Znate što ću vam reći?
PROČITAJTE! OBAVEZNO!
Sjećate se kako sam vam prošle godine predstavila Zafonovu Tetralogiju groblja zaboravljenih knjiga i kako sam bila pomalo razočarana što je Zafonova magija nekako najviše prisutna u Sjeni vjetra?
Sjećam se kako sam jedva čekala vidjeti dašak te magije u ostalim nastavcima, ali nekako mi se izgubila. Ostali su mi nastavci postali kao neka "normalna" knjiga, bez nadnaravnosti kojoj sam težila i koju sam zazivala. Svidio mi se taj osjećaj i jednostavno sam željela još, samo što to moje "još" nisam baš osjetila u ostatku tetralogije, koliko god mi bila draga.
A sad... mogu vam sa ogromnim smiješkom na licu reći kako je "Marina" nadmašila čitavu tetralogiju, barem u mojim očima. Moram vam reći kako već neko vrijeme nisam osjetila taj žar "jedva čekanja" da dođem doma s posla ili da obavim sve zadatke koje imam u danu, samo kako bih što prije sjela i nastavila čitati. Sve dok nisam u ruke primila Marinu. :)
Kroz radnju knjige pratimo mladog Oscara Draia, "prisilnog" stanovnika barcelonskog internata, neizmjerno neispunjenog i nesretnog dečka koji jednostavno osjeća kako mu nešto u životu nedostaje. Želi izlaz iz internata, želi slobodu, avanturu i misterij, ali i nešto što ni sam ne primjećuje da mu nedostaje - obitelj.
U jednoj od svojih avantura izvan internata, susreće lijepu Marinu te, pri prvom pogledu, ostaje bez teksta. Uz to, ukrao je ručni sat njezinomu ocu, ali to je zasad sporedna stavka. U konačnici će mu ga vratiti, uz gomilu grizodušja. Small spoiler alert, ali fakat mali jer je radnja mnogo veća i značajnija od jednog sata.
Uglavnom, upoznavši Marinu i njezina oca Germana, shvaća kako je dobio barem dio onoga što je njegovoj unutrašnjosti nedostajalo. Lijepo mu je s njima, osjeća kako konačno negdje pripada i kako ima nekoga tko ga voli i prihvaća. Svaki slobodni trenutak koristi kako bi proveo s njima - jede, ide na izlete, provodi čak i božićne blagdane s njima. Sve što je ikad želio.
Ali... kako ne bi sve bilo savršeno, u toku upoznavanja sa tim ljupkim bićem zvanim Marina, Oscar se upliće u ljubavnu priču staru gotovo 40 godina, koja je prouzrokovala mnoge loše stvari za ljude koji su htjeli/ne htjeli bivali u njezin vrtlog uvučeni.
Naime, bila jednom jedna predivna djevojka imenom Eva Irinova - izgled božice, a glasa još ljepšeg. Lijepa je Eva zapela za oko lokalnom barcelonskom moćniku Mijailu Kolveniku (pravi domaći Španjolac, jel da?), koji se odlučio njome oženiti, kupiti joj što god je htjela, pokazati ju svijetu, ali i izgraditi teatar u kojemu je trebala nastupati (za svoj gušt, naravno). Prava bajka ispunjena svim ostvarenim željama, život u idili, bogatstvu i obilju. I sve bi to bilo super da se nisu umiješali zavidni i pokvareni ljudi te srušili svu tu predivnu kulu od karata.
A sada, gotovo 40 godina kasnije, u tu istu priču su uvučeni Oscar i Marina. Unatoč tomu što znaju da srljaju u opasnost, znaju da neće samo tako živu glavu izvući, ali ipak ih misterij te davne ljubavne priče i njihove tragedije toliko privlači, da ne mogu stati. Ne mogu pustiti da priča ostane tu gdje je, nedovršena i neistražena.
Što se sve događa u zimskom vrtu sa svim onim lutkama? Tko je žena u crnom? I gdje je Mijail Kolvenik? - to su samo neka od pitanja koja sam si postavljala na početku knjige.
