Time to shift your imagination into high gear, here comes contemporary Serbian author Zoran Živković. Compartments, my goodness gracious, what a piece of Middle-European fantastica.
You may very well ask: And what, pray tell, is Middle-European fantastica? In an interview Zoran Živković lists the most common traits: 1) incorporating fantastic content that only deviates ever so slightly from reality; 2) protagonists are not glorious heroes but everyday individuals, frequently marginalized, attempting to find their way in a rapidly changing world.
More specifically, Zoran Živković learned approaches to writing Middle-European fantastica fiction from a number of grand masters - from E. T. A. Hoffmann: how to introduce fantastical elements with discretion; from Nikolai Gogol: how to increase the symbolic value of a fantastic story; from Mikhail Bulgakov, how to make the most of humor; from Franz Kafka: how to handle absurdity, from Valery Bryusov, how to achieve authenticity, from Stanislaw Lem: how to explore new roads within the world of the fantastic.
In addressing the so-called ultimate questions, questions like: where do we come from? why are we here? what is the reality of death and where are we going?, Zoran Živković acknowledges his fiction can be considered "metaphysical fantasies." And the writer who most influenced Zoran Živković in shaping his approach to these ultimate questions? None other than the master of the ultimate question - Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Let me pause here. There is one thing I'd like to shout out from the rooftops: Zoran Živković is a GREAT STORYTELLER! Compartments was an absolute joy to read. Charming, captivating, beguiling, dazzling, mesmerizing, full of surprises at every turn - an unforgettable tale written in less than 100 pages, short enough to read in a day or two. And there is that playful, childlike quality reminding me of traditional fairy tales or Roald Dahl or Neil Gaiman, fiction written at the opposite end of the literary spectrum from realistic, historical fiction by such Serbian authors as Borislav Pekić.
Also worth noting: Zoran Živković wrote non-fiction for many years and came to writing fiction in the first place at age forty-five: "The fact I was writing fiction quite astonished me, but what amazed me even more was my lack of any rational control over it. Somewhere beneath my conscious level, quite unknown to my rational self, a critical mass was gathering." And that part of the author's mind that is non-rational dictates his stories as he sits at his computer and types out what he is being told. Occasionally, he confesses, he becomes frustrated since the voice will speak at a faster speed than he can type. Poor Zoran Živković - he can only type tap-tap-tap with the index finger of his right hand. On further reflection, no so poor; I mean, what some writers would give to have such inspiration.
I can hear readers thinking: yeah, yeah, yeah, great to have your subconscious dictate your stories but surely the author must go back to revise and polish. Remarkably, the answer is 'no' - Zoran Živković does zero revision, his first draft is his final draft. And I have great news for readers around the globe: to date, over twenty of the author's short novels have been translated into English. Get ready, friends. More Zoran Živković reviews will be forthcoming from yours truly. Special thanks to Goodreads friend Forrest Aguirre for bringing this astonishing author to my attention.
Turning specifically to Compartments, we are treated to a substantial helping of humor of the absurd as we follow a gentleman traveler escorted by a conductor through a coach's six compartments. And between visits to each compartment, the tall, broad-shouldered conductor with bushy eyebrows takes on such roles as barber, tailor, chef, even dentist. The gentleman passenger is taken aback; he was hardly expecting such gold-plated service.
As to who and what our distinguish gentleman encounters in each of those compartments, I will leave for each reader to discover on her or his own. But, to serve up a small taste, here is a snatch from the first compartment: "I stopped at the entrance to the compartment. On the left, next to the door, sat a plump, balding man in a three-piece suit, with reading glasses halfway down his nose. His hands were busy knitting. A bright yellow scarf cascaded down from large knitting needles. The place next to his was empty, and beside the window (with the curtain drawn) was a tiny middle-aged woman dressed in black. The hat she was wearing was also black and had a lace veil that covered half her face. In her hands was an open book, small but thick, with a dark cover. On the right sat three young girls aged ten or eleven. They were wearing identical sailor suits, white knee socks, and patent leather shoes. Long braids dangled below their caps, and their faces were exactly similar." Sounds innocent enough . . . but, but, but, it isn't long before the middle-aged woman informs the gentleman her husband knitting away might look like he is still alive but, in fact, he died some time ago.
As I extolled above, a Zoran Živković tale is a charming, captivating, beguiling, dazzling, mesmerizing tale full of surprises. Preporučuje! One last note: you can read Compartments as a stand-alone book or as part of The Apex Book of World SF, edited by Lavie Tidhar, possibly available through your local library system.
Move over Jorge Luis Borges and Italo Calvino, here comes a teller of fabulous tales second to none, Serbian author Zoran Živković, Born 1948
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