Time-Gifts (Writings from an Unbound Europe) by Zoran Živković

Time-Gifts (Writings from an Unbound Europe) Reviews

• 
  Glenn Russell

  
  
  
  Time Gifts, truly an apt title for Serbian author Zoran Živković's short novel made up of four interlocking tales that bend time, stretch time and otherwise play with time as if the hours on a clock were Silly Putty. As for the characters in these tales, permanently locked in the present (or so they think), such bending and stretching is most definitely a gift.
  
  As for the writing style one will encounter, think more in terms of light, sprightly Roald Dahl or Neil Gaiman than baroque Jorge Luis Borges Labyrinths or Zoran Živković's fellow countryman Milorad Pavić with his Dictionary of the Khazars. Again, Time Gifts is short, an 80-pager that can be read in a day. A special call-out to translator Alice Copple-Tošić for rendering the original Serbian into clear, fluid English.
  
  Similar to a number of his other books, Time Gifts is an example of what Zoran Živković terms "mosaic novel" - individual chapters sharing one or more common themes, in this case, a mysterious visitor transforming time for a protagonist, and then, in the final chapter, via the storyteller's art, the entire tale gels in surprising ways.
  
  Perhaps because I've always been fascinated by the concept of time, time as a cultural phenomenon - cyclical time (Mayan, Indian) or linear time (Middle Eastern, Western) - and also time explored by philosophers such as Martin Heidegger and Henri Bergson, I was especially taken by the quartet of stories forming Time Gifts. Recognizing the various dimension of time travel, let's turn to each piece.
  
  1. The Astronomer
  Sentenced to be burned at the stake, the royal astronomer knows he must do whatever he can to breakout of this infernal monastery. He runs for his life but falls into a pit at the bottom of the monastery wall filled with disgusting ooze. A silhouette of a naked, bony, nefarious creature appears, squatting at the pit's edge. He curls up in the warm substance as if a fetus in a womb - at last he is safe.
  
  However, this paradise is short lived. He awakens from his dream and is back in his cell. But there’s a change – a new presence, a being he perceives as the tempter sits in the shadows and engages him in conversation about his decision – to renounce his discovery or suffer excruciating torment with flames burning flesh. To aid his decision, the white gloved enigmatic one offers the royal astronomer the gift of travel to a future time where he will be given a glimpse of just how influential his discovery.
  
  The royal astronomer takes the eye-opening time trek and returns to choose. His final decision is left to the imagination of the reader. Also left to the reader’s imagination is where dream ends and reality begins.
  
  2. The Paleolinguist
  She sits alone in her dingy basement office, the university’s sole instructor in the neglected field of paleolinguistics. A loud knock on the door wakes her from her catnap. She offers her visitor a seat. Following an exchange of pleasantries and a number of remarks regarding the area of study she’s dedicated her life, she notices the derby, cane and white gloves on the visitor’s lap. How odd.
  
  The conversation proceeds, revolving around her favorite topic, ancient pre-agrarian, hunter-gatherer human ancestors and hits a tender spot where she admits, “The hardest thing for me is that the doubt can never be removed; there is no way to know how close I came to primeval languages.” But then things take a decidedly more serious turn when the dapper stranger offers her an opportunity for firsthand experience, to travel back in time as a non-evasive ghost to observe those tribespeople communicating as they huddle around their fire.
  
  Ah, one can only wonder at all the many scholars who have spent decades examining and documenting ages long past, from Eastern African Australopithecus to cave dwelling artists and the first scribes of cuneiform, how many of those scholars would gladly exchange their golden years for the gift of several hours of direct experience.
  
  3. The Watchmaker
  It’s six p.m. and an old, grey-haired watchmaker is about to pack up and call it a day. The watchmaker sighs - all these clocks and watches serve as reminders of the death of his dear Mary many years past. He takes out his pocket watch with the engraving TO J. FROM M.. Yes, six p.m., indeed time to leave. Regrettably, he knows he’s fated to repeat yet another dreary evening with memories of that past tragic event. Even his dreams will offer him no respite.
  
