Nominations

Valiantsin Akudovich: Кніга пра Нішто /A Book About Nothing (Minsk, Logvinau, 2012, 305 pp, ISBN 9789856991922)
Ihar Babkou: Khvilinka (Minsk, Logvinau, 2013, 232 pp, ISBN 978-985-562-097-7)
Alherd Bakharevich: Гамбургскі рахунак Бахарэвіча/Hamburg Account of Bakharevich (Minsk, Logvinau, 2012, 428 pp, ISBN 978-985-562-012-0)
Aram Pachyan: Goodbye, Bird (Yerevan, Antares Publishing House, 2012, 224 pp, ISBN 978-9939-51-378-2)
Hovhannes Tekgyozyan: The Fleeting City (Yerevan, Antares Publishing House, 2012, 164 pp, ISBN 978-9939-51-379-9)

39 comments:

Unknown said...

“The Book about Non-existence” sums up Akudovich’s meditations on the concept of absence.
“Human is the one who knows that Non-existence exists”.
Non-existence is always a denial. And absence is something that doesn’t exist and something that will never appear. Absence is the incredible potentiality. Everything comes from absence and, when disappearing, returns to absence, - Valiantsin Akudovich assumes.
Zdroj: http://en.eurobelarus.info/news/society/2012/11/06/public_lecture_of_Valiantsin_Akudovich_about_the_metaphysics_of_absence.html

Unknown said...

From: http://nmnby.eu/yearbook/2013/en/page22.html
Ihar Babkou’s book Khvilinka (“Moment”) is in many ways a borderline text. It is evidently the author’s intellectual autobiography encrypted into a series of short stories featuring allegorical characters. It is a sentimental farewell to the nationalist/romanticist era of the 1990s, yet also a harsh condemnation of the period. And, finally, it is prose constantly digressing into poetry, as well as poetry that acts as an intellectual puzzle. Khvilinka operates outside of existing conventions, defining possible avenues for the development of Belarusian thought.

Unknown said...

From: http://www.autorskecteni.cz/2007/en/ProgramDetail.aspx?id=171
"ALHERD BAKHAREVICH born in 1975 in Minsk, an author of four books of prose, a participant of Berliner Literary colloquium and several festival in Poland, Slovenia, Germany.
With enthusiasm of a despising entomologist Alherd Bakharevich investigates and describes surrounding reality... [Sjarhej Kandracenka]"

Unknown said...

From: http://literature.am/book/goodbye-bird/
"Aram Pachyan’s first novel “Goodbye, Bird” self-creates and decomposes right in the process of reading, with the immediate participation of the reader. Every step, gesture, speech act, vision of the hero discharged from the army years ago becomes a revelation, a return to the point of departure, where the forms and definitions of reality have been refuted. He succeeds in embodying characters using tricks of the imagination, reminiscing about absent childhood and army friends, the girl he was in love with, and inventing stories. The hallucinations of the 28-year-old soldier are windows opening one within the other, which avail him an exceptional opportunity of return and final farewell. However, this return is not only aimed at reflecting and re-evaluating the past, but eternalizing and safeguarding the moments of beauty.

Unknown said...

From: http://1litagency.am/eng/33/programs.html
"In The Fleeting City, one of the character’s has hair that has branched out like a tree and come alive. Another character projects the faces of animals onto his friends. This style gives Tekgyozyan the liberty to write as if he were drawing an animated film with words on paper, and it draws the reader into a fantastical 3D world where inanimate objects come to life and humans take on unsuspecting forms.
What also typifies Tekgyozyan’s style is his way of narrating the same story through different characters. In The Fleeting City, both main characters, Gagik and Grigor, tell the same story from two different perspectives, adding and subtracting events, giving the reader a more holistic view of what happened.Even though Tekgyozyan is best known for his cartoon-animated style of writing, he is also praised for the themes he touches on – themes that are widely deemed controversial or taboo in Armenia."

Kristina Tapakova said...

