A
Literary Saloon
&
Site of Review.

Trying to meet all your book preview and review needs.



Contents:
Main
the Best
the Rest
Review Index
Links

weblog

crQ

RSS

to e-mail us:


support the site



In Association with Amazon.com


In association with Amazon.com - UK


In association with Amazon.ca - Canada


In 
Partnerschaft 
mit 
Amazon.de


En 
partenariat 
avec 
amazon.fr


In association with Amazon.it - Italia

the Complete Review
the complete review - fiction



Steps Through the Mist

by
Zoran Živković


general information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author

To purchase Steps Through the Mist



Title: Steps Through the Mist
Author: Zoran Živković
Genre: Novel
Written: 2003 (Eng. 2007)
Length: 125 pages
Original in: Serbo-Croatian
Availability: Steps Through the Mist - US
Steps Through the Mist - UK
Steps Through the Mist - Canada
Steps Through the Mist - India
  • A Mosaic Novel
  • Serbian title: Koraci kroz maglu
  • Translated by Alice Copple-Tošić

- Return to top of the page -



Our Assessment:

B+ : small, but nicely done

See our review for fuller assessment.




Review Summaries
Source Rating Date Reviewer
Publishers Weekly . 30/7/2007 .


  From the Reviews:
  • "Like a great work of abstract art, this surrealistic novel (...) is layered with subtle symbolism and nuance, and should be savored slowly so that the profound, and sometimes disturbing, existential underpinnings can be duly discerned." - Publishers Weekly

Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.

- Return to top of the page -



The complete review's Review:

       Steps Through the Mist is 'A Mosaic Novel' of five stories, each of which is enveloped in a form of mist -- as are, often, the characters. Throughout there are characters who can see differently than others through these mists -- a girl who visits the dreams of others, or several who, in one form or another, see the future(s) -- and are overwhelmed by them.
       Several of the episodes are narrated by or center on those who are skeptical of the claims of these more clear-sighted characters, and what lifts these stories beyond mere playful speculative science fiction is Živković's effective use of ambiguity: these are uncertain worlds he describes, with characters suddenly confronted with tall stories and outlandish-seeming claims -- and yet for the most part these characters can then choose to ignore the confessions they've heard and pretend everything is (almost) as it always was, and as it should be.
       Živković tells these simple stories very well, too, careful not to overdo it yet also confident in his fantasies. This is a fairly small, loosely connected collection -- variations on a theme rather than full-fledged novel -- but quite accomplished and certainly entertaining. A fine little read.

- M.A.Orthofer, 2 November 2011

- Return to top of the page -



Links:

Reviews: Zoran Živković: Other books by Zoran Zivkovic under review: Other books of interest under review:

- Return to top of the page -



About the Author:

       Zoran Živković was born in Belgrade in 1948.

- Return to top of the page -


© 2011-2022 the complete review

Main | the New | the Best | the Rest | Review Index | Links