Moram priznati kako mi je u nekim trenucima Marina bila baš nekako nedokazana i naporna, dok mi je Oscara bilo žao. Koliko je god ona bila odrješita i jezičava, toliko mi je on bio nježan i drag, neispunjen i željan. On je mladi naivni dječarac koji je tek krenuo spoznavati neke osjećaje i puniti prazninu koju mu je vlastita obitelj ostavila. Konačno je osjetio da ima obitelj, ali osjetio je i nešto mnogo više - nešto što ga i 15 godina nakon događaja sa Marinom i dalje jednako preplavljuju.
Također, koliko je god u početku bio protiv bilo kakvog kopanja po prošlosti, toliko ga je sav splet događaja, u kojem su se našli, motivirao da nastavi istraživati. Priznajem da ni sama ne bih stala dok ne bih došla do rješenja zagonetke stare 40 godina... Krajnje uzbudljivo! :)
S druge strane, ne znam kako bih najbolje opisala Evu i Kolvenika. Oni mi djeluju nekako... kao da imaju neku nadnaravnu snagu, nepobjedivost i uzvišenost. Gledam na njih kao na snažan par kojemu nitko ništa ne može jer su, budimo realni, prošli hrpu sranja u životu i zbog toga ojačali. Tako da mogu reći kako, u jednu ruku, osjećam divljenje i poštovanje prema njima, bez obzira na sve događaje koji su uslijedili u njihovim životima i kako su završili.
Tajnu crnog leptira ćete otkriti ukoliko odlučite pročitati Marinu ;)
Volim kad me povremeno neka knjiga "ošamari" nekim spoznajama. Koliko god mislim kako su mi sve najvažnije stavke u životu uvijek u fokusu, toliko bivam izbijena iz cipela kada shvatim da ipak nije tako. Grozno je što većinom uzimamo neke stvari zdravo za gotovo, a kad nešto ispuzne iz naših ruku, osjećamo se kao da smo polomljeni u tisuće komadića. Upravo zato se volim udubiti u neko štivo jer mi silom pred oči stavlja ono što je u životu važno. A ako je važno u životu, ne smije se zaboraviti...
Sretna sam što sam ju konačno pročitala. Ne mogu vam riječima opisati kakav sam svijet otkrila čitajući Zafonove knjige. Neke sam čak i dvaput pročitala samo zato što odišu tom nekom energijom, nečime neuobičajenim na ovom materijalnom zemaljskom svijetu. Što se tiče njegovih djela, još samo dvije su mi ostale nepročitane - "Rujanska svjetla" i "Ponoćna palača". I čim do njih dođem, svakako ih namjeravam uvrstiti među objave svog dragog bloga.
Čovjek shvati, barem u ovom čitateljskom svijetu, kako se nekako veže uz neke autore. I koliko god čitali njihova djela, imaju osjećaj kako su im ti autori nekako bliži i da ih bolje upoznaju. Tako je meni sa Zafonom i nadam se da ćete, barem kroz objave bloga, dati priliku njegovim djelima. Ne mora mi svaka knjiga imati magiju o kojoj toliko cmoljim, ali mogu reći kako je svaka stranica bilo koje njegove knjige toliko kvalitetno napisana, da bismo se svi trebali u njega ugledati.
Do iduće objave,
Voli vas vaša Goga
You know what I'm going to tell you?
READ IT! AS A MUST!
Remember how I introduced you to Zafon’s Tetralogy of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books last year and how I was a little disappointed that Zafon’s magic is somehow mostly present in The Shadow of the Wind?
I remember looking forward to seeing a whiff of that magic in the rest of the sequels, but somehow it got lost. The rest of the sequels became like a "normal" book, without the supernatural that I aspired to and invoked. I liked that feeling and I just wanted more, only I didn’t really feel that “more” in the rest of the tetralogy, no matter how dear it is to me.
And now... I can tell you with a huge smile on my face that "Marina" has surpassed the whole tetralogy, at least in my eyes. I have to tell you that for some time now I haven't felt that zeal of “barely waiting” to come home from work or to do all the tasks I have in the day, just to sit down and continue reading as soon as possible. Until I took Marina in my hands. :)
Through the plot of the book, we follow the young Oscar Drai, a "forced" resident of a Barcelona boarding school, an immensely unfulfilled and unhappy boy who simply feels that he is missing something in life. He wants a way out of the boarding school, he wants freedom, adventure and mystery, but also something that he himself doesn't notice - family.
