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Kamus Khazar: Sebuah Novel Leksikon

by Milorad Pavić, Noor Cholis (Translator)

4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 · rating details · 1,987 ratings · 152 reviews

Ini adalah Kamus EDISI MASKULIN.
Edisi FEMININ nyaris identik. Tetapi TIDAK sepenuhnya.
Perhatikan bahwa SATU ALINEA sangat berbeda.
Pilihan ada di tangan Anda.

Bangsa Khazar adalah metafora untuk sekelompok kecil manusia yang bertahan di antara kekuatan-kekuatan adidaya dan agama-agama besar. Pada akhir abad kesepuluh, bangsa ini hilang dari peta kebudayaan dunia. Masih banya...more

Paperback, 505 pages

Published June 2009 by PT Serambi Ilmu Semesta (first published 1984)

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Aug 23, 2010 Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-got-bored-and-gave-up

I am doing a project in which I read all 1001 of the "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die" as stated by a book in this stupid and arbitrary series of different stuff you have to do before you die. It is dumb and I will never finish it, but now that I started, I am pretty set on continuing.

The thing that makes it the most dumb is that these books are chosen by someone who has like, really different taste from me. I hated "Naked Lunch." Now I plan to pretty much hate this book, but I guess it...more

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Jul 23, 2007 Jake Thomas rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Those who like literary aerobics

Recommended to me after I'd talked up Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves, this book could be, and often has been, cited as one of Danielewski's predecessors. It's one of those books you could spend a whole year with, unpacking it, taking notes, analyzing and cross-referencing, or you could just read and enjoy.

The book is divided into three dictionaries focused around exploring The Khazar Polemic, a fictionalized account of the mass conversion of the Khazar people in which the representatives...more Recommended to me after I'd talked up Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves, this book could be, and often has been, cited as one of Danielewski's predecessors. It's one of those books you could spend a whole year with, unpacking it, taking notes, analyzing and cross-referencing, or you could just read and enjoy.

The book is divided into three dictionaries focused around exploring The Khazar Polemic, a fictionalized account of the mass conversion of the Khazar people in which the representatives of the three Abrahamic faiths, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, were called to come before the Khazar king and present a case for their individual faiths. Each dictionary has an entry for certain terms/people, such a Khazars, Princess Ateh and the Khazar Polemic, as well as a host of entries solely their own. Certain characters, situations, images, events and phrases pop up throughout all three dictionaries as well. Dates are confused, actions are distorted and characters change, making the book feel like an actual, authentic and messy engagement into history long passed and personal motivations running up against historical moments/movements. They are like the impurities added to electronic music to make it sound more like the actual instruments they are mimicking.

The book can be read however one wishes, front to back, bouncing through various allusions to other entries, all the similar entries together, however you wish. However, there is a certain poetry to the book's ending if read straight through from Dr. Dorothea Schultz's entry to Appendix II after having the whole book behind you. The entire book is fascinating and engaging, but I believe there is a reason no entry references the second appendix. It should be saved for last, the simple, exquisite dessert that casts the entire meal into glorious relief.

As enjoyable as it is, this is not a book to be read lightly. As it states in the brilliantly done introduction to the book, one gets out of the truth, or this book, what one puts into it. If you come in ready not simply to read, but to work, you have quite an experience ahead of you. I hope you enjoy it a tenth as much as I did.(less)

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Jul 22, 2007 Don Rea rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I actually don't know if I read the male or the female version. I'm told the difference is only one sentence; I never bothered to find out which.

This is a marvelous confection of a novel in the form of a dictionary (actually three dictionaries), mixing real-world history with fantasy in clever and occasionally insightful ways. When I first read it I assumed it was entirely fantasy; the basic premise, that there was a medieval kingdom in the Caucasus whose king invited representatives of Judaism,...more

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May 10, 2007 Steven rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Somebody Interested in Literary Forms

The form of this book is as interesting as its content: It isn't necessarily linear at all.

This is a completely fictional account of the disappearance of an entire culture. The land of the Khazars was geographically located at the intersection of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, and this is an encyclopedia (entry by entry) relating each religion's perspective on which of them converted the heathen race.

Dreams and the supernatural are casually woven into this intricately self-referential work. I...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Ajk rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was super-duper looking forward to this book. I loved Pavic's wikipedia page, I love novels written in non-novel form, I love Eco-esque imaginative and wikipedia-heavy expository, and I'm as fascinated by the Khazars as one could be. And I still didn't like this book very much.

Part of the problem is that the narrative is a mystery. It's almost a closed-house whodunit; you have three possible individuals who successfully converted the Khazar people (or perhaps just their khagan) to their religi...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wrote in my review of John Berger's novel "G"--

"Like what I said in my review of Zamyatin's "We," I believe I've found a fair explanation of why the books included in the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die made it on the list, and this I found in another listing, the 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die where the Introduction explained the choices by these justifications:

1. the painting (book) is interesting because of its subject matter;
2. the painting (book) is interesting because...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Katherine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: experimental, favorite

Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic, A Lexicon Novel in 100,000 Words, is a lyrical description of the events surrounding the so-called "Khazar Polemic" and conversion of the Khazar people. Written as an encyclopedia containing cross-referenced entries between three different sections (Christian, Muslim, Jewish), it relates the efforts of various scholars to pin down exactly what happened at the Khazar court when the Khagan invited representatives from the three religions to hold a discus...more Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic, A Lexicon Novel in 100,000 Words, is a lyrical description of the events surrounding the so-called "Khazar Polemic" and conversion of the Khazar people. Written as an encyclopedia containing cross-referenced entries between three different sections (Christian, Muslim, Jewish), it relates the efforts of various scholars to pin down exactly what happened at the Khazar court when the Khagan invited representatives from the three religions to hold a discussion to convince him of which path to follow.

