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Osmi Povjerenik (2003)

by Renato Baretić(Favorite Author)

4.42 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

Humor

publisher

AGM

review 1: One of the reasons why Baretić is going to stay unknown to many foreign readers is – translation. Some books are just impossible to translate accurately (example J. Safran Foer to Croatian). Unless you don’t know Croatian, unfortunately you will be left without this reading experience. I don’t know who is going to be crazy enough to translate his books.He works with slangs, patters, jargons, various dialects and combines foreign words. He is inventing new languages and chants and he is doing that just wonderfully. It’s about a man, political advisor from the capital city Zagreb, who comes on the island Trečić (I love this name, because we have island called Prvić which basically means First, but in the book there is also Drugić and of course Trečić – Third... more island), which is the furthest island in the Croatian Adriatic sea archipelago, 8 hours far away from the coast by boat. His has to set up elections and he has to do that with hundred elderly people who live on that island. Which is impossible, because there aren’t any politically oriented citizens, plus there isn’t any mobile connection and Internet and just once per month you can get out of the island, and then only if the weather and gas allow you. This man is already the 8th commissioner coming to Trečić, as all seven of the previous ones got nervous breakdowns while living there. This is the translation of the book as well: The eighth commissioner. Life is evolved around fishing, drinking and eating, talking, yelling and cheating during the cards, exploring the island: animals, flowers, smells and sounds. Of course, not enough sex and going crazy – in the beginning how to stay lucid just by being on this island, later how not to fall in love.Baretić pinpoints southern Croatian mentality and he is making mockery/parody out of politics and our neighbour relations, especially with Bosnians and Italians. Just love reading his books, you end up being awed how powerful his language and humour are.
review 2: Odlična razbibriga za duge ljetne dane. Čitajući Povjerenika dobivate ponešto iskarikirane, ali zato ne i manje istinite, slike hrvatske političke stvarnosti i života na otoku (izvan turističke sezone). Pisac fenomenalno miješa nekoliko narječja, a roman zbog toga nimalo ne trpi na tečnosti. Štoviše, to samo pridonosi njegovu šarmu. Obvezno štivo za osobe željne malo nevine zabave. less

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