With any concern, I'm moving into the smokophobic expression zone. Anna Brzezińska released a fresh (?) "The Fog" in which she plunges us one more time in the climate of the Italian mediate Ages. While the “waters as deep as heaven” carried a dense burden of poetry, melancholy, lyricality, survival, feelings, mysticism, even so the “mist” kind refers to Jack Baker's foul expanses. It is not entirely original, due to the fact that the dragon Griaule was created much earlier. Note: there will inactive be any spoilers, so don't read as you don't want spoilers.
What's a fog anyway?
The author moves us to an alternate version of the mediate Ages. Here is simply a note for literary scholars: this is truly an alternate version, for example, religion has been invented and the crumbs of the theology of there we fish out in the course of narrative. You can't fish due to the fact that you're besides thin for that. The incriminated book easy exceeds the sphere of perception of literary theorists, which is small. Social relations in the planet presented correspond to about medieval ones, we have ultramontan, emperor enters from the north, etc. We have commerce and crafts. On the another hand, witches are simply mentioned, demons are expected to be, dragons are and symbolize.
The image of the planet presented as in Baker's Inquisition is highly warped. The author empathizes with any transgression and wickedness, focusing on the colorfully described occasional excesses. It's like we're getting to know reality by reading the police chronicle.
The dragon, on the another hand, is simply a symbol of all beastry which must be slaughtered, but cannot be definitely slaughtered. all erstwhile in a while, a monster is reborn and any hero knocks him down, not gathering with the gratitude of his mates. The motif of the dragonfish occurs in Brzezinska's work rather often, which gives emergence to my deep taste.
And so are the mountains. The Saga of the Twardokęsk Band gave us the Dead cattle Pass and the destiny that weighs over its inhabitants. There are different lands, according to me, modelled on Poland at different times. It's medieval, it's a noble rozplita, etc. Here the mountains, inherently unavailable, are characterized by the title fog from which demons appear and in which the dragon lurks. Who's the fog on Babia Góra knows what's going on. There's 3 steps out of this direction, and you can die lost. So we have a clear symbol, but a castrating of reality.
II
We like to read 1 recipient complains:
The book consists of truly long sentences, sometimes forming the full chapter. Unfortunately, this requires maximum focus from the reader.
And that's what the trunk's expected to be. The work is to require effort, not to be crude and barren. In addition, we have a first-person communicative of 2 characters and there is no 1 given straight who just happens to have a voice. You gotta guess. And figure it out. So the breeches go away, like the lemmings from my blog.
So we have an interesting reading and, secondly, a primo aimed at a sophisticated receiver. Read it. I'll add that I'm not telling you what it is to have a surprise you don't deserve.
Fog; Anna Brzezińska; Literary Publishing home 2024