The Book about Non-existence” sums up Akudovich’s meditations on the concept of absence. It includes the previous works of the philosopher – an essay “I’m absent”, “To destroy Paris”, “A Farewell talk”. The central part consists of the essay “The Damnation of Parmenides”. Akudovich told about this thinker of antiquity below.
Valiantsin Akudovich didn’t agree upon being called an intellectual provoker. Here the author could not but quote his own book. He started from the very first sentence: “If I do resemble God in something, then only in the fact that we are both absent”. And explained: “I really think so, no provocation at all”.
The story about Absence goes way back in time, noted the lecturer. He reminded about the Big Bang Theory, as well as about the religious experience that considers Absence to be the predecessor of the world, because it is from Non-existence that God created everything.
Valiantsin Akudovich was speaking about the existential Non-existence in human, as well as about the great ontological Non-existence, which, cocoon like, wraps up everything in the world. He asked a question of Leibnitz, the pivotal problem in metaphysics of absence: why there exists something, not Non-existence?
In order to find out who and how developed the concept of Non-existence, Akudovich carried out a survey of the European discourse for the period of 2,5 thousand years. It is quite natural that he started from the ancient Greeks and singled out Parmenides among them, who claimed that there only exists what exists, and there is anything like “Non-existence.
According to Akudovich, Christianity is not interested in Non-existence: non-existence cannot be anywhere where God is present. He mentioned Hegel, who played with the thesis of existence and the antithesis of nonexistence. He noted that Heidegger in his lecture of 1929 has a revolutionary moment: he linked metaphysics and Non-existence (to think metaphysically means to think Non-existence). The work of Jean-Paul Sartre is connected with the concept of absence.
Akudovich believes that human rises from an animal only when he understands the concept of Non-existence. The importance of Non-existence for a human being is even explained on the book cover:
“First man lived by all that Exists (shall we call this period Eden), never knowing that besides Existence there is also Non-existence – his own one before everything. And when he realized that he was fully seized by metaphysical terror.
Meeting Non-existence was and remains the greatest event from all those happened with the human in his life. (…) But once an edge of Non-existence flashed before him, he left Eden, where all that is not human remains up until now.
“Human is the one who knows that Non-existence exists”.
Non-existence is always a denial. And absence is something that doesn’t exist and something that will never appear. Absence is the incredible potentiality. Everything comes from absence and, when disappearing, returns to absence, - Valiantsin Akudovich assumes.
The philosopher and methodologist Uladzimir Matskevich noticed that there exist symbols to define absence – at least hard and soft signs in the Russian language, and zero in mathematics.
Though for the Europeans Non-existence is something negative, not all the civilizations have a caution against Non-existence. Igar Babkou made an example of the Chinese, who are not only unafraid of Non-existence but also believe they are the sons of such a great non-existence as the sky. Non-existence can be positive in some way.
http://en.eurobelarus.info/news/society/2012/11/06/public_lecture_of_Valiantsin_Akudovich_about_the_metaphysics_of_absence.html

Unknown said...

Aram Pachyan's first book "Robinzon and 13 short stories" is going to be published in the second edition. This edition will have the title "Robinzon" and will be published in the series "XXI." of Antares Publishing House. Earlier this year the novel "Goodbye, Bird" by Pachyan was published in the mentioned series among other titles by contemporary Armenian authors.

Unknown said...

The style of the young author can undoubtedly be considered as a unique pattern in contemporary Armenian literature. The mixture of the real and imaginary worlds makes his stories rather different from the writing manner of other Armenian authors. The stories are like small and clear paintings of various characters. The faces in these paintings are so familiar, like someone you know, or someone hiding very deep inside of you. Inescapable loneliness of people in the modern world is the main topic of all the stories by Pachyan.

Unknown said...

The story named “Birds” is about soldiers who put on wings and fly out of windows and over high walls. They are like birds that have stopped at a temporary post on their way to warmer countries. They will soon leave this place forever, but for the duration of their stay, they have to follow outrageous rules that presently exist or break them to defend their honor. In “Sad Boats” the author converses with a dead young man who has been killed in mass political protests. Through this tragic story, the author elegantly conveys the injustice of a young life lost. The sound of the fallen young man’s phone, continuously ringing in his pocket can still be heard long after you have closed the book. “Transparent bottles” is a story of a son, who has so many different emotions towards his drinking father. With simultaneous feeling of love and hate and in the midst of bitter argument, a conflicted son fights to help his father survive. His characters represent the typology of young men who are intellectual, independent, free from political and religious pressure, and who have adopted solely the righteous laws of humanity.

RobinsonThe second edition of Robison was published in 2012 within the XXI. series of Antares publishing house.

Unknown said...

