On Joining Oulipo by Accident
We've just published our review of Vilnius Poker by Ričardas Gavelis. This is the book that publisher Chad Post described "after reading a 20-page sample of Vilnius Poker by Ricardas Gavelis, everyone on our editorial committee agreed that we had to publish this book." And the book's translator has said "When asked to come up with a summary of what the book is about, or a
single section that could characterize it, I find myself groping at so
many things that I’m completely at a loss."
What does our reviewer think? Have a look. Here's the opening graf:
Ričardas Gavelis wrote to intimidate and attack, and his novel Vilnius Poker,
seldom subtle in its language, demands attention. It is a masterwork of
bitterness and sarcasm, one that descends into the self-destructive
impulses of those who, though they physically survived the privations
inherent to Soviet Russia, were nonetheless emotionally traumatized.
Part national rant, part passage into madness, Vilnius Poker
is more than a product of the Cold War. It is a condemnation of
everything Gavelis thought was wrong with Lithuania, and this first
English translation, published twenty years after Poker was originally written, feels fresh.
seldom subtle in its language, demands attention. It is a masterwork of
bitterness and sarcasm, one that descends into the self-destructive
impulses of those who, though they physically survived the privations
inherent to Soviet Russia, were nonetheless emotionally traumatized.
Part national rant, part passage into madness, Vilnius Poker
is more than a product of the Cold War. It is a condemnation of
everything Gavelis thought was wrong with Lithuania, and this first
English translation, published twenty years after Poker was originally written, feels fresh.
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Good post,i will come back soon ;)