The Khazars were a real people and the Khagan really was their leader but apart from a few names from history (like Saints Cyril and Methodius and Al-Muqaddasi) this is a completely fictional account. This is reality as dreamed by many people from different eras, stitched together and retold a dozen times.

The story starts, for lack of a better way of putting things, with the Khagan's dream in which an angel told him that God is pleased with his intentions but not his deeds. Accordingly, he arranges the polemic mentioned earlier to gain an interpretation. Whoever is most convincing, wins the Khazar people to their religion. The process is helped or hindered by the princess Ateh, leader of a sect of dream-hunters, men who stalk other people's dreams for clues to pieces of the soul/body of the original Adam, from which they will compile the ultimate book. Peeking through the narrative are forces which conspire to stop this book ever being written.

The exact facts of the polemic and conversion have been lost in time and the encyclopedia details as well the efforts of various people to discover them. Unsurprisingly, each faith's source says that their own side won the argument and the Khazar people ceased to exist when they were absorbed into the larger Christian/Muslim/Jewish community. Reading about the Khazar practices, where faiths and peoples other than their own get more prominence in civic life, one gets the feeling that rather than converting to one single religion, assimilation into their own immigrant communities happened instead of the other way around.

Each entry tells a little more of the story and they don't have to be read in order. You can read from cover to cover or skip around. Whichever method you choose you'll get the whole story in a coherent manner but you'll have different perspectives on the scenes you read depending on the order you gain facts. I would really suggest reading the bit about Dorothea and the trial minutes last though.

This is a lovely, poetic history featuring a humunculus, devils, men who walk through dreams, hungry ghosts, impossible feats, and adventurous people. I really enjoyed this book. It is exactly the sort of dream-like, imaginary tale I enjoy, with real moments of horror, excitement, and love. Each entry is self-contained but reading each entry will give you perspective on others. Some of it is thought-provoking, especially on the nature of thought. He illustrates this with a metaphor of two men (author and reader) holding ropes with a puma (text, thoughts, ideas) caught between them. They can't eat the puma...

The book contains many wonderful vignettes and poetic proverbs; the translator did a great job. This book is like a cross between a fairy tale and a myth, dreamed by a storyteller, retold the next morning.(less)

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Oct 23, 2012 Julia Sa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ты работаешь, потому что не умеешь жить...

"В книге нет сюжета в общепринятом понимании этого слова, но центральная тема книги (дискуссия о выборе религии среди хазар) основывается на реальном историческом событии. Большинство персонажей и событий в книге полностью вымышлены, так же как вымышлена и культура, приписываемая хазарам в книге. Роман является своего рода мистификацией, подложным псевдодокументом, в котором все люди и события изображены как реально существующие.

Роман имеет вид трёх взаи...more Ты работаешь, потому что не умеешь жить...

"В книге нет сюжета в общепринятом понимании этого слова, но центральная тема книги (дискуссия о выборе религии среди хазар) основывается на реальном историческом событии. Большинство персонажей и событий в книге полностью вымышлены, так же как вымышлена и культура, приписываемая хазарам в книге. Роман является своего рода мистификацией, подложным псевдодокументом, в котором все люди и события изображены как реально существующие.

Роман имеет вид трёх взаимосвязанных мини-энциклопедий, каждая из которых составлена из источников разных религий: христианства, ислама и иудаизма. Благодаря такому формату словаря, роман можно читать каким угодно способом, а не обязательно от начала до конца. Таким образом, читатели становятся активными соучастниками романа, и сами кусочек за кусочком собирают историю".

Дикое, фантасмагорическое произведение.
Нашла хороший комментарий к произведениям этого автора:
"Такую сумасшедшую книгу мог написать только очень умный и абсолютно адекватный человек.
Такую ясную книгу мог написать только ненормальный".
Вообще, когда я читала, я, конечно, мало что понимала (да мало что поняла и сейчас), но я к этому была готова. Пожалуй, в следующий раз я прочитаю "Хазарский словарь" задом наперед.

Ряд ярких цитат из произведения:
"На восемнадцатом году отец отдал меня в монастырь Св.Иоанна и сказал на прощание: пока постишься, не бери в рот ни слова, чтобы если не уши, то хоть рот очисти от слов. Потому что слова, приходят не из головы и не из души, а из мира, с липких языков и из смердящих ртов, они давно обглоданы, обкусаны и засалены от постоянного пережёвывания. Они давно потеряли свой вид, бесчисленные рты перетирают их своими зубами..."

Однажды весной принцесса Атех сказала: «Я привыкла к своим мыслям, как к своим платьям. В талии они всегда одной и той же ширины, и вижу я их повсюду, даже на перекрестках. И что хуже всего – из-за них уже и перекрестков не видно».

– Я вижу лицо демона и думаю, что здесь, в этом доме, живут христиане, а так как демоны вместе с ними жить не могут, они бегут от них наружу. А там, где таких изображений на дверях и стенах нет, они находятся внутри, вместе с людьми

Милорад Павич "Хазарский словарь. Мужская версия"(less)

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Aug 02, 2012 Smcleish added it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Originally published on my blog here& in July 2000.

