- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; Female ed edition (28 Jun 1990)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140118128
- ISBN-13: 978-0140118124
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 11 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 963,350 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
A novel despite its title, this book spans five centuries. It is a mixture of history, fiction and fable. This is the female edition which differs slightly but significantly from the accompanying male edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'm willing to bet my paycheck that you haven't read anything remotelylike "The Dictionary...". I know I hadn't. For one it is structured likea dictionary - or, perhaps more accurately, an encyclopaedia. The joy ofthis is that you can open the book at any page and read any entry at all(though I must recommend that you read the introduction before you dothis) and you'll be reading an entertaining 'storylet', which makes uppart of the overall story.
But M Pavic added an additional layer (or rather 3) of complexity to thisstructure: you see, this book is not one dictionary but three - aChristian, a Hebrew and a Muslim version. Each 'book' recounts the taleof the conversion of the Khazars, but approaches the story from theirdifferent viewpoint.
And this adds to the beauty of this book: You can read it 'diagonally' -i.e. read about a person or event (say Princess Ateh) in the Christianversion, then go to the Hebrew and see what they say about her, and thenon to the Muslim. The same story is often slanted subtly in each version- it's very engaging and very clever.
But this book is not just about gimmicks (because, face it, that's allthis dictionary structure really is). Pavic is a very good writer andevery sentence is sculpted, not a word is out of place. And with theKhazars he has (re)constructed a complete world. And it's a world I'mglad I visited.
One final word of warning: This is no holiday book, an easy airportlounge book. It is serious and dense and you have to wrestle its juicefrom it. The author is perhaps half-serious when he warns in theintroduction that readers have died or gone mad from attempting thisbook.
Still reading? Good. If I haven't scared you off, welcome to the worldof the Khazars. Enjoy.
But M Pavic added an additional layer (or rather 3) of complexity to thisstructure: you see, this book is not one dictionary but three - aChristian, a Hebrew and a Muslim version. Each 'book' recounts the taleof the conversion of the Khazars, but approaches the story from theirdifferent viewpoint.
And this adds to the beauty of this book: You can read it 'diagonally' -i.e. read about a person or event (say Princess Ateh) in the Christianversion, then go to the Hebrew and see what they say about her, and thenon to the Muslim. The same story is often slanted subtly in each version- it's very engaging and very clever.
But this book is not just about gimmicks (because, face it, that's allthis dictionary structure really is). Pavic is a very good writer andevery sentence is sculpted, not a word is out of place. And with theKhazars he has (re)constructed a complete world. And it's a world I'mglad I visited.
One final word of warning: This is no holiday book, an easy airportlounge book. It is serious and dense and you have to wrestle its juicefrom it. The author is perhaps half-serious when he warns in theintroduction that readers have died or gone mad from attempting thisbook.
Still reading? Good. If I haven't scared you off, welcome to the worldof the Khazars. Enjoy.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book grabbed my attention from the dedication on the frontispiece: "Here lies the reader who will never open this book. He is here forever dead." The book consists of three books, or three dictionaries, each telling the story of the imaginary people the Khazars from three points of view: Christian, Moslem or Jewish. Reading entries about the same characters in each book I've been jumping back and forwards from page to page. I love reading this way, its like reading a hypertext only you have total control of where you go and what you read about. The language is beautiful (the translation from Serbo-Croatian is either excellent or creative) and the joy in the story-telling spills over into the several versions of each event and each person described. Absolutely a book I'd recommend, though the advice in the introduction is probably quite good:
"The author advises the reader not to tackle this book unless he absolutely has to. And if he does touch it, let it be on days when he feels that his mind and sense of caution probe deeper than usual, and let him read it the way he catches "leap fever", an illness that skips over every other day and strikes only on feminine days of the week."
Oh, and take note: there's a male version of the book and a female version of the book...
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For those who like slow reading, for those who like thinking while reading, for those who like not-so-straightforward lines... This is the best book that has ever been written
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Speak for itself
I believe this it must read book. Not only unusual but I would call it unic.
I found it by accident & after open just can't put it down. Amazing
I found it by accident & after open just can't put it down. Amazing
Published 8 months ago by Andrew
Black is Black I want my baby back
Read it! Cambridge To Baghdad via Algeria and March. It's all in there. This book will take you anywhere. Have a dream. It WILL be caught on the airwaves.
Published on 23 Dec 2003 by Julie A Deloughery
Silver Shadows Nuclear Technology - Flora and Forna
I found the ultimate crucifiction within these pages. It was like Cambridge to Baghdad. A total toy in ship shape living the final fantasy. Read it. The Bible is no match! Read more
Published on 23 Dec 2003 by Julie A Deloughery
An Intellectual Curio
A very strange book, it comes in the form of a dictionary. The plot is, therefore, almost random access. You cross refer through to develop the story. Read more
Published on 27 May 2002 by "hypocrite_lecteur"
this world and another merge seemlessly
I first read this thinking it was a non fiction historical book. Knowing some of the history of the Balkans, it was a bit factual then a bit.. well, odd. Read more
Published on 18 May 2000
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