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40th out of 126 books
—
69 voters
On the Edge of Reason
During his long and distinguished career, the Croatian writer Miroslav Krleza (1893-1981) battled against many forms of tyranny. In On the Edge of Reason his protagonist is a middle-aged lawyer whose life and career have been eminently respectable and respected. One evening, at a party attended by the local elite, he inadvertently blurts out an honest thought. From this mo...more
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
November 1st 1995
by New Directions Publishing Corporation
(first published 1938)
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Krleža u svome ponajboljem izdanju. Kada sam čitala ovaj roman konačno sam pomislila " Aha, zato svi misle da je genijalan." Stvarno je odličan pisac, zna pisati što je je, ali nekako imam podijeljen sud o njegovim radovima, neki mi se manje sviđaju, neki više...nekad je malo predvidljiv, ali opet nekad je potpuno nepredvidljiv. No, dobro nitko ne može biti uvijek i u svakom trenutku odličan. Znam da mi je netko pričao kako je bio težak karakter, ali opet tko nije? Znanje čini čovjeka nesretnim....more
The majority of the people I work with are slaves to this little electronic device that you scan books with. It's called a PDT. The PDT tells you where to shelve the book, and if it does a loud sing-song series of beeps one is supposed to return the book. Most people when they hear that beep they write up a little slip with the return vendors name ASAP and get that book onto a cart to be shipped back. The problem is the PDT has no brain and it's only reacting to a list generated by some faceless...more
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the book is about a rich dude who speaks his mind at a richer and more publically recognised dudes house party about a crime the richer dude committed. its about speaking your mind in the face of all the odds. its about the european angst ting. reminded me of crime and punishment where at one point you completely believe in the case for the plaintiff but then are swayed onto the side of the defendent. good stuff short book. there is also a section at the end which randomly mentions a famous pian...more
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"On the edge of reason"
A great study of the, so called, advanced or elite society.
Krleža masterfully colors the differences between acceptance and refusal, between success and bottom, as well as the state of mind of "intellectuals" and other public figures. It tells a story of a successful man, who becomes an outcast after publicly speaking his own mind and eventually starts questioning his own sanity after losing ties with his previous life as the consequence of his directness.
Although, at tim...more
A great study of the, so called, advanced or elite society.
Krleža masterfully colors the differences between acceptance and refusal, between success and bottom, as well as the state of mind of "intellectuals" and other public figures. It tells a story of a successful man, who becomes an outcast after publicly speaking his own mind and eventually starts questioning his own sanity after losing ties with his previous life as the consequence of his directness.
Although, at tim...more
Although this is a Croatian literary classic, this work definitely deserves to be included in all those "must-read-before-you-die", "best books of all time" or "read this if you want people to think you're an intellectual."
This rating may seem a bit overly patriotic and somewhat far - fetched, but once you get inside the main points of this amazing and breathtaking novel, I think you will not be reluctant to change your mind.
As the title itself suggests, the work is basically written "on the edg...more
This rating may seem a bit overly patriotic and somewhat far - fetched, but once you get inside the main points of this amazing and breathtaking novel, I think you will not be reluctant to change your mind.
As the title itself suggests, the work is basically written "on the edg...more
I read this years ago, having picked it up randomly at a small, independent bookstore, and I haven't seen it elsewhere. I re-read it a few months ago, and it was as good as the first time. It's not the most inspirational tale of all time, but if you're feeling incredibly frustrated by human behavior, this is great. The author couldn't help calling it like he saw it, and from what I understand, that didn't make him too popular with society figures who wanted to flatter him in real life either. He...more
Reading the introduction, I grew rather nervous that book was going to be an overwhelming round of literary wankery. It seemed to start out that way too, but after the first chapter, Krleža's words-for-words'-sake style relaxed a bit. Although the fact that I liked this book probably suggests that I spend too much time in my own head, anyway.
Dense and thoughtful. Not riveting to say the least, but nonetheless a study of conformity and individuality in Croatia. In a way similar to Crime and Punishment, but the protagonist in this one is actually completely sane and just calling people on their BS. But he's treated like a criminal. A product of the times- interesting, serious and actually still quite relevant.
"... one of the great European novels of the first half of the twentieth Century" - Susan Sontag.
I loved the tone of this story, a political satire, embedded in the milieu of a WW1 totalitarian state, when a respected middle aged lawyer makes the mistake of blurting out his true thoughts at a dinner party. The setting is Zagreb, Croatia. The 170 page novel helped me understand what freedom means to people living there now.
I loved the tone of this story, a political satire, embedded in the milieu of a WW1 totalitarian state, when a respected middle aged lawyer makes the mistake of blurting out his true thoughts at a dinner party. The setting is Zagreb, Croatia. The 170 page novel helped me understand what freedom means to people living there now.
Great book.
Some parts are slow and hard to read but really deep and interesting.
Definitely one of my favorite books.
Some parts are slow and hard to read but really deep and interesting.
Definitely one of my favorite books.
All of my cynicism, my sarcasm, my superiority complexes, just like, all of the stuff that I feel towards most of my classmates is reflected in this book.
I liked it, it's funny, it made me feel better about the world.
I liked it, it's funny, it made me feel better about the world.
Ovo je za više čitanja.
Nadasve nadahnjujuća tema koja je nepresušno vrelo inspiracije: ljudska glupost, naime. Međutim, koliko god djelo bilo prepuno mudrih i poetičnih pasusa, toliko je povremeno i pomalo isforsirano (u nedostatku primjerenijeg izraza). Ipak, naravno da sam, više nego zamorena time, upravo osupnuta onim dobrim stranama krležijanskih-stranica i pol-rečenicama.
i like this guy.
To be, or not to be? This is the true subject of Krleza's masterful novel on petty bourgeois Serbo-Croat society in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Simply brilliant.
May 21, 2013
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A leading Croatian writer and a figure in cultural life of both Yugoslav states, the Kingdom (1918-1941) and the Republic (1945 until his death in 1981). He has often been proclaimed as the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century.
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“Treba ostati logičan, jer bilo kako bilo, logika nikada nije nepouzdan vodič. Istina je: bio sam prilično sam, ali osamljenost još uvijek nije dokaz da čovjek nema pravo.”
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22 people liked it
“Istina je: bio sam prilično sam ali osamljenost još uvijek nije dokaz da čovjek nema pravo”
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10 people liked it
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