  But then someone, tall, thin, wearing derby and cloak, holding a cane, enters his shop. This stranger, who might even be a magician, opens his white gloved hand to reveal a faintly familiar pocket watch. A conversation ensues, an exchange delving into the nature of time, the possibility of time branching to create two parallel universes wherein a person could live a second life with a different past. The watchmaker is handed the tall stranger’s pocket watch. On the inner side of the lid is the inscription TO J. FROM Z.. What happens next makes for one heart-wrenching tale.
  
  4. The Artist
  We have a sparsely furnished artist’s studio with bars on the window, bars painted white. There’s Magdalena, the artist, and a Doctor. There's an old book on a white table and an unfinished painting on an easel. A discussion ensues, a conversation that gets around to the interrelationship of stories, the storyteller and the writer. The conversation moves on to the plight of the royal astronomer, the doubt of the professor of paleolinguistics and the watchmaker's tragedy.
  
  Zoran Živković speaks about the important role Time Gifts occupies in his writing. Firstly, he employed a similar “mosaic novel” structure in nine subsequent short novels (eventually collected as Impossible Stories 1 and Impossible Stories 2). Secondly, having a final chapter that incorporates characters and elements from preceding chapters thus bestowing a completeness on the whole work that’s larger than the sum of its individual parts or chapters. Lastly, making the crossover to facilitate an interplay of two worlds, two realities – the world of author and the world of his book.
  
  All in all, Time Gifts is both an engaging read and a fun read, a short novel to be savored by any lover of literature.
  
  *Note: Time Gifts is available both as a stand-alone book and one of five novellas forming part of Impossible Stories 1 published by Cadmus Press.
  
  
  In his den, typing as he always types, exclusively with the index finger of his right hand, Serbian author Zoran Živković, born 1948
• 
  Karl

  "Time Gifts" by Zoran Živković is a tiny little hardcover that was hard to find for me. The book has four episodic tales, to do with time travel. Each short narrative bears a title that's the occupation of its protagonist.
  
  Živković's writing is unpretentious and fairly light and easily read. If one gives the stories some thought, it's brilliance will become apparent. The book is perhaps as much about the human condition as it is concerning the nature of time.
• 
  Uroš Đurković

