Zoran Živković

A twentieth century odyssey of a man who is obsessive, paranoid, yet capable of relating lucid details, even if they may seem not quite believable. Small details become large and inform his life. "My tropical fish are more important than anything else. . . " What we have is the anxiety of discovery and being discovered, or at least believing one is being watched. Where is that hidden camera? It leaves you on the edge and never seems to go anyplace - yet wonder is always present.

What would you do if you took a book off the shelf, read it, and then replaced it on the shelf only to find that after a few minutes of sitting in your chair or writing at your desk that the book had somehow reappeared by your side?
If you were a reader like the anonymous narrator of The Library you would not be surprised; not that your active mind would not be filled with questions about what is happening. As he says in the second of the six stories that comprise this small but eventful and show more exciting collection:
"I, however, wasn't surprised at all. I didn't let any of these annoying questions upset me. Long ago, I realized that the world is full of inexplicable wonders. It's no use even trying to explain them." (p 18)
Do not think that he takes the inexplicable lying down. No, he attempts to deal with the issues he faces, all dealing with books, and his experiences are alternately hilarious and horrifying; especially the "Infernal Library", a story that takes him . . . well you know where.
His world does not include the book that jumps off the shelf described above (that is from my own imagination), but he does have a mailbox in which the library volume entitled simply "World Literature" appears and reappears for what may seems like an infinite number of times. The narrator takes this in stride, always remembering to keep his mailbox neat and clean.

Zoran Zivkovic has six tales for the bibliophile that bring the reader in to a twenty-first century Kafkaesque world. Whether dealing with an on-line "virtual library" of everything he, the narrator, had written and would (perhaps) ever write, or trying to comprehend what kind of a library exists only at night inside a locked library. The challenge for the reader is to get beyond the apparent absurdity of the situations and discover the deeper questions that each eerie episode raises. It is only by trying to understand what each of these stories mean for both narrator and reader that you will be able to enjoy the further surprise and delight in store for you as you attempt to make your way through to the final story.

Having finished reading this I found myself with the feeling that I would never forget the libraries created by Zoran Zivkovic in this extraordinary collection. But just in case I do there is always the chance the book will miraculously appear beside me silently enticing me with its simple presence. show less

This is another wonderful, short collection from Živković. The stories are about three people offered the titular time gifts - that is, the chance to see the past or future and to even influence it; and as seems to be the way with Živković there is a fourth story that draws together aspects of the three tales that have just preceded.

Although only his second piece of fiction Time Gifts demonstrates that Živković has been an able writer of prose from the start. His writing here is easily show more on a par with The Bridge (the most recent piece of Živković's I've read) that was written nine years later. The stories themselves are wonderful little gems and with his sparse prose Živković creates simple but very real situations and characters. So whilst no one should ever read Živković expecting the depth and magisterial sweep of War and Peace, that doesn't mean that Živković doesn't hit his smaller, more precise targets.

I'd give this four stars if it weren't for the final story, which somewhat obscures the picture, in my opinion. Even if I believe the supposedly "crazy" woman's words I'm not sure I accept the explanation. But overall this is another fine book from Živković. His ideas and ability to write subtly mysterious moods are not bettered by many. show less

Reminiscent of the best of Frederic Brown, Anthony Boucher, and Jonathan Carroll, Serbian writer Zoran Zivkovic’s latest book Steps Through the Mists (Atelier Polaris, 2003) traverses the unpredictable worlds of Fate. Five women of various ages, occupations, and mental states encounter their unique futures: a school girl journeys in others’ dreams; a woman in a straightjacket not only sees the future, but determines it as well; a middle-aged skier encounters a mysterious being who show more attempts to control her; a fraudulent fortune-teller who mistrusts her own abilities; and an old lady whose precious alarm clock breaks. Through five short stories, Zivkovic weaves these disparate elements into a masterpiece that can’t be laid down.

Steps Through the Mist is littered with scenes that question what is real and what is not. The endings are almost all shockers, but of the good kind. The surprise that puts everything into context or of the type that you hope the writer would go through with if they had the balls or the vision. Zivkovic has both in spades. And the talent. His writing is deceptively simple and beautifully elegant all at the same time. His translator Alice Copple-Tosic is to be congratulated. A poor translation often destroys an otherwise good book. Zivkovic has used Copple-Tosic on most of his English translated works with good reason, as evident with Steps Through the Mist which reads like it was originally written in English. The prose is flawless.

Zivkovic brings us into the minds of the women. We become familiar with each one’s fears, hopes, and neuroses. As each made her way through the mists to the future, I empathized with her plight. Their confusion, trepidation, and concerns became my own.

My complaints about this book are mainly cosmetic and most of them rise out of my experience as a bookseller and publisher. Though nicely packaged with good cover stock and quality paper, there is nothing on the outside of the book to tell you about it. On the cover is an attractive painting with the author and title. The back cover is black with a small moon and the publisher’s logo. If this book hadn’t been sent to me and if I weren’t already familiar with Zoran Zivkovic, I would have never picked this up, never mind read it. Sadly, these problems (along with the current lack of distribution) will most likely prevent Steps Through the Mist from getting the audience it deserves.

With this book, Zoran Zivkovic demonstrates why he is one of the great, although unheralded, masters of the contemporary fantasy. Steps Through the Mist is a must have for people who like their fiction a little surreal and a lot off center.

(This review originally appeared on RevolutionSF.)
Link: [http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.html?id=1798] show less