Hovhannes Tekgyozyan is a writer, actor and playwright. He has written a vast number of short stories and two novels, as well as plays, scripts, essays and articles on theater, cinematography and culture. His works were published in Armenian, Russian and Austrian newspapers and literary journals. Currently Hovhannes is involved in scriptwriting and cinematography. He has also tought “The Art of Acting” and “Theory of Acting” at the Yerevan State University of Cinema and Theater. He is the author of two short story collections – The Wooden Shirt and The Glass Sun, a book of essays on theater Doublesex Theater and a novel The Fleeing City, which was published in Armenia in 2012. His new novel Skinpain will be published in 2013.

Unknown said...

On this website you can read a fragment of his another book in english: http://www.writershub.co.uk/fiction-piece.php?pc=1732

Unknown said...

Some more info about this author:
Tekgyozyan is mostly known in his fiction for his fantastical cartoon-animated descriptions. In The Fleeting City, for instance, one of the character’s has hair that has branched out like a tree and come alive. Another character projects the faces of animals onto his friends. This style gives Tekgyozyan the liberty to write as if he were drawing an animated film with words on paper, and it draws the reader into a fantastical 3D world where inanimate objects come to life and humans take on unsuspecting forms.
What also typifies Tekgyozyan’s style is his way of narrating the same story through different characters. In The Fleeting City, both main characters, Gagik and Grigor, tell the same story from two different perspectives, adding and subtracting events, giving the reader a more holistic view of what happened.Even though Tekgyozyan is best known for his cartoon-animated style of writing, he is also praised for the themes he touches on – themes that are widely deemed controversial or taboo in Armenia. Some of these themes are concerned with politics, such as oligarchy and corruption, but most of them reflect on socio-cultural differences and the prevalent ignorance and intolerance toward them, including views on sexuality, homosexuality, suicide, and drug addiction.

Unknown said...

An interesting website. You can read here a bit more about armenian literature :http://1litagency.am/eng/18/programs.html

Unknown said...

Interview : http://hetq.am/eng/news/54803/armenian-authors-works-attract-interest-in-international-literary-market.html

Unknown said...

Aram Pachyan, an award-winning Armenian author originally from Vanadzor, echos Hakhverdi’s sentiments.

Armenian literature is in a state of crisis, he says.

“At most, books receive a 500 circulation print, but hardly 50 of copies are read by the public,” he said in an Armenian-language email interview that has been translated, adding that the crisis is further aided by the fact that established works by Armenian authors do not get circulated outside of Armenia.

“Armenia today lives in a political blockade, we don’t have any ties to Europe, we live in the condition of closed borders, and our language is not English, French or Spanish, which is spoken by the world’s general population. Also, a very big problem exists – established Armenian literature isn’t systematically translated; a writer/translator relationships seems nonexistent.”

Unknown said...

Aram Pachyan is a fiction and non-fiction writer. He was first published in 2007 in the literary newspaper "Grakan Tert". Later his stories were periodically published in different local literary periodicals including "Grakan Tert", "Gretert", "Eghitsi Luys", "Narcis" literary magazine. In 2009 his short stories were published in the the collection of modern Armenian prose "Anthology 18-33". Currently he is a journalist and columnist at "Hraparak" newspaper, as well as the host of a radio talk how "Crazy conversation with Aram Pachayn" and author of the literary program radio series "In the Library". His first collection of short stories "Robinzon and 14 short stories" was published in 2011. The first novel by the author "Goodbye, Bird" was published in 2012.

Awards

2010 - Youth Prize of the President of Armenia for a series of stories published in the press

2009 - Prize of "Narcis" journal for the short stories "Work, Work" and "Chess novel"

2009 - Annual prize of "Gretert" literary newspaper for the story "Robinson"

2008 - Annual prize of "Gretert" literary newspaper for the story "Transparent Bottles"

Unknown said...

Goodbye, Bird - every step, gesture, word and vision of the twenty-eight-year-old young man who returned from the army several years ago, is a revelation, which takes him back to the begining, when the reality had lost its shape, and turned into a new and imperceptible world. In his imagination he embodies different characters, feels the the presence of his girlfriend again, remembers his childhood and army friends, who are gone now. He invents stories and regains the ability for admiration. This book is an adventure in the searches of beauty, which doesn't have a begining and an end.

Unknown said...

