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Thank You for Not Reading | 
 enlarge | Authors: Dubravka Ugresic, Celia Hawkesworth
Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
Category: Book
List Price: £9.99
Buy New: £4.09
You Save: £5.90 (59%)
New (10) Used (5) from £2.03
Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 105812
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 211
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 1564782980
Dewey Decimal Number: 070.5
EAN: 9781564782984
ASIN: 1564782980
Publication Date: December 1, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. Shipped from UK Mainland. Delivery is usually 2 - 3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail.
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| Customer Reviews:
Light, but serious June 27, 2004
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
The book starts with a great Brodsky quote that I now have as my screensaver at work: "I sit at my desk. My life is grotesque." The first half is mainly about the literary business, disarmingly written in a light self-deprecating tone, but with an amusing passive aggression simmering underneath. It then deepens with some substantial essays about exile and the role of intellectuals in the Balkan conflicts. The book ends back on one of her key themes: the fact that everyone now thinks they can write, including amateur reviews for Amazon. It could have been a different kind of book, e.g. a more in depth comparison between Yugoslav socialist realism and the commercial feel-good books of the global market place. But the unusual structure serves to emphasise that Ugresic doesn't want writers to turn out neat products. It can be a bit frustrating when she leaves you wondering about her specific targets. It's understandable that she doesn't give too many clues about who she's thinking of when she sketches charicatures of different types of East European writer, but I'd love to know who the contemporary writers are that she values or feels are neglected, which small presses she has in mind that have gone out of business etc. She often deliberately avoids rigorous argument in favour of ambiguous and humorous asides. She says for example that Kundera's 'The Joke' can now be found in bookshops filed under humour, which sounds highly unlikely, but would neatly encapsulate the book's theme. It is clear that she is writing about deeply serious issues and in making the book 'sparkle' she leaves you to reflect on one of her fundamental concerns: how difficult it is for serious writers to hold our attention today.
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