Tell them of battles, kings, and elephants,
without the elegance, without the elephants,
only battles, cruel kings, and pawns,
“Comrade, one last handshake before the end
of the world,” says a madman
at the station in Milan,
Francis Servain Mirković is burdened
by the remark, burdened
by the contents
of his suitcase, by the contents
of his mind,
as the train steers to Rome,
it is not scenery that flash by,
it is his life; no home,
Balkan conscript, a spy,
dysfunctional lover, son,
former informer
in the Zone, epicenter
of my literary quakes,
“the Zone, land of the wrathful savage
gods who have been clashing
endlessly
since the Bronze Age,” but he is
convinced that tomorrow he will
be a new man, as the train moves
memory
is a threnody
of the guilt of nations,
of the sins of the world,
of over a century’s worth
of savagery,
a brutal montage
of conflict, training our eyes to truths
that we prefer to turn away from, a book
to make our consciences flinch, no one
is ever prepared
for official truth
says our antihero, this man,
a product of a history
of violence,
a tragic aspect
of a portrait
of a man
of our time.
The Book-Butterfly 
This is a different style of post from you…it got me intrigued. Just read a review about the book on the Guardian. It definitely sounds like something I’d be interested in. Thanks once again for introducing me to books I might never have come across. You’re a gem! X
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I’m glad someone noticed! Thank you for paying attention. 😊 It’s actually a nod to the style in which the novel is written. He doesn’t use any periods here! Periods appear only in chapters that quote a book that the character is reading and only on the very last page. I think it’s very effective in achieving the feeling of literally being in a moving train while reading his figurative train of thought. I highly recommend his beautiful little book about Michelangelo and Istanbul, “Tell Them of Battles, Kings & Elephants! I think you’d love that, too! Besides, I’m counting down to January with you. Haha!
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Oh wow that sounds like an interesting style of writing. Something different! Have noted both books on my “to buy list” x
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Loved, loved, loved your review, Mira! Felt like I was listening to rap music 😊 I have this book on my Kindle, but haven’t read it yet. I’ve heard that Mathias Énard writes so beautifully. Thanks so much for your poetic review 😊 Finally managed to catch up with all your recent reviews 😊 Can’t wait for your next review 😊
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