Aram Pachyan, Robinson - The style of the young author can undoubtedly be considered as a unique pattern in contemporary Armenian literature. The mixture of the real and imaginary worlds makes his stories rather different from the writing manner of other Armenian authors. The stories are like small and clear paintings of various characters. The faces in these paintings are so familiar, like someone you know, or someone hiding very deep inside of you. Inescapable loneliness of people in the modern world is the main topic of all the stories by Pachyan. The story named “Birds” is about soldiers who put on wings and fly out of windows and over high walls. They are like birds that have stopped at a temporary post on their way to warmer countries. They will soon leave this place forever, but for the duration of their stay, they have to follow outrageous rules that presently exist or break them to defend their honor. In “Sad Boats” the author converses with a dead young man who has been killed in mass political protests. Through this tragic story, the author elegantly conveys the injustice of a young life lost. The sound of the fallen young man’s phone, continuously ringing in his pocket can still be heard long after you have closed the book. “Transparent bottles” is a story of a son, who has so many different emotions towards his drinking father. With simultaneous feeling of love and hate and in the midst of bitter argument, a conflicted son fights to help his father survive. His characters represent the typology of young men who are intellectual, independent, free from political and religious pressure, and who have adopted solely the righteous laws of humanity.

Unknown said...

Aram Pachyan was born on March 19, 1983, in Vanadzor, Armenia, into a family of medical workers. From 1999 to 2004 he studied in the law department of Yerevan State University. He was first published in 2007 in the literary newspaper ‘Grakan Tert’. Later his stories were published in various local literary periodicals including ‘Grakan Tert’, ‘Gretert’, ‘Eghitsi Luys’, and ‘Narcis’ literary magazines. In 2009 his works were included in the collection of modern Armenian prose Anthology 18-33. Currently he is a journalist and columnist at Hraparak newspaper, as well as author of the Lratvakan radio literary programs. His first collection of short stories, Robinzon and 13 Short Stories, was published in 2011. His first novel Goodbye, Bird, was published in 2012. In 2010 he was awarded Youth Prize of the President of Armenia for a series of stories published in the press.

Unknown said...

Rozhovor Arevikom Ashkharoyanom o arménskej literatúre, kde reaguje síce krátko, ale predsa aj na knihu ,,Goodbye, bird" od Arama Pachyana ...Of such authors, whose works have attracted interest in the international market and why?

The greatest interest at this time is in Aram Pachyan's novel Goodbye, Bird. I think, the interest is because the book presents issues that are relevant for youth all over the world — regardless of nationality or place of residence.

Using allegory, the novel describes a young man in a closed society establishing himself and making a choice between "bad" and "good". One of the unique characteristics of the novel is the impact of each person's childhood experiences on a person's entire life. These are universal issues.

Unknown said...

Fotky z prezentácie ,,Goodbye, bird" od Arama Pachyana...http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/photoset/all/2154

Unknown said...

A little bit information about Aram Pachyan:
"Aram Pachyan is a fiction and non-fiction writer. He was first published in 2007 in the literary newspaper ‘Grakan Tert’. Later his stories were periodically published in different local literary periodicals including ‘Grakan Tert’, ‘Gretert’, ‘Eghitsi Luys’, ‘Narcis’ literary magazine. In 2009 his works were included in the the collection of modern Armenian prose Anthology 18-33. Currently he is a journalist and columnist at Hraparak newspaper, as well as author of the literary programs on radio Lratvakan. His first collection of short stories Robinzon and 14 short stories was published in 2011. His first novel Goodbye, Bird was published in 2012. In 2010 he was awarded Youth Prize of the President of Armenia for a series of stories published in the press."
From: http://www.writershub.co.uk/member_profile.php?me=873

Unknown said...

Extract from Aram Pachyan´s "Journey by Bicycle"
....We took English language classes in a group: four boys, three girls, one of whom I was not indifferent to. She always wore brightly colored clothes, short skirts. Once in a while we laughed. As soon as she appeared in the distance, we would say, “the prissy princess is here, hold your breaths.” She always used Russian words when she talked, probably to follow the trend. In class, she callously drove me crazy, scratching her breasts in front of me, slowly pulling up her skirt, winking, in a word, trying to tell me something. I started to collect money; I took loans from my friends, sold my bike’s Bosch bell to Pushko, and felt in my head that I had gathered quite a capital. After class, I followed her and stopped her as she was about to cross the road.
“Hey, Son, wait a sec, I want to say something.”
She calmly stopped; she had probably been waiting for this for a while. "....
See more at: http://www.writershub.co.uk/fiction-piece.php?pc=1730#sthash.7jJG3bd8.dpuf

Unknown said...

