Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Dictionary of the Khazars (M) by Milorad Pavic ISBN: 0-679-72461-3 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 23 October, 1989 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.45 (20 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Between total fantasy and magical realism
Comment: I saw this book in a store and saw that there were two editions. This intrigued me -- why "Male" & "Female". It was only several years later on the Internet that I was finally able to find the differing sections -- and different they are, although not necessary for the enjoyment of the book. Choose either edition; you will find the same pleasure.
The Khazars were a real people, holding wide areas of modern-day Russian. They did convert, eventually to Judaism, although you would never learn this from Pavic in particular. No, Pavic is not worried about the reality of the Khazars, but in the melding of cultures of the Balkans, the state of Man and God and their relationships to each other, and odd connections that a literate reader makes between multiple books.
This is not a book with a plot. This is not a book with a single or simple way to read it. I believe that I have read the whole book twice, but they only way I could say that for certain would to be like Hansel and Gretzel and leave marks on the pages that I have actually finished. Like swimming through a dictionary or encyclopedia, this book invites you to read sections in no particular order, or, more realistically, in the order YOU see fit to choose.
The three sections (Christina, Muslem, Jewish) are seperated, yet intermingled due to cross references (many of them contradictory). They are colour-coded, yet this only provides one level of deliniation. Each section is set up like an encyclopedia in its own right. The unifying figure of Princess Ateh is sure to intrigue any sagacious reader; the whimsical nature of the book may seem superficial at first, but you will be drawn deeper into the mystery of "What is this all about?"
Prepare to lose yourself in a magical world of words and inter-relations. I have noted that previous reviewers have compared the writing to Marquez and Calvino -- this is not far off the mark, especially if one could only spin the two together.
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent, intricate, and fascinating.
Comment: "Dictionary of the Khazars" is written in three sections -- the Muslim section, the Jewish Section, and the Christian section, and deals with three points of view regarding the Khazar Polemic. (The Khazars had a pagan empire; historians believe they may have converted to Judaism as their official religion after inviting representatives of all three major religions).
Demons, dreamwalking, and other fantastic elements figure prominently in this novel. This book is not a simple read, but it is a good one
Rating: 5
Summary: quite simply the most complex book ever written!
Comment: Pavic's Dictionary is without a shred of doubt the best, most beautiful and the most complex book I have ever read. It was written with an impecable style, but let me warn you right away: don't expect an ordinary fictional work. The Dictionary is a multilayered masterpiece, it talks about the same event and culture from three points of view. All different. All contradictory. All true. All false.
In the beginning, you'll wonder if he's normal; half way through it, you'll wonder if you're normal for believing him and in the end, you'll want to read it again, again and again. So far I have read it cover to cover eight times, and I don't even think that I understand it completely.
This wonderful showcase of dialectics is a definite must read!
 |
Title: Landscape Painted with Tea by Milorad Pavic ISBN: 0679733442 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 01 October, 1991 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
 |
Title: Last Love in Constantinople: A Tarot Novel for Divination by Milorad Pavic, Christina Pribichevih-Zoric, Christina Pribicevic-Zoric ISBN: 0802313302 Publisher: Dufour Editions Pub. Date: December, 1999 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
 |
Title: THE THIRTEENTH TRIBE by Arthur Koestler ISBN: 0394402847 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 12 July, 1976 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
 |
Title: The Encyclopedia of the Dead (European Classics) by Danilo Kis, Michael Henry Heim ISBN: 081011514X Publisher: Northwestern University Press Pub. Date: December, 1997 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
 |
Title: History of Edom and Khazaria by Melchizedek Y. Lewis, Makeda Levi ISBN: 0966542606 Publisher: M.Y.L. Publisher Pub. Date: 01 April, 1989 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