  Pisanje jeste i zanat. I zanat može da se nauči. Međutim, ovde ponajmanje škripi zanatski deo. A i kako da škripi kad je autor profesor kreativnog pisanja. I ne samo to – Živković je pravi SF insajder – veliki znalac i neko ko je napisao, ispravite me ako grešim, prvu disertaciju o naučnoj fantastici na ovim prostorima. Takođe, marljiv je prevodilac koji je ovdašnjem čitalaštvu servirao sam krem naučnofantastičnog kanona, vaspitajući ukuse čitavih generacija. I nakon decenija takvog, teorijskog rada, u svojim četrdesetim godinama, Živković piše svoju prvu proznu knjigu. Nataloženo iskustvo se isplatilo i preobrazilo u praksu. I sledila je izuzetna međunarodna recepcija – Živković je uz Gorana Petrovića ubedljivo najprevođeniji živi srpski pisac. Međutim, iako je bio na predavačkoj poziciji, za razliku od Gorana Petrovića, koji je od strane nekih naših književnih autoriteta doživljavan kao malo literarno božanstvo, Zoran Živković je relativno cenjen, ali površno čitan i prećutkivan pisac bez jačeg odjeka u savremenoj recepciji. A javnost mu uglavnom daje etiketu najvećeg srpskog SF autora, što ga, nije teško pretpostaviti, izuzetno iritira. I to se ponavlja u svakom intervjuu sa njim – oni njemu – ti si SF – on njima – nisam. I tako se to dobacivanje oteže. Međutim, sudeći po ovoj pročitanoj Živkovićevoj knjizi – on jeste SF autor i da, on jeste autor fantastike i da, ne vidim niti potrebu za insistiranjem da li neko jeste ili nije žanrovski pisac, a još manje vidim opravdanje da sebe braniš od drugih tvrdnjom kako si nisi autor ovog korpusa, naročito imajući u vidu da si ceo život posvetio njegovom proučavanju. „Vremenski darovi” su zbirka od četiri povezane priče, sličnih struktura, a svaka se bavi putovanjem kroz vreme i dolaskom nekog neobičnog gosta koji to omogućuje. I sve je tu školski urađeno – problematizovane su autorske pozicije, priroda vremena, paralelni svetovi (Doležel đuska) i razmotrene različite životne strategije poimanja vremena, imajući u vidu različite statuse junaka (astronom, paleolingvistkinja, časovničar, umetnik). Ideje razrađene i povezane. Jezik ispoliran, ali suv, beskrajno suv, impotentan i nedopadljiv. I samo ponegde može da se ostvari ono fino potonuće u tekst, kad se ušuškamo u toku njegovog jezika. Štaviše, navijao sam da malo olabavi, da naletim na neku jezičku mrlju, jer meni su u književnosti gotovo uvek uzbudljiviji veliki padovi od perfekcionističkih soba-po-potrebi. Kontrola nad tekstom osim što je isisala njegovu harizmu, čini da celokupan utisak bude trom, nimalo podsticajan. A da ne pričam o tome kako prema likovima, njihovim sudbinama, predistorijama i reakcijama ne možemo razviti gotovu nikakvu empatiju. Ali oni nas čak ni ne nerviraju nešto. Prosto, slabo nas se tiču i papirnati su, a postoje, pre svega zbog svoje narativne funkcije. I zaista ne znam na osnovu čega je Mišel Dirda, kritičar Vašington posta, zaključio da je Zoran Živković verovatno najznačajnjii pripovedač od Borhesa i Kalvina. Možda je odgovor u ostalim delima, ali nešto mi govori da nije.
  
  I jedna od stvari koja mislim da je odavno prevaziđena – poređenje figure pisca sa figurom boga. Mislio sam da smo to prerasli. Ili da makar toj sprezi može da neki obrt, ironični ili kakav god. A onaj krunski zaključak – jaaa almighty sam spisatelj i jaaaa kontrolišem tebeee osopoo, tvoje reakcije, nazore i same fizičke zakone – prosto... Ne radite to. Nikad. (Besplatni savet iz kreativnog pisanja.)
  
  I da – kreativno pisanje kao institucionalizovana praksa može biti veoma sužavajuće.
  I još jedno da – Zoran Živković JESTE pisac (SF) fantastike.
  
  P. S. U drugoj priči, koja mi je bila najbliža, ima jedan zaista prekrasan detalj sa leptirima. Videćete. I to može biti preporuka; ako želite da se upoznate sa Živkovićevim delom, možete poći od upravo te, druge priče, pa ako ne ide, trk na nešto drugo.
  