The Dictionary of the Khazars has one of the most unusual structures of any novel; as its title implies, it is written in the form of a dictionary, with alphabetically arranged entries. It is also about two other dictionaries, one a seventeenth century collection of material relating to the Khazars (a people inhabiting the Balkans in the early middle ages), and the other a book used by the Khazars for the interpretation of dreams. This tripl...more Originally published on my blog here& in July 2000.

The Dictionary of the Khazars has one of the most unusual structures of any novel; as its title implies, it is written in the form of a dictionary, with alphabetically arranged entries. It is also about two other dictionaries, one a seventeenth century collection of material relating to the Khazars (a people inhabiting the Balkans in the early middle ages), and the other a book used by the Khazars for the interpretation of dreams. This triple meaning is typical of the book, and enables Pavic to include all kinds of material: historical documents about the Khazars (particularly the Khazar polemic, the most famous incident in their history); information about the compilers of the seventeenth century dictionary and their esoteric interests; and a murder mystery involving twentieth century researchers specialising in the Khazars. To complicate the structure still further, there are two versions of the novel (called male and female); these differ in one paragraph, which is the one which assigns blame for the murder. (This is a most annoying little foible.) The dictionary is also divided into three, with entries relating to Christian, Jewish and Islamic sources about the Khazars - the polemic referred to was an argument between representatives of these religions, as a result of which the Khazars were to decide which religion to take.

There are many criticisms which can be made of the book, which is rather of its time. Obvious influences, at least in the English translation, include the fashionable Salman Rushdie, Umberto Eco and John Barth, though it never has the quality of these authors. The dictionary idea is not fully carried out, which makes the novel distinctly easier to read but diminishes the point of the gimmick. There are only a small number of entries, most of which are quite extended (twenty pages or more). Much of the occult and psychological material is rather pointless and not very interesting, such as the idea that all copies of the seventeenth century dictionary were destroyed except one, printed in poisoned ink which killed all who read it. This could be the basis of something quite fascinating, if it were related to something else, such as censorship of books which might make readers think in a different way from that desired by their rulers. The major problem it that the writing is not as good as the writer thinks it is - which of course may be due to the translator rather than the author; much of it has a distinctly smug quality which is rather off putting.(less)

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Feb 22, 2012 A.E. Shaw rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

I don't understand why finding this book on a borrowing shelf was the first I'd ever heard of it. It seems like something absolutely timeless and classic, and it completely floored me with its simultaneous complexity and simplicity. It's written with such confidence that its unusual structure feels obvious and logical, and, whilst I'm sure you could read it in all the ways the introduction suggests and get much more from it, going the traditional beginning to end way does indeed also work very w...more

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Dec 14, 2011 Ensiform rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, serbian

