Sacred and Terrible Air -

Robert Kurvitz

ZA/UM

2013

276 páginas

9h 12m

ISBN-13: 9789949330638

In 2013, Kurvitz published the novel Sacred and Terrible Air (Estonian: Püha ja õudne lõhn), on which he had worked over five years. The novel, set in the fictional world of Elysium, centers on three men who, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of their classmates, are still determined to locate them. It received positive reviews, with literary theorist Johanna Ross highlighting it as one of the few books to successfully bridge science fiction and "literature proper". The literary scientist Jaak Tomberg emphasized the great attention to detail in his review: "Through that novel we bear witness to (1) a style which seems to be in its actually realistic and simply reflective way to be attentive towards the world to an almost paranoid degree, and (2) to a made-up world, which in its relentless interconnectedness is far more systemic than the reality we recognize as 'our own' and also remarkably more systemic than most of the fictional ones, which may by their similar way of building reservedly be called 'fantastic'." Despite its positive critical reception, the book was a commercial failure, selling between 1,000-1,500 copies, and causing Kurvitz to "succumb to a deep alcoholism". An English translation was planned for 2020, but it did not occur. As of 2023, two English fan translations exist. Having played tabletop roleplaying games for much of his life, Kurvitz uses worldbuilding techniques derived from Dungeons & Dragons, though opting for a pseudo-modernist fantasy world instead of a pseudo-medieval one. He employs help in the development of his ideas. "Mass editing" was employed as a tool in the finishing stage of the book; people of varying backgrounds assessed the readability and realism of the work, pointing out confusing passages and suggesting amendments (Wikipedia).

Resenhas (4)

4.5 (Muito bom)

Me deixa desaparecer

Eu tinha muita coisa pra falar desse livro. Eu poderia começar dizendo que li uma tradução de fãs pro Inglês de um livro originalmente escrito em Estoniano, que fiquei fascinado pelo mundo que vi em Disco Elysium e por isso fui atrás, poderia falar que é uma leitura difícil, que é apático e desesperador, mas nada disso faria justiça ao que esse livro é.

Sacred and Terrible Air é sobre o desaparecimento de quatro garotas e os esforços de um grupo de garotos para encontrá-las. Um esforço de uma vida inteira. As palavras do livro tem cheiro. Os sentimentos dos personagens são tão reais que quase dá pra tocar neles.

Recomendo a leitura, e posteriormente eu recomendo o próprio Disco Elysium. É um jogo apático e desesperador, como toda boa contradição.