ղľáԾ
Jesen
Disput, Zagreb 2004
Translated by Maria Kursar and Zrinka Stričević-Kovačević
Rudolf Sloboda’s one but last book ň (Autumn) appeared in Croatian, translated by Maria Kursar andZrinka Stričević-Kovačević in Croatian publisher Disput from Zagreb. Iappreciate this beautiful edition, even topping the first one. The cover features areproduction of a Zolo Palugyai’s melancholic and lonesome painting “Bluebird“, which evoques the atmosphere of Sloboda‘ transparent text. One can only regret that publishers make such rare use of our visual arts heritage. Ithink Croatian readers might find this edition adiscovery of their own –awriter so close in his ideas, language (Croatian title Jesen), and his roots, while they lay their hands on awork of modern fiction, written by one of its most prominent authors.
It might be due to Sloboda‘s trademark deceptively simple writing, and the familiar environment he describes – village, town, family, bohemian milieu, and his way of seeing the world, that the Croatian translation reads so naturally. Ithink these are two worlds very close to each other. Anarration of petty details of everyday life, with an underlying motive ofsearching the purpose and understanding of one‘s life.
The afterword by Zrinka Stričević is called Rudolf Sloboda – eternal Croatian; she is quoting the author himself. The afterword presents Sloboda, so far unknown in Croatia, in intimate detail and understanding – and its informedness and warmth, together with awell-done translation gives us hope that the author will find its way in winning the hearts and minds of his Croatian readers.
Translated by Ľuben Urbánek