Translated by Christina Pribicevic-Zoric. I read the female version --- though this differs from the male version in only one paragraph. Anyway, an original "novel," told as three different dictionaries: the Christian, the Muslim, and the Jewish versions of entries roughly concerned with the Khazars. Some entries are in all three versions, such as the Khazar polemic, in which representatives from the three religions visited the Khazar kaghan to convince him, by clever repartee and dream interpre...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Ajay R rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Where does one start with trying to explain what the 'Dictionary of Khazars' is about and how does one try to explain it as coherently as possible even if he makes a start at some point. The novel itself is structured in such a way that it does not lend to the conventional ways of telling about it. So, instead I will try to just write down my thoughts on this, however abstract they may appear. I look at this novel from 3 view points, which I think as a whole enhances the impact of it.
Borges wrot...more Where does one start with trying to explain what the 'Dictionary of Khazars' is about and how does one try to explain it as coherently as possible even if he makes a start at some point. The novel itself is structured in such a way that it does not lend to the conventional ways of telling about it. So, instead I will try to just write down my thoughts on this, however abstract they may appear. I look at this novel from 3 view points, which I think as a whole enhances the impact of it.
Borges wrote in his 'Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote' that a person who translates/writes a copy of Don Quixote becomes in effect a new writer writing a completely different novel from the one he is translating. I will quote in slightly out of context here when I say that every reader who reads this novel is going to read slightly different novel in perspective. How does this happen? The novel itself is structured like an dictionary where user can pick and choose the entries he wants to read in some random order. For e.g. what would be the experience of a person who read about princesses Ateh at the beginning and about the 3 doctors (Suk, Muawia and Schultz) at the end and another reader who reads the same in vice versa (i.e) read about the doctors in the beginning and about Ateh in the end? What if someone reads the appendix of Nikolsky at the beginning (do not ever try this one). That brings us to the question of why has Pavic structured the novel like this and is he not actually alienating the last 100 readers themselves from reading a book that is structured like this? I think the answer lies in the fact that all of us aspire to be writers (that's why blogs are so famous) and so when we get a chance to restructure a book, well we are sucked into it. So what happens if a non-adventurous readers reads the book in a linear fashion from the beginning to end. Is he going to be more clear about it? Not at all, Pavic has some tricks up his sleeve for this too. With 3 books and multiple perspectives of the same character available, he still wont be 100% sure. For e.g. who is Ateh, is she the princess of the Kaghan, his wife, his sister, leader of a secret cult, does she work for or against the Kaghan. Who knows for sure, she could be one and many of all those. So is the novel fully random as it seems, not really. Within all this apparent randomness, Pavic maintains a symmetry with the number 3. The 3 religions, the 3 books, the 3 persons who initially participated in the polemic, the 3 people in the middle ages who created a dictionary in their respective languages and finally the 3 professors in the current age. Underlying the apparent chaos is some unfathomable order as is the case with real life.
Well, the novel's structure is out of the way. What else is special about this book. Well for one it's exquisite prose (am assuming here that the translation has in no way enhanced the original and has remained as faithful to it as realistically possible). Forget the khazars and their conversion for some time, that is just a backdrop according to me. This is a novel of ideas and thoughts. Ideas and thoughts on dreams, death, time, that open up our mind and imagination to the unlimited possibilities that fiction offers in altering and even creating a new world view for you. What else can you say about a novel where a person chooses a day to live and interchanges a Monday with Tuesday and where an egg gives you an option to remove one day which you do not want. Time as a linear entity is molded into different shapes as Pavic wishes. More than I personally was dumbstruck, but two persons dreaming each others reality (Cohen and Avram), wow, where did that come from? As a novel of thoughts, the other novel that came to my mind that works in a similar way is Calvino's Invisible cities, but that's a post for another day. I don't know if I can say that the prose is the icing on the cake which is the novel's inventive structure or vice versa. In fact I feel both complement each other and take the novel to great heights than what would have been possible if one of them had not be so good in the novel.
I have so far not mentioned much about the characters. That does not mean that they are not up to standard. The character portraits are done in such a way that even if their actions seem metaphysical or plain fantastical, the reader can relate to them. For instance the story of Petkukin is almost like a Greek tragedy in its scope. What about Dr.Schultz who keeps writing a letter to a younger version of herself who exists in her mind only. These are characters who manage to rise about the weight of the structure and prose of their novel and make their presence felt. The characters seem to be in search of something, not just the almost mythical dictionary, but something beyond that.
Finally, during reading of the novel and even after completing it, this is the image or thought that sticks in my mind. The whole novel seems to be like a dream conjured up by Pavic for us readers. We readers get inside the dream, trying to make sense of the novel as a complete whole, which in turn would lead us to Adam Cadmon/Ruhani, the first father, who in the case of the novel is Pavic himself. Pavic meanwhile is waiting for us, but as is the case with the real world, I don't think we can achieve it but just get one perspective. Maybe each reader could be a dream hunter, searching for other readers of the novel (innumerable Avrams, Masudis, Cohens) and if all readers of the novel come together we may have a 'Readers Dictionary of The Dictionary of the Khazars'. Sounds weird? Well, call it the Pavic effect, but I am not out of it yet :)(less)

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Oct 16, 2010 Azazello rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites

This book is unlike anything I ever read, and one of my all time favourites.
As its name states it is build of definitions that you can read in any order you like, as long as you don’t miss any, all the parts will eventfully fall into place.

The dictionary is build of three books, red for Christian sources, green for Islamic sources and yellow for Jewish sources. Many definitions show in each of them, contradicting each other and showing the events in their favour. Also in each book according to t...more

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Dec 15, 2009 Tyas rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Word of warning:
This book does not try to explain using any historical reference as why the Khazars (yes, they were real people) disappeared.
This is more like an exercise in language and form, at the expense of a story, in my opinion. Well, there is a story in it, if you can really get through the confusing maze - no matter where you started, because it's built like a dictionary, the back cover said; as long as you read the appendices, I said - but still I was left with a hanging feeling of "So...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Michiyo 'jia' Fujiwara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, novel-dewasa, realisme-magis, classics-series, european-literature

Kata Pembukanya Horror!!:

Disini terbaring pembaca
yang tidak akan pernah membuka buku ini.
Dia MATI selama-lamanya disini.

Catatan pendahuluan (edisi kedua yang sudah direkontruksi dan direvisi)

Penulis menjamin pembaca tidak akan mati karena membaca buku ini, tidak seperti yang dialami para pemakai edisi 1691 ketika penyalin pertama kamus Khazar masih hidup (dikatakan disini bahwa kamus Khazar nyata pernah ada, kemudian dimusnahkan karena dianggap sebagai ajaran sesat dan Milorad Pavić merekonstrus...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Filip Andjelkovic rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fiction

Reading this book is akin to observing the ripples made by an object dropped in still water, but only if your vision was distorted and unchronological. It can be read from the first page to the last, at random, or in a combination of three's which give you three story lines which are both connected and seperate. Basically in the three "dictionaries" everything has it's two parallels, and you probably (definately) won't figure all the nuances out on your first read. The writing style itself is fu...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Snafu Warrior rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

