Viața și opiniile lui Zacharias Lichter

by Matei Călinescu

A biography of the anti-charismatic prophet Zacharias Lichter, written as a collection of essays (about courage, poetry, women, responsibility, liberty, etc.) bound together by brief poems written by Zacharias Lichter.
„S-ar zice: un Bal-Shem-Tov văzut de Sterne.” (E.M. Cioran)
„Încercând să explic ideea de Lichter… tentativa de-a face incredibilul credibil, de a justifica poziţia cea mai dificilă, de a crea un «sfânt» din perspectiva unui necredincios, de a construi o psihologie şi o logică profetică dintr-o perspectivă sceptică. Succesul unei astfel de întreprinderi se măsoară după tentaţia finală a autorului de a se converti la filozofia personajului, care-i apare necesară, inevitabilă, de-un adevăr incontestabil.” (Matei Călinescu)
„Matei Călinescu imagina, vizionar, un sistem social în care n-ar fi existat decât hoţi şi cerşetori. Hoţii ar fura de la cerşetori, cerşetorii ar cerşi de la hoţi şi totul ar merge strună. De unde ai ştiut, Matei, cum aveam să ajungem în aşa scurtă vreme?” (Mircea Cărtărescu)

Genres: Fiction, Romania, Romanian Literature, Humor, Philosophy, Classics, 20th Century

158 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Matei Călinescu was a Romanian literary critic and professor of comparative literature at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana.
He attended the Ion Luca Caragiale High School in Bucharest, taking his diploma in 1952. He emigrated from Romania to the United States in 1973. Emeritus Professor at Indiana University. He lived with his wife in Bloomington, Indiana.

Reviews

[João Reis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely dull. A painful experience.

[Kuszma · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A szavak gazdagodtak, meghíztak, megsokasodtak, rétegek rétegei terültek a világra, és elsötétítették; a szavakból származik a demagógia gennye, amely fullasztóvá teszi a kor levegőjét; az igazság maga is csak egy szó lett a szavak között.
A szó szellemi küldetése csak annyi, hogy a kérdezés ruhája legyen; hogy a kérdés, ez az élőlény, kinyilatkoztassa önmagát; a szó a kérdezés lángjának tápláléka.
Mint ahogy a gyermekek kérdezik szüleiket, kérdezzük mi is a világot: miért? miért? miért? - kérdezzük a végtelenségig, a végkimerülésig; akkor pedig az okság kategóriája képtelennek tűnik föl számunkra.
Kérdezzük a világot: hogyan? hogyan? hogyan? - kérdezzük a végtelenségig; és akkor a módozat kategóriája érthetetlenné válik.
Kérdezzük a világot: mikor? mikor? mikor? - amíg csak az idő föl nem fedi előttünk alapvető nemlétét.
Kérdezzük a világot: hol? hol? hol? - és behatolunk a tér paradoxonába.
Hogy megmenekedjünk, végig kell kérdeznünk (vég nélküli vég ez) minden kérdést, amely csak eszünkbe ötlik, a legegyügyűbbtől a legbonyolultabbig, legelvontabbig: nem szabad különbséget tennünk közöttük, egyforma alázattal kell viseltetnünk mindegyikük iránt, mert a kérdezés országában megnyíló utak, ha következetesen járjuk őket, ugyanahhoz az igazsággal teljes szó-űrhöz vezetnek?"

Kicsoda Zacharias Lichter? Mit csinált? Mit mondott? Hol, hogyan és miért élt? Minden életrajzi portré (még ha szükségszerűségből töredékes is) az ilyen kérdésekre akar választ adni. De nem Călinescué. Az ő fiktív monográfiája nem csökkenti a kérdések számát, hanem megszaporítja őket. Nem válaszol: ami válasznak tűnik, az csak egy újabb kérdés, álruhában.

miért? miért? miért?

hogyan? hogyan? hogyan?

Akár ez is lehetne az irodalom definíciója.

[Robert Wechsler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best thing about this incredible book is the translation by the author’s widow, Adriana Calinescu, and the great German-to-English translator Breon Mitchell. The translation is pitch perfect, keeping the wildness under control while making the dryness enjoyable. Short chapters get across the protagonist’s ideas in a wide variety of ways, and keep the reader on her toes by never making it clear how seriously one is supposed to take any statement or idea. The book is brilliant, thought-provoking, humorous, and short.

