This week our On the Spot guest is World Fantasy Award winning author Dr. Zoran Živković. Publishers in the UK and USA have snapped up Živković's stories, written in his native Serbian, in English translation at an ever-increasing rate as his literary star has risen. His work has been compared to that of Calvino and Borges and has received praise from such notable authors as Jeff Vandermeer and Michael Moorcock. His tightly written novels and collections, beginning with The Fourth Circle and continuing to such recent publications as Seven Touches of Music and Twelve Collections and The Teashop, combine modern characters with fantastic, sometimes absurd situations, that reward careful reading but do not demand a single interpretation. His fiction often weaves a connected whole out of many seemingly separate parts—which, come to think of it, is precisely what an interview attempts to do as well.
With that, I'd like to thank Zoran for agreeing to this interview and welcome him as our guest On the Spot.
Zoran Zivkovic: Well, it depends on whether or not readers are already familiar with my writing . If they are, I'd say that they would know what to expect—that I always do the unexpected in some way. If they are not familiar, then I would suggest they limit their expectations to noble curiosity and let me try to surprise them. Hopefully pleasantly...
The three books of mine that will appear in 2007 in the USA and UK are quite different from each other. Steps through the Mist is the final of my five mosaic novels that comprise the "Impossible Stories" cycle. In this book there are five female protagonists of varying ages, ranging from a young girl in a boarding school to an old lady living through the last day of her life. As it is always the case with my mosaic novels, the various segments of Steps through the Mist are interrelated in many ways, with the leitmotif of mist being the central cohesive factor.
Twelve Collections and The Teashop has an unusual composition. It is a story-suit ("Twelve Collections") plus a novella ("The Teashop"). A 12-part TV series, "The Collector," produced by the Belgrade TV company Studio B, is based on "Twelve Collections."
As for "The Teashop", I am not supposed to have favorites among my own fiction, of course, but if I did, this novella would be one of them...
Finally, The Bridge is a three-part novel about three encounters that should or could have never happened: a man meets an alternate self, a woman out on a shopping trip runs into her dead neighbor and a fourteen-year-old girl chases her seventeen-year-old future son across town. And there is a mysterious bridge that connects them all...
The Bridge was short-listed for the most prestigious Serbian mainstream literary award—the NIN award.
It all started back in 1993 with The Fourth Circle that stands alone in my opus. It is a novel that summarizes my previous decades of dealing in various ways with science fiction. Although I don't consider it an SF novel, at least not in the same sense in which the publishing industry tends to define the genre, it certainly contains many SF elements. For me, The Fourth Circle was the most appropriate way to say farewell to my science fiction sinful youth.
Then there are two books—a novella, The Writer (1998), and a novel, The Book (1999), (published in one volume in the USA)—that belong to the same thematic circle, not containing any fantastical elements. The first is a parable about the merciless clashes between two writers' vanities, while the second is a satire about the final decline of books in the digitalized world.
The next five titles form the above-mentioned "Impossible Stories" cycle: Time Gifts (1997), Impossible Encounters (2000), Seven Touches of Music (2001), The Library (2002) and Steps through the Mist (2003). All these books share the same internal architecture. They are composed of seemingly stand-alone stories. At the end, however, it turns out that there is a unity among them, that each book isn't a mere conglomerate, but an organic amalgam. For lack of a better term, I tend to describe the members of this cycle "mosaic novels."
I have every reason to be pleased with the impact the "Impossible Stories" have had so far in the English-speaking world (and elsewhere too). I was first introduced to the American readership through Time Gifts (Northwestern University Press, 2000). A story from Impossible Encounters, "The Train," marked my debut on the BBC radio in 2005. (The book will be brought out in the USA in 2008 by Aio Publishing.) The US edition of Seven Touches of Music (Aio Publishing, 2006) is by far the most beautiful of about eighty various editions of my books that have appeared so far throughout the world. The Library (Leviathan 3 anthology, 2002) won the World Fantasy Award in 2003. Finally, a story ("The Alarm Clock on the Night Table") from Steps through the Mist will also be broadcast on the BBC (on March 11, at 6:30 PM, UK time). This book will also appear in the USA as an Aio Publishing edition later this year.
Then comes Hidden Camera (Dalkey Archive Press, 2005), a novel about a soon-to-be-retired undertaker who is desperately trying to oppose the necrophiliac forces surrounding and destroying him through a biophiliac quest for ultimate beauty. Hidden Camera was very well received by the critics. It got nearly thirty reviews, some of them in the most prestigious magazines (The New Yorker, Village Voice, Publishers Weekly...). The film option for this book was picked up by the British producer "Chocolate Films."
Finally, my most recent six books—Compartments (2004), Four Stories till the End (2004), Twelve Collections and The Teashop (2005), The Bridge (2006), Miss Tamara, the Reader (2006) and Amarcord (2007)—form what I tend to see as "Impossible Stories 2" cycle.
What is the main difference between IS 1 and IS 2? To put it in a simplified way, the latter stories are less linear, more absurdist and generally more humorous (often in dark tones). I personally consider them my most mature literary achievements so far, but it remains to be seen how the critics will evaluate them.
Compartments and Four Stories till the End were published in the UK magazine Postscripts (2 and 4—7), while all others will appear as PS Publishing (UK) editions in 2007 and 2008. The only exception is my latest book, Amarcord, that has yet to be placed with an interested publisher, hopefully soon.
First of all, it wasn't my humble self who invented the mosaic novel form. It existed even before its name was coined. I didn't even apply it intentionally, as a narrative strategy. It came to me spontaneously as the most adequate form for what I was trying to express in my prose. It's most appealing quality probably was precisely the fact that it represents a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. I like very much your observation about its fractal quality. Although now, in hindsight, it seems obvious, I confess it never occurred to me...