Mala napomena: izdanje koje sam čitao je Androgino, što znači da valjda sadrži i muško i žensko. Kakva je razlika, pojma nemam, verovatno bih znao da uporedim kad bih imao i druga izdanja. Tu je Pavić napravio malu igru koju je produžio dalje u "Sedam smrtnih grehova", interakciju sa čitaocem koji bi uporedio svoje izdanje sa osobom suprotnog pola koja ima istu takvu knjigu. Ipak mi se više sviđa varijanta sa kafanom, minđušom i ključem.
Nego, da se vratimo na knjigu:
Let's cut the crap about thin...more Mala napomena: izdanje koje sam čitao je Androgino, što znači da valjda sadrži i muško i žensko. Kakva je razlika, pojma nemam, verovatno bih znao da uporedim kad bih imao i druga izdanja. Tu je Pavić napravio malu igru koju je produžio dalje u "Sedam smrtnih grehova", interakciju sa čitaocem koji bi uporedio svoje izdanje sa osobom suprotnog pola koja ima istu takvu knjigu. Ipak mi se više sviđa varijanta sa kafanom, minđušom i ključem.
Nego, da se vratimo na knjigu:
Let's cut the crap about things koje svi pominju, Hazari, misterija, polemika, and tha shiznit, nego da se direktno pređe na samu knjigu:
Posmatrajući strukturu, tu je Pavić uspeo. Gotovo savršeno. Može se čitati od poslednjeg unosa do prvog, od sredine, početka, ili randomizovano. Haotičnost se ipak ogleda i u samom pripovedanju. Previše postmodernizma za moj ukus ovde, a i onog magičkog realizma, otetog od Borhesa i Markesa. Ta dvojica velikana znaju kako da drže sve spone u rukama, ali Pavić kao da ne želi da njima barata. Pušta čitaoca da stvori sopstvenu interpretaciju, što je kul sa jedne strane jer opet pravi neku interakciju, ali sa druge se gubi dublji smisao kada se sve sagleda kao celina.
Raznobojan stil pisanja je takođe jedan od elemenata savršene strukture, i tu opet skidam kapu majstoru Paviću.
Onirički delovi su najzanimljiviji, ipak. Dreamy-like atmosfera kod priča o Lovcima na snove, o demonima iz 3 pakla, to je savršen element, i meni najdraži...
"San je đavolji vrt, i svi snovi su davno odsanjani na svetu." Još jedna stvar mi je privukla pažnju, a to je teorija da svi Adamovi potomci u sebi imaju njegov deo koji bi, pri spajanju, predstavio otelovljenje prvog čoveka.
I svaki čovek umire onoliko puta koliko ima potomaka. Perfect hit, my niggaz.
Što se tiče konekcije između sve tri knjige ovde, najbolji delovi upravo i jesu oni koji su svima zajednički, kao npr: Ateh, Kagan, Polemika, Hazari itd. Ista priča ispričana na drukčiji način, a pritom veoma inovativan u sve tri.
Nema closing act-a, samo da kažem da knjiga možda zaslužuje više od ove trojke. Možda i četvorku. Ali, odlučio sam da budem stroži, i da na umu uvek imam sve knjige kojima sam dao ocenu koju želim ili ne želim da dam onoj koja se trenutno ocenjuje.(less)

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Feb 28, 2011 an rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hibah, punya

membaca buku selalu membuat ketimpangan. awal na berat di kanan, kemudian perlahan-lahan berat di kiri. selalu dengan keterulangan tipe seperti itu untuk buku-buku normal yang dibada cari kiri ke kanan. namun apakah demikian jika membuka kamus? tentulah jika kita membaca kamus tidak terjadi ketimpangan kanan ke kiri, karena kita bisa membuka dimanapun bagian yang kita mau. kirikah? kanankah? atau di bagian tengah.

demikian juga yang terjadi pada novel ini. terlepas dari muatan fiksi atau nyata ce...more membaca buku selalu membuat ketimpangan. awal na berat di kanan, kemudian perlahan-lahan berat di kiri. selalu dengan keterulangan tipe seperti itu untuk buku-buku normal yang dibada cari kiri ke kanan. namun apakah demikian jika membuka kamus? tentulah jika kita membaca kamus tidak terjadi ketimpangan kanan ke kiri, karena kita bisa membuka dimanapun bagian yang kita mau. kirikah? kanankah? atau di bagian tengah.

demikian juga yang terjadi pada novel ini. terlepas dari muatan fiksi atau nyata cerita yang ada sebenar na, namun rangkaian cerita yang ada di dalam na memberikan kita kebebasan untuk memulai dan mengakhiri na di mana saja. merah-kuning-hijau, kuning-hijau-merah, atau... hijau-kuning-merah. cerita-cerita yang ada di dalam na diurutkan sesuai abjad. seperti layak na membaca kamus, awal na tampak tidak ada koherensi antara cerita yang satu dengan yang lain. karena cerita pertama tidak berhubungan dengan cerita kedua dan berikut na.

ketika kita melanjutkan cerita na satu per satu maka hubungan akan mulai nampak dan rangkaian cerita mulai terbentuk. hubungan tokoh yang satu dengan yang lain, atau peristiwa yang satu dengan yang lain, baik kisah maupun pengetahuan. ketika bangsa khazar yang memuja 'tuhan' na, mengumpulkan mimpi-mimpi adam, mulai diinvasi bangsa non khazar. perlahan-lahan suku asli kehilangan kedaerahan na, berasimilasi menjadi khazar yang arab, khazar yang yahudi atau khazar yang yunani. ketika bangsa lain diperlakukan selayak na manusia di wilayah khazar, suku asli sendiri malah kehilangan kepercayaan diri na untuk mengakui asal mereka sebenar na. inilah mungkin salah satu penyebab yang membuat bangsa khazar hilang dari peradaban. orang na sendiri yang tidak melestarikan dan justru lebih bangga disebut sebagai bangsa lain. ntah oarng arab, yahudi atau yunani.