If you enjoy philosophy (especially existential) and don't require plot, characters interacting in common ways, or other things one expects from a novel, you should find this a fine, very fresh reading experience. Ignore the stuff about the time and place this book was written: it is timeless.

[Jordan West · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5; fascinating and frustrating, often in equal measure.

[Samuel Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was...weird, but also, um, good?

[Lauren Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may simply not have been the right frame of mind for a Romanian novel. The voice failed to capture me, or perhaps it was just a little too philosophically bleak. This is a picaresque novel of an imagined philosopher who speaks 'in torrent and trades in absurdity' (Kirkus). Perhaps when The Trumpery is no longer in power I will try it again.

[Aravindakshan Narasimhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the books recommended by the acclaimed Hungarian writer Krasznahorkai. It is obvious I had to check it then.

Essentially, it is about a self stylized madmen/eccentric, who is on a verbal rampage.

It was too much for me though. I did enjoy few bits, like, on mathematics (epitome of narcissism), begging (ideal state of being), analysis (high point of stupidity), children (glimmer of spirituality) , question (gateway to truth and end in itself).

Also, apart from few places I couldn't figure out the open subversion the work is claimed to be, against communist dictatorship. May be the knowledge of the then society and history of the place could help a bit more in my appreciation of the work.

[Nik Maack · Rating 2 out of 5]

With an interesting opening, describing a hideous philosopher weirdo, the book promises a lot. Where is this going, I asked myself? The answer: nowhere. The book spirals around, mostly offering philosophical arguments and perspectives, which are either satirical or aren't. It's hard to say.

To be fair, I skipped the introduction after starting to read it. It seemed to be saying this is a Very Important Book of a particular social environment. Perhaps without that context, I missed all the really profound social satire or something.

I doubt it. There's only so much laborious arguing and philosophizing I can take before my eyes glaze over and I lose interest. Some of the philosophy was interesting, but quite often I couldn't care less.

The main character keeps saying "from an ontological perspective". I read the definition of ontology and ontological. (It's one of those words I can never remember the meaning of.) Then I'd go back to the book and read the sentence over again, and be none the wiser of what's going on. Again, is this satire or what?

Still, I read the whole book. There are some fun bits. A lot of quirky characters are introduced, but nothing is ever done with them. This book is more or less without any plot whatsoever.

I suspect I accidentally read a book that only literary nerds and scholars read. Oh well.

The book was recommended to me by a friend, though he himself hasn't read the book yet, it turns out. Yeah.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally written in 1969 in the age of Ceauşescu, this dense treatise of thought gained a cult following when its author left Rumania for the United States. Very thoughtful, but I did not find many of the ideas here original. The conditions of its longevity were its most interesting aspects.

[Lisajean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Less than a month into the year, I’ve already found what I’m sure will be the best book I read in 2019. Not only is The Life and Opinions of Zacharias Lichter objectively good, it is also perfectly aligned with my personal taste and philosophical leanings.

This book is without any plot and has almost no character development, but I don’t mind. I find that plot-driven books tend to fall short stylistically and I don’t need relatable characters to connect to a story. Mimetic literature represents the surface reality, but it takes something different, something experimental to depict the deeper truths underlying the world of appearances. The Life and Opinions of Zacharias Lichter is such a book and it feels true and relevant even to a reader in a different time and culture.

It is not a novel in the traditional sense- it is simply presents disconnected stories and musings from the life and philosophy of a homely beggar attempting to live his life according to the “Platonic ideal of poverty.” Lichter is an ugly, impoverished fool who befriends the drunk, the senile, and the disillusioned while avoiding the cold probing of psychoanalysis. He struggles to live authentically in a corrupt, materialistic world and finds that the best approach is a determinedly anti-rational pursuit of absurdism and “true perplexity.” A person in true perplexity rejects sense-perception, social conventions, and other false impositions of meaning onto an illogical world and, through his awareness of the impossibility of meaningful action, becomes immersed in pure potentiality and oneness with God.

This book was a bizarre mix of fiction, philosophy, and poetry, but its disparate parts coalesce to send a clear message- one must search for truth in a world that doesn’t make sense, behave ethically in an unjust universe, and strive to live as an individual in a society that sees nonconformity as a sign of madness and stupidity.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Existence itself should fill us with deep gratitude, in whatever form it manifests itself. When we grow ashamed of our innocent joys, desires, nostalgia, and even suffering, our souls run the risk of becoming seriously ill, and we should take preventive measures. No matter how much we may believe that on those occasions we draw closer to God, in reality we are as far as possible from the breath of His goodness."