A. Lukashenko´s statement on the ocassion Belarusian writers on 23 October, BelTA

Alexander Lukashenko reminded that in the time of the Soviet Union creative intellectuals often complained about censorship and the rigidity of socialist realism. “However, it was in those years that literature earned the highest level of respect for itself. Yevgeny Yevtushenko once described writers as people infused with the proud spirit of citizenship, who shun comfort and rest,” said the head of state.

Celý článok

Unknown said...

From 20 October to 20 November the National Library of Belarus will host an exhibition of rare books and artifacts from the Sartirana Arte Foundation. These are so-called mobile museums, which collections are kept in the institutes of the Italian culture on five continents and demonstrate Italy's multifaceted contribution to the world legacy. According to the Ambassador, the exhibition will host a ceremony of awarding students and teachers who took part in the project of translating the works of the authors competing for the Premio Strega, one of Italy's most prestigious literature awards, into the Russian and Belarusian languages. Belarus has joined the project that is held in many countries for the first time this year.
Zdroj

Unknown said...

Адам Глобус - псевдоним Владимира Вячеславовича Адамчика - белорусского писателя-прозаика, эссеиста, поэта, издателя и художника.

Informácie o spisovateľovi, jeho biografia + bibliografia tu

Unknown said...

Interview so spisovateľom Adamom Globusom, v ktorom sa vyjadruje ku samotnému bieloruskému jazyku, jeho využívaniu v bežnej reči a taktiež v literatúre. Spisovateľ sa vyjadril aj k polemike používania ruského jazyka a bieloruského jazyka. Na konci článku je aj malý test - А ты знаешь белорусский язык? - link

Unknown said...

Hovhannes Tekgyozyan was born in 1974 in Yerevan. He has graduated from the State Institute of Theater and Cinema, majoring in Opera Directing. He has authored short stories, novellas, plays, essays, articles (reviewing theater, movies, and culture), screenplays, and one novel. Hovhannes Tekgyozyan’s works have been translated into English, French, Russian, and Persian. In 2006, he was awarded with the Armenian-American IGEFA prize as the best young writer. In 2012, Tekgyozyan was awarded with the “Best Online Playwright” prize by the first, Armenian, theatrical portal. He is an author to numerous children’s plays. Hovhannes Tekgyozyan is author to a series of scripts for cultural performances. From 1996, Hovhannes Tekgyozyan has been working in the Yerevan Hrachya Kaplanian Dramatic Theater as an actor. For over fifteen years, he has played more than thirty roles: Pantalone-“The Raven,” Ozrik-“Hamlet,” Messenger-“Macbeth,” Fool-“Bus,” Frank-“Mamamia,” Clown-“Endless Return,” Paylak-“Love and Laughter,” Neighbor-“The Woman and the Man” and so forth. Hovhannes Tekgyozyan is the secretary of the Dramaturgy department in the Republic of Armenia Union of Theater Professionals. He is also the director of the troupe in the Yerevan Hrachia Kaplanian Dramatic Theater. In 2009, Hovhannes Tekgyozyan was awarded with the “Vahan Tekeyan” prize for the collection of short stories “Sun of Glass.”

Bibliography

Wooden Shirt
Sun of Glass
Bisexual Theater
The Fleeting City
Skin Pain

Unknown said...

The Runaway City by Hovhannes Tekgyozyan :
This is a virtual movie-novella, where the mysticism and urban typologies, grotesque and reserved, humorous transitions are interlaced. The unique behaviors of the characters are revealed through psychological interviews, devices of cinematic dramaturgy, mythic sketches and text messages. The incidents reflected in “The Runaway City” are extremely recognizable, while being unreal and real.

Unknown said...

The presentation of "The Running City" by Hovhannes Tekgyozyan took place on May 18 near “Melancholia” sculpture in from NPAK Center for Contemporary Experimental Arts. The format of the presentation was rather unusual. The author took guests by surprise by appearing in clown's cloths to greet them. Standing on a chair with a red umbrella over his head he made a short speech, saluted the guests, thanked the organizers and supporters of the event. He mentioned that he didn’t want anyone to make speeches about him and his book, just wished for the guests to talk to each other, help themselves with the treats and have fun. As refreshments the guests were offered to drink MOJO yogurts of the event’s supporter «Ashtarak Kat» diary factory and help themselves with a pices of cake. The cake was made by another sponsor of the event - Laki Art Dessert Studio, and was designed with the cover picture of the book.