jadi.... sebenar na pernah adakah bangsa khazar itu? menurut wikipedia, bangsa khazar adalah orang-orang Turkik setengah nomaden dari asia tengah. lebih lengkap na. memang bangsa ini masuk dalam sejarah dunia sampai ada perang khazar yang membuat na terpecah dan hilang. lenyap na bangsa khazar boleh dibilang setelah terjadi na pemelukan agama langit oleh suku khazar. bangsa khazar yang awal na memiliki tuhan na sendiri, -digambarkan dalam novel ini- terpengaruh untuk mengikuti salah satu dari 3 agama langit: yahudi, kristen dan islam. pada masing-masing kisah (versi kristen, islam dan yunani) menyatakan bahwa pangeran khazar memeluk salah satu agama itu berdasarkan versi pencerita na. namun benarkah demikian?

bisa jadi dari cerita yang sama yang diceritakan oleh orang yang berbeda akan menimbulkan persepsi yang berbeda. si islam yang menghilangkan komponen-komponen non muslim dalam penceritaan ulang na, si yunani dan yahudi yang juga demikian memunculkan banyak versi tentang agama bangsa khazar sebelum kehancuran na. tinggal menyerahkan kepada pembaca saja... bagaimana merangkai cerita-cerita yang ada sampai membentuk satu pemahaman nyata, apakah yang terjadi pada bangsa ini.

shahor, yang arti na hitam.

-12-(less)

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Feb 19, 2013 Ned Rifle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Goodreads recomendation system first brought the Dictionary of the Khazars to my attention,and for that I am glad. Having been intrigued by the premise I was lucky enough to come across a cheap copy only a short while later, and it was with hope that I advanced.

The introduction (part of the book, mind) tells us that we can read in any way or order we please,I in my cowardice plumped for habit and went from front to back.

The book is ostensibly mainly concerned with the mass conversion of th...more The Goodreads recomendation system first brought the Dictionary of the Khazars to my attention,and for that I am glad. Having been intrigued by the premise I was lucky enough to come across a cheap copy only a short while later, and it was with hope that I advanced.

The introduction (part of the book, mind) tells us that we can read in any way or order we please,I in my cowardice plumped for habit and went from front to back.

The book is ostensibly mainly concerned with the mass conversion of the Khazars to one of the three Abrahamic religions in the 8th century. The Kaghan, ruler of the Khazars, had a dream in which an Angel appeared to him and declared that his intentions were good but his deeds were not, to uncover the meaning of this dream the Kaghan sent for a representative of each religion with the agreement that he would convert tothe faith of the one who explained it most satisfactorily. The book is divided into three parts: Christian sources on the Khazar polemic, Islamic sources on the Khazar polemic and Jewish sources on the Khazar polemic - and each claims the victory for their own delegate.

This apparent dispute is not, however, the bulk of the book, it is only one of three main strands, which we follow throughout the three sections. The other strands are concerned with those who are attempting to piece together the event some in the 17th century and some in the 20th. In the later narratives we follow various characters attempting to create a record of the conversion. Along the way there are masses of stories, slight and magnificent, filled with demons, dreams and words of apparent wisdom.

This is a hard book to talk about, but an easy one to think about. A hymn to folklore, if we understand a hymn to be seeking a submersion in something, rather than merely being a tribute. Having been drawn by the central conceit of the novel I was nonetheless wary, but this has many good ideas and I now desperately want to read Pavic's book based on the Tarot(http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22...) or his love story told in two directions (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22...). It's funny too.

I feel this will join a very particular group of books for me, those that, when I am feeling unwell or uninspired, I open at random and read, for a long or short time. Those already in this group include Ishiguro's The Unconsoled, Alasdair Gray's Lanark and Monkey - The Savage detectives looks set to be another fine addition. With the Khazars however I think this method will help more than usual in bringing understanding.

It was only after finishing the book that I found out that the Khazars were a real historical people, as were others mentioned in the dictionary, I feel stupid and cheated but no less impressed.

I was filled with the urge to quote from this book many times while I was reading but often found that it would have necessitated a huge amount of typing, as he continuously builds on one idea. I will append some enjoyable shorter quotes shortly.

An page with various links to things relating to The Dictionary of the Khazars, and a short note from Robert Coover admonishing my choice of reading method : http://www.khazaria.com/pavic.html
(less)

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Feb 10, 2010 Julianna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't know if I am actually done or not, but this book just keeps blowing my mind. Very bizarre at times but entirely fascinating. I am actually reading the female edition. "When we read, it is not ours to absorb all that is written. Our thoughts are jealous and they constantly black out the thoughts of others, for there is not room enough in us for two scents at one time. Those under the sing of the Holy Trinity, a masculine sign, take in only the odd sentences of their books when they read,...more

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Jan 22, 2011 Lil' Grogan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: experimental, translated, humour, historical, fantasy, 5s, books-about-books

Picked this up years ago and couldn't make sense of it. Realize now that I was reading passively. The structure of the book itself is part of enjoying the book.
This time, it read like a mystery, reminding me of the choose-your-own-adventure books from childhood. I was thrilled by the possibilities, humour and complexity the book offered.
Plot: Tracking the time around the Khazar polemic (C7-10), the 17th century dream hunters/hunters of the dictionary, the 20th century academics/hunters. The sam...more