[Declan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lengthy discussion of the book here:
https://www.goodreads.com/read_status...

[Jazmin]

Part of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge: a translated book written by/translated by a woman.

Fucking dull, esoteric, ridiculously technical and just an excuse to show off a university education.

[Michael Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viata si Opiniile lui Zacharias Lichter is the romanced biography of the eternal anti-charismatic eponymous hero: Zacharias Lichter is the new-age Roaming Jew and prophet, in search of trivial truths in a fast-paced world, and refusing commiseration and modern society. Structured as a collection of short essays sutured by even shorter poems by Lichter and written in an ironic tone (to escape censorship--the book was published in Communist Romania and became one of the underground's important books), the book is about everything and nothing. Lichter is defined in relationship with women, children, freedom, procrastination, traveling, wearing masks, etc.---a manual of opposition to the Communist system or an interesting read. The writing style is convoluted, but thought-provoking for this reader. Overall, a difficult read but a thoroughly enjoyable book, particularly for people knowledgeable of the situation in Communist Romania.

[Taylor Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent, mind-bending, and spewing all manner of subversive philosophical perspective— let’s call it an intellectual upheaval braced into small chapters for masticating ease. Fundamentally Taoist, straight off, seems a’me, some pastoral mountains and rivers landscape tucked away as protest against a monolith of Chinese imperial corruption, yet placed instead in his tiny, urban, European setting, the character Zacharias Lichter couldn’t be more perfectly human. What more do you want from us, woebegone creatures caught plainly in a pitiful, consumptive materialistic existence, this so-dubbed pervasive illness, capitalism? It is there to be marveled at, the magnificent brilliance lattice-like latent in Lichter’s fictional, fabulous fabulations. Go forth and be melt, minds of the masses, massive minds melting, of their own, a’neath this shower for thought and play.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ooit opgepikt in een Roemeense boekhandel met het idee dat het leuk is om iets van de lokale schrijvers te lezen. De achterflap zegt "originally published under the brutally dictatorial Ceaușescu regime, whose censors initially let it pass because they couldn't make head or tail of it."
Nu snap ik dat het fijn is om censuur te ontwijken als je er geen touw aan kan vastknopen, maar als lezer is de ervaring toch echt iets minder prettig. Er zaten interessante zinnen in, maar meestal na zo'n boeiende beginzin escaleerde het hele verhaal tot een warrig samenraapsel van zinnen. Ik denk dat als je heel veel zin hebt om close reading toe te passen, dat het dan nog wel veel kan opleveren. Maar heb ik daar zin in als ik een boek oppak om te lezen? Nee.

[Socrate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mulţi dintre cei care au avut prilejul să-l vadă, chiar întâmplător şi în treacăt, l-ar putea recunoaşte dintr-o descripţie cât de sumară: făptura lui ciudată, de o urâţenie neverosimilă, se întipăreşte până şi în memoria oamenilor cu un simţ al observaţiei slab dezvoltat, ca una dintre acele amintiri marginale, dar tenace care, multă vreme acoperite de umbră, pot oricând reveni cu prospeţimi şi precizii uimitoare.
Bântuind de ani de zile, cu silueta lui groasă şi strâmbă, străzile şi parcurile oraşului, atrăgând atenţia printr-un aspect mizer, de cerşetor zdrenţăros, dar şi printr-o purtare insolită şi parcă ostentativă, el a sfârşit prin a deveni una din figurile familiare şi pitoreşti a căror absenţă mai îndelungată ar fi, fără îndoială, remarcată şi resimţită, poate chiar cu o anumită nostalgie. Prea
puţini ştiu însă că sub această înfăţişare se ascunde personalitatea incandescentă a unuia dintre ultimii coborâtori ai rasei marilor profeţi de altădată. De altfel, cercetate mai de aproape, înseşi aparenţele izbitoare care l-au transformat într-un soi de „personaj“ îşi pierd în bună măsură caracterul lor pitoresc, sugerând mai degrabă un amestec enigmatic de angelic şi de monstruos, capabil să dea naştere, în spiritele mai delicate, unei tulburări înrudite cu anxietatea.
Zacharias Lichter are, după cum spune chiar el, o fizionomie de metafizician şi de iluminat iudeo-german de la sfârşitul secolului al XVIII-lea.

