Underskog

ØST-EUROPA FØR OG NÅ

Vårens utgave av Bella litterarum, foredragsserie ved NTNU, Institutt for moderne fremmedspråk, retter blikket mot øst og samler foredragene under en felles tematisk tittel: «Øst-Europa før og nå».

Første foredrag: Rumens forfattermøte

BESTIARY. ORIENTAL SALAD WITH IMAGINARY AND SELF-CONCEITED ACADEMICS

Sted: D8, Dragvoll

Tid: Tirsdag 28. april, kl. 14:15

Lucian Bagiu er rumensk forfatter og akademiker, for tiden sendelektor til Norge med tilholdssted ved NTNU, Institutt for moderne fremmedspråk. Han vil presentere sin første roman, Bestiary en campusroman satt til et lite universitet i Transylvania. Romanen kom ut i 2008 og har høstet svært gode kritikker.

«Keeping a close eye on the well established tradition of the campus fiction of the English literature (Malcolm Bradbury and David Lodge) the young Transylvanian academic (an assistant lecturer to the Romanian language and literature Department of the Alba Iulia University) applies perfectly a postmodern recipe.» (Irina Filipache, TimeOut)

«The approach is an inductive one: it starts from a small provincial university that is willing to sacrifice everything with a view to diminishing its expenses and attending conferences in Europe. The characters are outlined very well, and they are engaged in a «bite and run away» game. The fun is frequently outrageous, and breaks out from registering of gestures, spasmodic tics and ridiculous conflicts, sometimes pushed up to the court. It is a world of (pseudo-)specialists that is academically hide-bound and convinced that it is the hub of the universe. The writer is a great master in building up scenes with relishing dialogue, and verging on the absurd.» (Felix Nicolau, Revista Luceafarul)

«Drawing upon the story of some conceited university teachers belonging to a Transylvanian city, the author materializes a narrative experience, appealing to a few narrators, as well as involving the reader directly, to whom he addresses repeatedly by the means of the footnotes. The mentioned footnotes have a major part, on the one hand, they seem to clarify the circumstances of certain situations and, on the other hand, they deform the information. The three narrators’ interventions are realized through a continuous crescendo, they permanently suspecting and correcting each other. This postmodernist game is dominated by inter-textual, paraphrase, name coincidences, comical language and funny situations. Behind the text, the writer provokes the reader, seduces him, confuses him, showing him exclusively what he intends to. This is not his main purpose as all is ridiculed, all the rules are denied and disregarded.» (Monica Grosu, ProSaeculum)