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Aug 25, 2010 Dan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was hard to rate because it is so untraditional in its format. It is, as the inside cover says, a bit reminiscent of the Arabian Nights, but only in that it has numerous tales. The stories are far more woven together, though never blatantly. And everything has a focus, that of the lost Khazars. It's simply hard to describe, but it is a really rewarding read, and is well designed for dealing with a bit at a time. The stories rarely progress or end as one might expect, and the constant surpri...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Euisry Noor rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-about-book, fiksi-luar-negeri, historical-fiction, novel, spiritual, terjemahan

Huff... Selesai juga akhirnya. Seperti kata salah satu endorsmentnya, baca buku ini seperti layaknya berlatih aerobik otak. Lumayan lelah, apalagi di awal-awal baca karena belum terbiasa dengan alur dan gaya tutur novel leksikon ini. Tetapi seperti halnya berolah raga, meski lelah namun jika tetap dijalani (dilatih) dengan sabar, akhirnya tubuh menjadi lebih teradaptasi dan menjalaninya dengan tekanan kelelahan yang semakin berkurang, bahkan mendapati adanya penyegaran. Begitulah pengalaman memb...more Huff... Selesai juga akhirnya. Seperti kata salah satu endorsmentnya, baca buku ini seperti layaknya berlatih aerobik otak. Lumayan lelah, apalagi di awal-awal baca karena belum terbiasa dengan alur dan gaya tutur novel leksikon ini. Tetapi seperti halnya berolah raga, meski lelah namun jika tetap dijalani (dilatih) dengan sabar, akhirnya tubuh menjadi lebih teradaptasi dan menjalaninya dengan tekanan kelelahan yang semakin berkurang, bahkan mendapati adanya penyegaran. Begitulah pengalaman membaca buku ini yang saya rasakan.

Awalnya pusing-pusing baca buku ini karena narasinya sulit dicerna otakku yang juga masih kebingungan kemana dan bagaimana potongan-potongan cerita yang dipecah-pecah menurut susunan lema dalam kamus tentang bangsa Khazar ini bakal tergabung pada akhirnya menjalin suatu cerita novel yang utuh. Namun lambat laun, seperti susunan sebuah puzzle besar yang rumit, semakin terus dibaca semakin banyak pula potongan kecil puzzle menampakkan diri sehingga puzzle tersebut mulai mengambil sebuah bentuk konkrit yang tadinya seolah berupa potongan-potongan gambar abstrak. Mengenang kesulitan di awal itu aku jadi menyadari betapa kompleksnya buku ini. Memang benar, buku ini adalah sebuah puzzle sastrawi. Tak mudah ditebak gambar apa yang akan muncul pada akhirnya, sebelum kita benar-benar membaca keseluruhan potongan puzzle itu.

Dan karena ini puzzle sastrawi, narasinya juga tak mudah ditangkap maksudnya (setidaknya oleh saya) karena kalimat-kalimatnya jarang yang telanjang, bahkan banyak juga yang memakai jubah berlapis-lapis sehingga makna aslinya tidak akan kelihatan hanya dengan membacanya sekilas di permukaan. Apalagi di dalamnya memuat banyak mitos dan legenda terkait bangsa Khazar (abad 7 - 10) yang punah tanpa jejak, legendanya aneh-aneh pula. Tersusun atas 3 bagian dengan titik sentral yang sama, yakni tema besar tentang Polemik Khazar, 3 bagian tersebut memuat rujukan dari 3 versi sumber: Kristen (buku merah), Islam (buku hijau), dan Yahudi (buku kuning). Secara garis besar Polemik Khazar adalah suatu episode bangsa Khazar dimana Kaghan Khazar mengundang 3 ahli perwakilan dari Yunani (Kristen), Islam, dan Yahudi untuk menjelaskan mimpi Sang Khagan dan keyakinan agama masing-masing. Perdebatan ini yang akan menentukan perpindahan agama bangsa Khazar ke salah satu dari 3 agama tersebut. Menariknya, 3 versi sumber itu masing-masing mengklaim bahwa perwakilan agamanyalah yang menang dalam Polemik Khazar. Sepintas seolah-olah ketiga versi itu punya kisah yang berdiri sendiri. Namun, meski beda versi, jika kita membaca keseluruhan akan ada benang merah yang menjembatani ketiga buku itu. Antar tokoh-tokoh dari masing-masing sumber Kristen, Islam, dan Yahudi tersebut bahkan ternyata saling terhubung satu sama lain menjalin cerita yang sama.

Begitulah, ini buku yang kompleks menurutku. Di awal, ratingnya 2 bintang karena buku ini membuatku pusing. Seiring lembar demi lembar berlanjut, mulai buku hijau dan seterusnya, ratingnya naik jadi 3 bintang karena aku mulai tertarik dan penasaran. Akhirnya, tamat baca dan ternyata menarik juga (terutama tentang konsep spiritual para Pemburu Mimpi dan tentang penyusunan Kamus Khazar itu sendiri), serta atas kompleksitasnya itu, ratingnya antara 3 dan 4 bintang. Untuk sekarang ini, kurasa masih 3.5 bintang, pembulatan ke bawah karena masih ada kebingungan tersisa dan aku belum sepenuhnya paham lapis-lapis makna yang termuat di buku ini. Lagi pula aku agak tergesa membacanya, sedangkan buku ini sepertinya lebih cocok kalau dibaca dengan tenang agar ada ruang buat lebih menerawang makna-makna yang tersembunyikan dalam deretan kata-katanya. Someday mungkin, jika berkesempatan baca ulang kemungkinan besar ratingku untuk buku ini bisa jadi bertambah.(less)

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May 31, 2012 Marit rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-fiction

I was mildly entertained and intrigued by this book but after a quarter of the way in, I was forcing myself to finish only because it was the book chosen by my book club. I simply don't understand the point of this book plus the barrage of verbose, nonsensical details overwhelmed me from the beginning. And that barrage never let up. The Dictionary seems to attempt to create a history in which sense of linear time and space and our basic tenets of reality are totally debunked. And any story told...more

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Jun 18, 2011 Jan-Maat added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century, fiction, read-in-translation, yugoslavia-exyugoslavia

This is a book that you have to make yourself.