[Joseph Schreiber · Rating 3 out of 5]

My reading of this Romanian classic, the apparent "biography" of an eccentric mystic philosopher who lives as a beggar and attracts a following of the curious and the equally bizarre, was interrupted by a long overseas trip and on my return I found it hard to get back into the rhythm. It is not a long or difficult read and was published during the Ceausescu reign—its subversive message disguised and, for a while, slipping past the censors. Lichter's collected wisdoms definitely take a stab at the dysfunctional world order of his time, but I would recommend reading this book in a few sittings rather than stretching it out. It remains to be seen how much holding power this work has for me, it certainly has some very strong moments and characters.

[Diana Ardu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un "roman" provocator, care m-a scos puțin din zona de confort, prin stilul elegant și evident erudit. Mi-au plăcut personajul principal, ideile filosofice, conceptele dezbătute. Intens, condensat, eseistic...o carte care problematizează...un exercițiu de libertate. Nu este neapărat o lectură comodă, așa că o recomand doar celor deschiși și obișnuiți să treacă praguri.

[C.L.N. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate how smug so many mystics are, real or imagined, and Lichter is no different.

[Ion Vianu]

The Life and Opinions of Zacharias LichterMatei Calinescu was an authentic skeptic: he doubted systematically, but did not reject alternate possibilities. In the communist world Zacharias Lichter's spiritualism opposed the dominant ideology and would oppose liberalism's prevalent ideology just as strongly today. This book is not an historical document but a subtle criticism, still relevant, of both communism and capitalism, the two systems that spar with each other yet continue to exist, like twin Eirenees, side by side, sharing a common dogmatic foundation. Lichter is as ridiculous as any radical dissident. Calinescu's irony contains a kernel of profound respect for silence and poverty that may indicate where the Author, an incurable skeptic, directs his admiration, if not his complete agreement.​

[Shoaib Mehmood Nagi · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're philosophically-inclined and endlessly obsessed with obscure and obfuscating literature, this book might just be perfect for you. I never expected to enjoy it this much.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

To read, is to not exist

[Mihail Romanescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sub aparențele unui roman, volumul este o culegere de eseuri pe teme culturale și filosofice. Există așa-zise personaje, protagonistul fiind Zacharias Lichter, iar restul tipuri umane general valabile și întâlnite în orice societate. Zacharias este un individ dintr-o lume iluzorie, în care el, aidoma filosofilor de odinioară, nu are avere, ba mai și cerșește din când și când, mai ales de la hoții care fură de la el, așa că se ajunge la o societate ideală, utopică. Sub forma unor considerații foarte personale, deseori construite ca răspuns la întrebările sau afirmațiile unui alt personaj, sunt prezentate opiniile autorului despre viață, societate și morală.
„Tăcerea este o experiență a celor care aud, liniștea – o experiență a surzeniei.” – p.15
Prostia ca mimetism al inteligenței, atât de fidelă acesteia, încât uneori i se substituie, se confundă cu ea.
„Inteligența are întotdeauna obsesia fundamentalului, a originalului, a structuralului și esențialului. Omul inteligent poate fi recunoscut după fascinația pe care o exercită asupra lui elementarul, simplul, și efortul lui în ordine spirituală este unul integrator: el caută, metaforic vorbind, cheia ideală a tuturor misterelor lumii. Ambiția spre total și unic lipsește prostiei, a cărei forță stă în capacitatea de a accepta placid orice teorie (chiar falsă) atunci când, pronind de la ea, poate atinge rezultate practice. Parazitând mimetic pe trunchiul pur al inteligenței, sugându-i sevele, prostia se întărește mereu, se perfecționează, se lăbărțează ca o imensă și primejdioasă pată pe conștiința umanității. Căci prostia e orgolioasă (are orgoliul „eficienței”), e sigură pe ea însăși, tentacular tehnică, economică, de o vicleană și foarte feroce agresivitate. Prostia se vrea „universal umană”.” – pp.24-25
Bărbatul are geniul dăruirii, pe când femeia și copiii, până la o anume vârstă, au geniul receptivității. – p.41
Copiii au vocația paradisului, pe care o pierd din pricina societății și a normelor la care se vor supune odată cu vârsta. „ Pierderea copilărie e izgonirea din copilărie.” – p.50
Prezentând rolul psihiatrului care vrea să elucideze sufletul omului, Zacharia vorbește despre „crima elucidării”. –p.63 „Căci a elucida e totuna cu a distruge. (...) A voi să elucidezi un om, oricine ar fi el, înseamnă a voi să-l ucizi. Luciditatea poate acționa ca o forță vampirică în ordinea morală, ca un geniu al crimei.” – p. 63
„... mucegaiul nu e semn al murdăriei, ci al părăsirii, al învechirii, al uitării, mirosul lui e unul dintre cele mai abstracte.” – p.83
„Mi se pare, invers, că orice nebunie e o negație a banalității, ba chiar, mai mult, că față de realitatea atât de desn enigmatică a oricărei nebunii, noțiunea de banalitate se golește de sens...” – p.110
„Cum de nu-și dă nimeni seama că, alături de celelalte ramuri ale științelor biologice mai apropiate sau mai depărtate, medicina nu este ea însăși altceva decât o gravă maladie? Că nu face altceva, împreună cu științele vieții privite în ansamblul lor, decât să îmbucătățească viața, s-o descompună și, recompunând-o, s-o înstrăineze de sursele ei misterioase și sfinte, s-o falsifice și s-o degradeze? Că ne aflăm în fața unei încercări extrem de primejdioase de despiritualizare a vieții? Că asistăm la o tentativă de a înlocui viața cu simple simulacre ale ei? ” – pp.122-123
Medicina e „o meserie care urmărește re-stabilirea pacientului, re-punerea lui în condițiile exact anterioare bolii sau în condiții cât mai apropiate de acelea. Efortul medical, ca efort social (având drept țel, în ultimă instanță, reproducerea capacității de muncă a bolnavului), participă la jocul valorilor economice și, ca atare, se plătește: el se înscrie fără echivoc în sfera lui a avea. Tămăduirea nu poate fi însă decât un act al iubirii, un mod de a se manifesta al ființei, chiar dacă utilizează unele sau latele dintre mijloacele puse la îndemână de medicină. Finalitatea ei este cu totul alta: căci tămăduitorul nu îndepărtează boala, ci o ia asupră-și; însănătoșirea nu mai apare ca efectul unei <<științe>>, ci – așa cum este înn fapt întodeauna – un miracol.” – p.124
Imaginea cetății perfecte:
„Toți vor munci în mod liber și gratuit; ca să trăiască, unii vor cerși, alții vor fura; ideal ar fi ca cerșetorii să ceară hoților, iar hoții să-i fure pe cerșetori: iată cum îmi apare azi cetatea perfectă.” – p.130
„cel care cunoaște tace: cel care vorbește nu cunoaște.” – p.135