In one of his adventures outside the boarding school, he meets the beautiful Marina and, at first glance, he is left speachless. In addition, he stole a wristwatch from her father, but that is not that important right now. He eventually gave it back to him, with a lot of remorse. Small spoiler alert, but really small because the action is much bigger and more important than a watch.
Mostly, having met Marina and her father German, he realizes that he got at least part of what his soul lacked. He is nice to them, he feels that he finally belongs somewhere and that he has someone who loves and accepts him. He uses every free moment to spend with them - he eats, goes on trips, he even spends the Christmas holidays with them. Everything he ever wanted.
But... so that not everything would be perfect, while meeting this lovely creature named Marina, Oscar gets involved in a almost 40 year old love story, which caused many bad things for people who wanted or not to be retracted in her vortex.
There was once a beautiful girl named Eva Irinova - the appearance of a goddess, and her voice even more beautiful. The beautiful Eva caught the eye of the local powerful man Mijail Kolvenik (a real local Spaniard, right?), who decided to marry her, buy whatever she wanted, show her to the world, but also build a theater where she was supposed to perform (when she wants, of course). A real fairy tale filled with all fulfilled wishes, life in idyll, wealth and abundance. And it would all be great if envious and evil people didn't get involved and tear down all that beautiful tower of cards.
And now, almost 40 years later, Oscar and Marina are drawn into the same story. Despite the fact that they know they are in danger, they know that they will not only get their lives out, but still the mystery of that ancient love story and their tragedy attracts them so much that they can't stop. They can’t let the story stay where it is, unfinished and unexplored.
What's going on in the conservatory with all those dolls? Who is the woman in black? And where is Mijail Kolvenik? - These are just some of the questions I asked myself at the beginning of the book.
I have to admit that at some point Marina was just kind of unproven and tiring for me, while I felt sorry for Oscar. As determined and eloquent as she was, he was gentle and kind, unfulfilled and eager. He is a young naive boy who is just beginning to get to know some feelings and fill the void left by his own family. He finally felt he had a family, but he also felt something much more - something that even 15 years after the events with Marina still overwhelms him.
Also, as much as he was initially against any digging into the past, so much the whole web of events in which they found themselves motivated him to continue his research. I admit that I wouldn't have stopped myself until I came up with a solution to a 40-year-old riddle... Extremely exciting, don't you think? :)
On the other hand, I don't know how to best describe Eva and Kolvenik. They seem to me somehow... as if they have some supernatural strength, invincibility and sublimity. I look at them as a strong couple to whom no one can do anything because, let’s be realistic, they’ve been through a bunch of shit in their lives and got stronger because of it. So I can say that, on the one hand, I feel admiration and respect for them, no matter what happens to their lives and how they actually ended.
I love when an occasional book “slaps” me with some insights. As much as I think that all the most important items in my life are always in focus, so much I get kicked out of my shoes when I realize that is not the case. It’s awful that we mostly take some things for granted, and when something slips out of our hands, we feel like we’re broken into thousands of pieces. That's why I like to immerse myself in a book because it pulls out what is important in life. And if it is important in life, it must not be forgotten...
I am happy to have finally read it. I cannot describe to you in words what kind of world I discovered while reading Zafon's books. I’ve even read some of them twice just because they cause some energy, something unusual in this material earthly world. As for his works, only two remain unread to me - "September Lights" and "Midnight Palace". And as soon as I get to them, I definitely intend to include them among the posts of my dear blog.
Sometimes you realize, at least in this reading world, how one somehow relates to some authors. And as much as they read their work, they have a feeling that these authors are somehow closer to them and that they get to know them better. I hope that, at least through blog posts, you will give a chance to Zafon's work. Not every book needs to have the magic I pray about so much, but I can say that every page of any of his books is so well written that we should all look up to.
Until the post,
Your Goga sends kisses
Comments