrajno pasivno agresivno ponašanje sve više izmiče kontroli. Pasivan je, a istovremeno dominantan. Naglašen je i pun suosjećanja s tugama svijeta i Izraela posebno, ali previše je okupiran sam sa sobom da bi imao jedan kvalitetan odnos ili da bi se brinuo o bilo čemu ili bilo kome. Ima trenutke (moguće istinske) empatije, ali njegovo neurotično ponašanje sprječava ga da se poveže s bilo kime ili bilo čime. Ponekad ga je stvarno teško podnijeti - a u većini, ako ne i svim prilikama, čitatelj dolazi u iskušenje da se složi sa njegovom bivšom suprugom Jael - pa da zajedno sa njom viknet:  "ovog ste puta Fima pretjerali! " Fiminine promjene raspoloženja i intelektualne inspiracije kreću se poput poplavljene rijeke, bez brige za ikoga. Kad nadahnuće stigne, Fima očajnički želi publiku kojoj će održati svoje duge govore o spasenju Izraela i nije ga briga spava li namjenjeni primatelj poruke ili ima vlastitih problema. Fima sanja da se bori protiv onoga što on vidi kao fantastično ponašanje, ali s vremenom postaje ono čemu se protivi. Pod tim mislim da se njegov ekstremni pacifizam čini oblik fanatizma sam po sebi.

EN At times Fima seems like someone suffering from a severe form of depression, unable to stop his destructive behaviour, at other times a clown playing a joke on everyone including himself, and yet at other times he seems to be a self-centered pampered man child. Even when Fima criticizes himself, I didn't feel like like sympathizing with him because his self-critique didn't seem honest. It felt too much like victim Olympics everyone is playing these days, a defense mechanism- you cannot kick me now when I'm down- that sort of thing. Nevertheless, somehow against all logic, I did feel for Fima. In those moments when Fima seems to admit the complexity of life, when he leaves all his reasoning aside and seems to admit that life after all is - a complex tragedy and a mystery. Fima is a tragic character. A cynic idealist with a quick mind, a writer that gave up. Fima is the like someone that builds castles in the sand and destroys them himself, realizing their futility but moved by a strong urge, he sets to work again.

HR Ponekad se Fima doima kao netko tko pati od teškog oblika depresije, nije u stanju zaustaviti svoje destruktivno ponašanje, ponekad klaun koji se šali sa svima, uključujući i sebe, a opet, ponekad čini se da je samoživo razmaženo dijete. Čak i kad  Fima kritizira sebe, nisam suosjećala s njim, jer njegova samokritika nije djelovala iskreno. Previše se činila ta samokritika kao igranje uloge žrtve, to što svi igraju ovih dana, obrambeni mehanizam - ne možete me šutnuti sada kad sam već dolje, tako nešto. Ipak, nekako protiv svake logike, razvila sam osjećaje za samog Fimu. U onim trenucima kada se čini da Fima priznaje složenost života, kada ostavlja sva svoja razmišljanja po strani i čini se da priznaje da je život ipak - složena tragedija i misterij. Fima je tragičan lik. Cinični idealist brze pameti, književnik koji je odustao. Fima je poput nekoga tko gradi dvorce u pijesku i sam ih uništava, shvaćajući njihovu uzaludnost, no potaknut snažnim porivom, ponovno kreće na  posao.

There are a lot of naturalistic details in this novel, more than I encountered in other Oz's books. Detailed description of the horrible state of Fima's apartment and his lack of personal hygiene add to the bleakness and pessimism of the novel. The way Fima examines his own body (and even the bodies of his lovers) with a mixture of disgust and sorrow adds to the overall dark naturalistic feel of the novel. It as if the mere fact of having a body makes us somehow tragic. Are we condemned to tragedy and sorrow by our humanness? Are our bodies a mark of our human course? Aren't all humans tragic in some way? The personages that populate this novel are not any less tragic than Fima. There isn't one happy character in this book- except perhaps the one that dies towards the end of the novel. The thing is- with all their flaws revealed these characters tell us a great deal about what it means to be human. What it means to be disappointed, betrayed and lost.