• 
  Marko Vasić

  Definitivno mi više prija Živkovićev izričaj u formi kratke proze, nego u romanima. Ova je zbirka još jedna potvrda. Sve je tipično „Živkovićevski“ i vrlo mi je ulepšala popodne. Četiri su priče u ovoj celini. Isprva se njihova povezanost ne uviđa, ali u toku treće priče već sve postaje jasno, jer se neki motivi ponavljaju. Kao što se kod
  Kralja u žutom žuti znak ponavlja kroz prve četiri priče iz zbirke i time ih povezuje, tako su kod Živkovića u „Vremenskim darovima“ to leptiri i začudni posetilac obavijen plaštom, sa cilindrom na glavi i štapom na kome je urezan peščani sat, koji pohodi tri osobe u trima dobima i nudi im dar putovanja kroz vreme. Takođe, imena likova (Lazar, Eva, Josif, Marija i Magdalena) su vrlo asocijativna i nemoguće je da su tek tako, nasumično odabrana. U prvoj priči „Astronom“, u natuknicama se prepoznaje lik Lazara Crnorisca, sveštenika koji je nakon Boja na Kosovu izbegao u Rusiju, i za koga se zna da je sačinio prvi časovnik koji je bio izložen na bedemima Kremlja i koji je pokazivao i vreme i položaj planeta. Njega je prvog pohodio tajanstveni darovatelj vremenskih darova i odveo u budućnost, pokazavši mu šta bi se dogodilo ako ne stane iza svojeg dela zbog koga ga inkvizicija proganja. U priči „Paleolingvista“, darovatelj će posetiti profesorku paleolingvistike Evu, ostarelu i duboko razočaranu osobu koja je čitav život posvetila mrtvom jeziku, izučavajući oblast o kojoj se može samo nagađati, i konstantno ostajući nedorečena samoj sebi da li je sve što je otkrila i objavila zaista bilo vredno. Darujući joj časovnik, darovatelj joj lagano ukazuje da je pesak u njenoj klepsidri lagano iscureo i da je vreme da ode u pradrevnu prošlost da se uveri koliko je njen rad bio adekvatan. Trećeg „odabranog“ – časovničara Josifa, darovatelj će pronaći u malom planinskom selu i njegov će časovnik da vrati u ne tako davnu prošlost, kako bi ga uverio da nije kriv za smrt njegove žene Marije. U četvrtoj, povezujućoj priči, Magdalena slikarka će, govoreći sa tajanstvenim licem o darovatelju i tumačeći njegove postupke, na platnu oslikavati sudbine ovih triju lica iz prethodnih priča. Sve vreme čitanja nije sasvim jasno ko je darovatelj – nečastivi, smrt ili sâm bog. Međutim, poslednja priča će to razotkriti jednim detaljem.
  
  Priče su pisane oštrim, suvim stilom, koji ja vrlo poštujem i volim kad pisac nema potrebu da nam omogući da njegovim likovima zavirimo pod suknju i prebrojimo im falte na donjem vešu. Likovi su tu čisto kao oruđe, i potpuno je nebitno da li će biti ovi koje je naveo, ili ma koji drugi. Primarno je da oni budu svojevrsni konvejeri i izvršitelji piščeve nakane, bez potrebe da ih do kraja oživi i udahne im neke određenije karakterne crte. Kao i uvek kod iskazivanja utisaka o Živkovićevim knjigama, ponavljam da nije nužno da svako delo ima po 1000 strana na kojima će se raspredati izmišljene osobine likova koje pisac pokušava da čitaocu približi i primora ga da se za njih veže i srodi sa njihovim sudbinama. Sasvim je u redu da su neki likovi, kao i u stvarnom životu, samo prolazni karakteri od papira o koje se povremeno „očešemo“ i koji su tu da izvrše određene radnje i nestanu.
• 
  Ed Erwin

  Four short connected stories about the perils of time travel. More like Borges and Calvino than Asimov and Heinlein.
• 
  oguz kaan

  *Zaman üzerine yazılmış kısa öykülerden meydana gelen bir romanda diyebilirim. Çünkü son hikayeye kadar aralarında zayıf bir bağlantı var sansam bile son hikayesi ile bağladı. Yine de öykülerin zayıf olduğunu düşünmeden edemiyorum. 'Zaman' kavramı çok güçlü bir anlatının içinde ana unsur olarak kullanılmadıkça var olduğu eseri vasatlaştırıyor. Zivkovic'in bu derlemesinde olduğu gibi.
• 
  Caroline

  Bloodless. A too meticulously constructed uninteresting set of questions about time and knowledge of your destiny. Only redeeming feature: it’s very short.
• 
  Natalie Carey

  This is technically short stories, but they're very closely connected, almost novelized.
  