I hope the main appeal of this form to modern readers is the fact that it requires reading almost like a detective. You are constantly aware that there is a broader picture, an invisible whole that alternates the more or less obvious meaning of its constituent parts. If you are not attentive enough all the time, you will certainly miss some subtle clues and all that reading will be useless. You will have to start all over again when you reach the end...
As for feedback, the only complaints so far about the mosaic novel structure have been from readers who require nothing from the ancient and noble art of prose than to be entertained in the most banal way. But I'm not writing at all for those lazy spirits.
I would rather say that I basically belong to the Central European cultural tradition. The milieu of the vast majority of my stories has a strong resemblance to the major topograpgy of that area: Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Vienna. And my native Belgrade, of course. The outer appearance of my worlds is not dissimilar to those of Kafka, Bulgakov and Kundera. It is a great honor and a great responsibility to continue their heritage.
But there are other influences as well. I am also very much in debt to a number of Anglo-American authors, both contemporary and from the past, starting with the founding father of the modern art of fantastical literature—Edgar Allan Poe.
I hope it does. They are diametrically opposed to the heroic figures so popular in the trivial literature the publishing industry keeps flooding us with. Fragile, insecure, full of doubts and internal controversies, obsessed with manias, the protagonists of my stories are nonetheless genuine inhabitants of our unique times. But above all, they are, I dare to say, convincing literary characters...
If you the reader indeed share those moments, then I am more than rewarded. I haven't written my stories in vain. There are truths that can be expressed only through literature. Actually, they are the main reason we write artistic fiction at all. It is in the nature of these truths to be fleeting, unsubstantial, ephemeral. And they require a very attentive, insightful empathic reader. It would be naive to expect shortcuts to great revelations of human life...
My distaste for any form of vanity. I happen to know not one but a number of writers who firmly believe that they themselves are the most authoritative—indeed, the only—competent interpreters of their own literary output. They alone are really able to penetrate all the secrets and perceive every delicate nuance. One of them even contemplated writing a long critical essay about his own novel.
As for my humble self, I think that everything I wanted to say is already between the covers of my books. If there were anything else I might wish to add to it, in the form of a comment or explanation, that would only mean that my work is not complete, that it needs assistance, that it can't stand by itself, but needs a pair of crutches. Who would like, however, to read a book supported by crutches?
Although I have no formal scientific education, I am not scientifically illiterate. First of all, I keep reading popular science literature. I have also translated many popular science books. (Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan...) There is no contradiction in being a writer and being fond of science. How can anyone rightfully assert to be a real contemporary of the unique times that we are privileged to live in without an addictive curiosity about science that is the capital architect of our world? Besides, modern science is so exciting. No less so than modern literature...
I think that science fiction has been hopelessly trivialized by the publishing industry and its paraliterary standards. Nowadays, one can get rich by writing science fiction, but can't possibly hope for a place in the history of literature. It all depends on what your ambitions are in writing...
It's very hard to generalize. I've had various experiences with various small presses. I believe, however, that I finally managed to find my ideal publishing companions both in the USA and UK. Aio Publishing and PS Publishing represent everything I always wanted from a publisher. A highly professional, devoted, reliable partner who not only produces beautiful books but takes proper care of them in every way. I don't think I would have better treatment with any of the so-called majors. They just might make me richer, true, but it isn't my prime ambition to get rich through writing. My literary soul is not for sale...
As I said elsewhere, the physicality of the book was important because it meant that I could take it to bed with me. Some recent book-size "e-Ink" products, like Sony's Reader, haven't made me change my attitude. Taking them to bed would be like having a robot lover. I'll remain old-fashioned and prefer a paper lover in my bed...
Again, there is no general rule. I was very much involved in creating "The Collector" TV series. Young director Marko Kamenica seemed quite content to rely on my experience and advice. On the other hand, I haven't the slightest idea what Puriša Ðordevic, the veteran director of the feature film "Two," made of my stories "The Train" and "The Confessional." I will be going not without some trepidation to see the movie when it has its official opening at the forthcoming Belgrade film festival—Fest.
There is already an English subtitled DVD of the first five episodes of "The Collector." The English version of the whole series should be available in late spring. As for the possibility of the film "Two" being distributed in the USA, I don't think it's very realistic. As we all know, the English-speaking world is almost impenetrable for foreign films. But as a consolation, there is also going to be an English subtitled DVD.
You have recently finished your latest novel, Amarcord. What are your plans for its publication, and do you have any new projects in the works?
As I said, my agent is still trying to find the right publisher for Amarcord. As for new projects, I am already deep into my first thriller titled The Last Book. Here is just a hint of what it is about. Visitors of a Belgrade bookshop suddenly start to die, seemingly without any cause...
Oh, certainly. David Albahari, for example, is already available in English translation. Then Goran Petrović, a superb novelist. And, of course, the old master with excellent new books—Milorad Pavić.
In my value system being humble is a virtue. It is just the opposite of being vain. And I mentioned earlier what I think of vanity...
For readers interested in learning more, here at Fantasybookspot we have reviews of several of Zoran's books (see below). Zoran's own website, http://www.zoranzivkovic.com/, contains a complete bibliography and many excerpts from his work. Also, please note that this interview deliberately avoided the many good and interesting questions Zoran has already answered in past interviews, several of which are linked to at Aio Publishing. Finally, it's worth mentioning that Zoran will be a Guest of Honor at Eurocon 2007 this September in Copenhagen.
Matt Denault
Fantasybookspot.com
Other Reviews of works by Zoran Zivkovic