Unknown said...

Hovhannes Tekgyozyan is a writer, actor and playwright. He has written a vast number of short stories and two novels, as well as plays, scripts, essays and articles on theater, cinematography and culture. His works were published in Armenian, Russian and Austrian newspapers and literary journals. Currently Hovhannes is involved in scriptwriting and cinematography. He has also tought “The Art of Acting” and “Theory of Acting” at the Yerevan State University of Cinema and Theater. He is the author of two short story collections – The Wooden Shirt and The Glass Sun, a book of essays on theater Doublesex Theater and a novel The Fleeing City, which was published in Armenia in 2012. His new novel Skinpain will be published in 2013.

Unknown said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L6lLI_S9-Q - anglický preklad úryvku z knihy The Day of the Butterfly od Hovhannes Tekgyozyan :)

Unknown said...

Tekgyozyan is mostly known in his fiction for his fantastical cartoon-animated descriptions. In The Fleeting City, for instance, one of the character’s has hair that has branched out like a tree and come alive. Another character projects the faces of animals onto his friends. This style gives Tekgyozyan the liberty to write as if he were drawing an animated film with words on paper, and it draws the reader into a fantastical 3D world where inanimate objects come to life and humans take on unsuspecting forms.
What also typifies Tekgyozyan’s style is his way of narrating the same story through different characters. In The Fleeting City, both main characters, Gagik and Grigor, tell the same story from two different perspectives, adding and subtracting events, giving the reader a more holistic view of what happened.Even though Tekgyozyan is best known for his cartoon-animated style of writing, he is also praised for the themes he touches on – themes that are widely deemed controversial or taboo in Armenia. Some of these themes are concerned with politics, such as oligarchy and corruption, but most of them reflect on socio-cultural differences and the prevalent ignorance and intolerance toward them, including views on sexuality, homosexuality, suicide, and drug addiction.

Unknown said...

http://hetq.am/eng/news/54803/armenian-authors-works-attract-interest-in-international-literary-market.html rozhovor s Arevik Ashkharoyan, kde spomína aj knihu ,, The fleeting city" od Hovhannesa Tekgyozyana

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

http://www.writershub.co.uk/fiction-piece.php?pc=1730 preklad úryvku z knihy Arama Pachyana - ,, Journey by bicycle" od prekladateľky Nairi Hakhverdi

Unknown said...

Nairi Hakhverdi is a translator of classical and contemporary Armenian literature. She grew up in the Netherlands where she attended international schools and earned a degree in English Language and Literature from Leiden University. In the fall of 2009, she moved to Armenia and taught literary translation at Yerevan State Linguistic University. Her current projects include translating Aksel Bakunts's oeuvre and contemporary Armenian literature for the First Armenian Literary Agency.

Unknown said...

preklad je od Samvela Mkrtchyana - he is the Editor of ArtGrakanutyun literary translation quarterly and author of more than 30 books. He has translated, to name a few, Sonnets and Poems by W. Shakespeare, The Bear and Absalom! Absalom! by William Faulkner, The Waste Land and Other Poems by T. S. Eliot, English and American Poetry. His latest translation was Ulysses by James Joyce, with two editions in 2012. A native of Gyumri, he lives in Yerevan.

Unknown said...

Fleeting City by Hovhannes Tekgyozyan is an important novel representative of the new generation of Armenian writers. Tekgyozyan's novel has been described as a virtual movie-novella, where mysticism and urban typologies, grotesque and humourous transitions are all interlaced. He touches on themes previously taboo in Armenian but which characterize much of the new Armenia including virtual reality, sexuality, suicide, drugs. His style resonates with an almost cartoon-animated quality. Part humourist, part absurdist, always serious, part surrealist. always imaginative Tekgyozyan seems to be able to draw an animated film on paper, where objects come to life and human beings take on unsuspecting forms. In this novel, for example, one of the characters has hair that seems to have branched out like a tree and comes alive. The two main characters in Fleeting City, Gagik and Grigor, tell the same story but from two different perspectives, adding and subtracting. The result is a more complex narrative, as is all reality itself."