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with this book by the time I got to its end. Told with wry humor, Zacharias Lictor could be called a street mystic, a proselytizer of his own "existential dilematics." Seeking to "free himself from the dreadful prison of signification," Lictor is known to mention to anyone who will listen such sayings as:

"Philosophers should accustom themselves to thinking in the presence of children. They should even try to become children again, to regain the lost vocation of asking. What they would realm first is that there are no objective criteria for establishing a hierarchy or taxonomy of questions: all questions, no matter how absurd, are equally justified; no distinction of value or nature among them is possible. A second important lesson philosophers would learn in proximity to children is that any question is part of an endless interrogative chain. In the dialectics of interrogation, the answer is only a means: its function is exclusively to generate a further question. The purpose of the interrogative process, irrespective of its practical content (with which, from the perspective of the infinite, it merges), is to facilitate the enactment of perplexity..."

or...

"Without being anywhere, God may flare up in anything. at any place, His flame unifies the laughter and tears of mankind. It delivers us from the narrow game of meaning. Thus we must be willing to signify all things: to pass, with equal goodwill, for angels or monsters, for saints or laughingstocks, for ourselves or others. For all things draw us toward God more rapidly, more clearly, more beautifully, even those we find difficult to accept..."

This mystical and absurdist existentialism allows Lictor to lead a life based on spiritual categories, such as:

"Circus—the lowest stage of the spiritual—may be expressed as an awareness of the absurd spectacle of our existence. Reduced to the figure of a clown, forced to play a humiliatingly vulgar role, suffering and rebelling against his state yet knowing he can never overcome it, realizing that all his efforts will be in vain, such is the man who lives beneath the coarse canvas panoply of the world as circus. His suffering and his revolt can only be expressed through irony. With his frenetic clowning, meant to unleash unbridled laughter, the clown implicates, by means of this painfully lucid irony, the whole of mankind. The more exaggerated and grotesque his role, the more vividly he sees himself as an embodiment of the human condition. Circus, as the first stage of the spiritual, means abandoning oneself to the demon of irony."