U ovom romanu ima puno naturalističkih detalja, više nego što sam ih susretoh u drugim Ozovim romanima. Detaljan opis užasnog stanja Fiminog stana i nedostatka osobne higijene dodaju sumornost i pesimizam romana. Način na koji Fima ispituje vlastito tijelo (pa čak i tijela svojih ljubavnica) s mješavinom gađenja i tuge dodaje ukupnom mračnom naturalističkom osjećaju romana. Kao da nas sama činjenica da imamo tijelo čini nekako tragičnima. Jesmo li osuđeni na tragediju i tugu svojom ljudskošću? Jesu li naša tijela znak našeg ljudskog puta? Nisu li svi ljudi na neki način tragični? Ličnosti koje naseljavaju ovaj roman nisu ništa manje tragične od Fime. U ovoj knjizi nema niti jednog sretnog lika - osim možda onog koji umire pred kraj romana. Stvar je u tome - sa svim otkrivenim manama, ti nam likovi govore puno o tome što znači biti čovjek. Što znači biti razočaran, izdan i izgubljen.

To conclude, Fima definitely isn't an easy read. I'm sure that it is easy to miss that this book can speak on many levels (if you listen carefully enough), like it rises to the question of Jael's senile father- in what sense? In that sense, it is perhaps one of Amos Oz's most serious and profound works. One is tempted to add- if only it wasn't so depressive- but at the same time - if it wasn't so depressive, would it be equally powerful? I'm sure it wouldn't. The darkness of this book hides the honestly that you don't come upon too often. There is a Fima in many of us. Being high on our intellectual or other talents and passions, failing to see that the world around us is ever shifting and changing, that every moment needs us to exist in it- or better to say- to co-exist with others. Failing to see that others are just as afraid as we are and just as anxious to construct fantasies to save themselves from admitting it makes us insensitive. Fima gets lost in his fantasies about saving Israel, others search for meaning in other ways- but all are equally unhappy. That's the tragedy of this book, the tragedy of life itself. Failing to see that perhaps saving ourselves from ourselves is the most we can do. That it is not the world that needs to be saved- but ourselves. The ending of the novel didn't surprise me. I didn't expect a different kind of ending, in fact the ambiguous ending is the only thing that makes sense in the context of the pessimistic writing. So, I'd definitely say this book is worth both the time and the patience it requires. I don't think I will be rereading it any time soon, though. Some truths are bitter.

Da zaključim, Fima je roman koji definitivno nije lako čitati. Siguran sam da će lako propustiti kako ova knjiga može govoriti na više razina (ako dovoljno pažljivo slušate), kao da se nameće pitanje Jaelovog senilnog oca - u kojem smislu? U tom smislu ovo je možda jedno od najozbiljnijih i najdubljih djela Amosa Oza. Netko je u iskušenju da doda - da barem nije toliko depresivan - ali u isto vrijeme - da nije tako depresivan, bi li bio jednako moćan? Sigurna sam da ne bi. Tama ove knjige skriva iskrenost kaka se ne sreće prečesto. U mnogima  od nas postoji Fima. Budući da smo visoko na našim intelektualnim ili drugim talentima i strastima, nismo uspjeli vidjeti da se svijet oko nas uvijek mijenja i mijenja, da svaki trenutak treba nas da postojimo u njemu - ili bolje reći - da koegzistiramo s drugima u tom trenutku. Neuspjeh da uvidimo da se i drugi boje jednako kao i mi i jednako žele stvoriti fantazije kako bi se spasili da to ne priznaju čini nas neosjetljivim. Fima se gubi u svojim maštarijama o spašavanju Izraela, drugi traže smisao na druge načine - ali svi su jednako nesretni. To je tragedija ove knjige, tragedija samog života. Neuspjeh da shvatimo da je možda spašavanje od sebe najviše što možemo. Da ne treba spasiti svijet - već nas same. Završetak romana nije me iznenadio. Nisam očekivala drugačiju završnicu, zapravo dvosmisleni završetak je jedino što ima smisla u kontekstu pesimističnog pisanja. Dakle, definitivno bih rekla da ova knjiga vrijedi i vremena i strpljenja koje joj je potrebno. Mislim da ipak neću ponovo pročitati skoro. Neke su istine gorke.

WEARING: A BLACK PUFFER JACKET, A BURGUNDY HAT & BAG, DIY NECKLACE, A BLACK DRESS AND CAMEL HEELED BOOTS

As always, I thank you for visiting and reading. Have a great day and take care!