  The last story, The Artist, definitely ties them all together, and pushed this to 4 stars from 3 for me. It explained a few things from each of the previous 3 stories, but also left quite a bit open and for the reader to figure out or speculate on and decide how the story truly ends. I also thought the way the final story tied all 4 together was quite clever and wasn't what I was expecting.
  
  The varying discussions of time and time travel were really well done and thought-provoking throughout as well as after finishing the book. Since it is so short, I might go ahead and reread it soon, with the ending in mind now, and experience it again and think more about the time travel and how time is used and dealt with.
• 
  Bob Lopez

  Short but definitely dense experimental novel about choice, chance, fate, and the gift of going back in time. The Astronomer's fate was sealed it would seem; the Paleolinguist's story was tragic, as she may have got all the answers but would continue to exist as an incorporeal body; the Watchmaker's fate was better than the rest as he was able to avert the tragedy that befell his fiance and was allowed to live out his life with her (albeit with a quarter century's knowledge of what it was like to live w/o her). The ending chapter, the Artist, was the most experimental and meta, as the one giving our players the ability to travel in time was NOT, as perceived, the Devil, but rather the author himself. 2019 is off to dope start.
• 
  Tom

  A short series of intertwined tales about people who are given the change to go foreword or back in time to satisfy a deeply held yearning for a type of knowledge particular to each person. I credit the translator, Alice Copple-Tosic, for bringing to English a beautifully descriptive book that reads natural in its new form. While the book's conclusion is mildly anti-climatic, the prose journey makes it worthwhile.
• 
  Nemanja

  Negativna strana trojke. Neću previše da ulazim u piščev stil, ali toliko često nepotrebnih prideva dodatno obezličavaju rečenice. Jako kratko i nažalost ne ostavlja nikakav utisak nakon čitanja. Nemogućnost povezivanja sa likovima. Meh.
• 
  Jackson

  Blind pick-up due to the Dali cover and interesting blurb. Major eh.
• 
  Oğuz Kayra

  «Gözler uzun süre kalınca karanlığa alışır ve daha iyi görür.
  
  Göz var, göz var. Bazıları alışır, bazıları alışmaz. Karanlığa alışmayı reddettiğim için buraya getirildim.»
• 
  Kristýna Obrdlíková

  Chytrá knížka. Čtyři povídky o čase, rozhovory s někým, kdo by mohl být ďábel, čtyři zamyšlení o odpovědnosti, utrpení a možnostech. Krásný jazyk, vykreslování obrazů, volba námětů, psychologie hrdinů. Probouzí sympatie a nutí přemýšlet o věcech, nad kterými jsme si sice přemýšlet uvykli, ale které jsou zde znovu naprosto konkrétní a naléhavé.
• 
  Tereza Azeret

  Rychle a hladce plynoucí příběhy bez zbytečného prehrabovani se... Pod povrchem umě vykreslena myšlenka o času a jeho vlivu na naše životy. Brilantne dotýkající se tématu, které má pod kůží snad každý...
• 
  Ondřej Puczok

  Taková podivuhodná blbůstka, která má sice posledním ze čtyř příběhů vygradovat, spíše se tím ale sama shodí. Nápad zajímavý, první tři příběhy (každý svým vlastním způsobem) zaujaly, ale provedení z toho dělá spíše průměr bez nějakého extra nápadu.
• 
  Natasha

  Absolutely brilliant. Zivkovic uses time to alternate the shift between reality and fantasy, and brings into light very important questions concerning morality.
• 
  Stephanie

  After the first section, I was rather indifferent to the outcome, but by the end Živković had tied things together in a way that brought me back to my own task in an appreciable way. Yay?
• 
  Mari J.A.

  Truly beautiful stories, years later still loved and remembered.
• 
  Ivan Lutz

  Genijalno!