As a lover of the absurd and outlandish philosophical digressions (and this one also contrasts nicely with Derrida's philosophy of non-presence), this book is a gem.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This odd little novel grounds a covert resistance to the instrumental logic of Stalinism, in its Romanian incarnation, in a kind of spiritual existentialism, but an existentialism whose mouthpiece, the eponymous Lichter, is an antisemitic stereotype of the ugly Jew. (It’s difficult for this reader to determine if the author is trafficking in anti-Semitic tropes, which have an all-too-prominent history in Romanian letters, or is sending them up. There is also a homophobic portrait of a young academic in the section “On Comfort”.) As between the cruel, colorless, conformity of Stalinist bureaucracy and the philosophic absurdity of spiritual speculation, I’d chose the latter any day, if that was all that was on offer. At times, such as in the section “On Illness”, the articulation of the non-materialist worldview achieves a kind of poetic beauty that can be admired. But there are surely better grounds on which to look askance at oppressive conformity than abstract spirituality and quests for understanding of the divine. (The same criticism, by the way, can, of course, be made of the equally oppressive instrumentalism and conformity of the capitalist market.) Remarkably the novel was published in Romania in 1969, somehow having managed to slip through the censors. But when they realized that the real target of the novel, set in the 1930s, was, in fact, the then-current regime, it was quickly pulled from the shelves. The author accepted a fellowship at Indiana University shortly thereafter, and never returned to Romania.

[None Ofyourbusiness Loves Israel · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the vibrant literary cornucopia of the '60s Eastern Europe, Matei Calinescu's work, "The Life and Opinions of Zacharias Lichter," emerged as a kaleidoscopic fusion of parody and homage to mystical and existential musings. Decades later, it stands as a poignant relic of its era.

Calinescu's narrative skirts the boundaries of genre, crafting a tapestry that is part saintly biography, part philosophical treatise, and wholly enthralling. Zacharias Lichter, the protagonist, is a figure of otherworldly intrigue, his disheveled appearance belying a magnetic pull; he is at once a divine poet and a sardonic sage.

Lichter's existence is a ballet of the bizarre, set against the backdrop of a Bucharest frozen in time. His life's symphony is punctuated by the silent philosopher Leopold Nacht and the shrewd Dr. S., while a mystical epiphany in a public garden heralds his divine mission.

The narrative is a rich mosaic of Lichter's eccentricities, drunken rants, jokes, stories, and deep philosophical insights. Each chapter is a short vignette demanding the reader's full presence. The book's timeless appeal lies in its universal themes, transcending its Romanian genesis to touch upon the core of the human saga.

[Daniel Polansky]

Tales of a Bucharesti holy fool and his attempts to live entirely free of cant or dishonesty and in naked service of the immediate reality of existence. Records of his speeches, stolen snatches of his poetry, depictions of the strange friendships and enmities which he has formed, largely without any sort of story. Obviously this sort of thing lives or dies on the naked strength of the author's prose and thought, and Calinescu proves himself the rare sort of talent who can manage this kind of novel. Lichter himself is a strange delight, a modern day Diogenes who rejects all forms of insincerity, down even to memory, in favor of a furious attachment to a sort of pre-conscious conception life itself. I thought it was funny and moving and thoughtful, though I concede it won't be to everyone's taste.

[Brooke Salaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure exactly what I thought of this. Maybe it's profundity will sink in later and I will think of it more as 4 stars but for now it's a 3. Zacharias Lichter is a societal dropout on the streets of Bucharest. He is an aficianado of the biblical Job and seems to aspire to that kind of abasement and suffering in the name of sainthood. He contrasts the proper approach to this self abnegation to mere "gymnasts" maybe yogis or other spiritual athletes but I'm not sure I fully grasped the distinction. He identifies "perplexity" as the highest level of mindset preceding his version of "enlightenment" I guess although I don't recall him using that term. He values what others scorn, extreme ugliness, drunken silence, poverty. I admit to my own perplexity through much of this work.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bizarre philosophy from middle Europe, Lichter is layabout who begs, gives away what he has, stays nears nudist beaches and generally acts the ragamuffin.

At only 120 pages and with around 30 chapters, each providing his view "On something " with the somethings including: lying, imagination, mirrors, God, old people, reticence, suicide. It is structured as a series of short essays which gradually provide a picture of Lichter and his friends - Poldy, the drunk, Doctor S - trying to put him in an asylum, W the mathematician whose theory took 8 years to develop and no-one has checked it yet etc...

Not sure I learnt much from it, but at least it was short !