It's a dictionary. Each entry references other entries. So by following a chain of references you wind your way through the novel.

The dictionary is based around the story of the conversion of the pagan Khazars to Judaism and the dictionary entries are divided into Christian, Jewish and Muslim sources for this event and it's aftermath. Within the entries however there are also stories, the shape of which is determined by which dictionary entries you'v...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Meek rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Si hay un a clase de libros que amo, son aquellos que desafian al lector. Y el serbio Milorad Pavic tiene una bibliografia donde cada obra suya posee un marco formal que es un reto a sus lectores, aunque sus tematicas estan barnizadas con metaforas, leyendas y mas que nada el poder y el significado de los sueños. Leerlo es como caminar sonambulo guiado solamente por sus palabras, las que construyen frases compuestas, pareciera, en una eterna duermevela.

"Diccionario Jazaro", que fuera su primera...more Si hay un a clase de libros que amo, son aquellos que desafian al lector. Y el serbio Milorad Pavic tiene una bibliografia donde cada obra suya posee un marco formal que es un reto a sus lectores, aunque sus tematicas estan barnizadas con metaforas, leyendas y mas que nada el poder y el significado de los sueños. Leerlo es como caminar sonambulo guiado solamente por sus palabras, las que construyen frases compuestas, pareciera, en una eterna duermevela.

"Diccionario Jazaro", que fuera su primera novela, es una obra que pone en hombros del lector la tarea de reestructurar una historia que basicamente esta dividida en tres etapas cronologicas, pero que puede extenderse a toda la eternidad. El centro de todo es la llamada "cuestion jazara", esto es, a que religion se convirtio ese pueblo alla por finales del primer milenio, antes de desaparecer en las brumas de la historia. Tres enviados trataran de convencer al khazan jazaro de cual es la religion a la que deberia convertir a su pueblo, explicando un sueño que este tuvo. Y segun cada diccionario, el pueblo jazaro se convirtio a esa religion (Cristiana, Musulmana o Judia).

El libro esta formado a su vez por tres diccionarios, uno para cada religion con su version propia de la historia. Pero para hacer las cosas mas atractivas, el libro que tenemos en las manos es (en el juego que nos propone el escritor) una segunda edicion, ya que la primera, datada a finales del siglo XVII, fue quemada por la Inquisicion, y casi nada se conserva de ella, mas alla de fragmentos. Y esa a su vez era un intento de reconstruir otro diccionario mas viejo, que eran biografias escritas por la secta de "Los cazadores de sueños". Y eso sin contar de que existen dos versiones de esta novela, el ejemplar femenino y el masculino, que difieren solo en una frase.

SPOILER-En este juegos de muñecas rusas la tematica se dispersa hacia una cosmogonia gnostica donde el saber de las diversas religiones deben combinarse para lograr la verdad suprema que acerque la humanidad a Dios, y es esto lo que persiguen las almas que se reencarnaran en las diversas eras, seguidas por los demonios que trataran de impedir que esto suceda. La descripcion del estado jazaro es una delicia que puede remitir a Swift, Lem y mas que nada Borges, cuya larga sombra flota por toda la obra.- FIN DEL SPOILER

El lector debera volver varias veces hacia atras en su lectura, hacer referencias cruzadas, anotar datos en un papel, y participar activamente (incluso eligiendo el modo de leer el libro). Definitivamente no es para perezosos ni amantes de lecturas veraniegas de leo y olvido.

Yo no puedo dejar de pensar en la triste ironia (o el poder profetico de Pavic), sabiendo que años despues de escrita, las diferencias en Yugoeslavia llevaron al pais a una de las guerras mas crueles de las ultimas decadas. Pareciera que los demonios sigue, y seguiran, triunfando. (less)

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May 03, 2013 Dani Noviandi rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1001, it-s-mine

Bangsa Khazar. Cek di wikipedia sih, bangsa ini tuh adalah Rusia sekarang, entah deh, saya kurang meng-googling lebih lengkap, sebabnya, membaca buku Kamus Khazar inisangat menyiksa, buku ini sungguh sangat mengawang-awang membahana, kurang bisa menikmati saya, jujur saja.

Memang, buku ini bercerita tentang buku, kamus tepatnya. Jadi intinya begini, Kamus Khazar ini disusun oleh beberapa orang berdasarkan sudut pandang agama masing-masing, yakni Islam, Kisten dan Yahudi. Nah, proses perjalanan da...more Bangsa Khazar. Cek di wikipedia sih, bangsa ini tuh adalah Rusia sekarang, entah deh, saya kurang meng-googling lebih lengkap, sebabnya, membaca buku Kamus Khazar inisangat menyiksa, buku ini sungguh sangat mengawang-awang membahana, kurang bisa menikmati saya, jujur saja.

Memang, buku ini bercerita tentang buku, kamus tepatnya. Jadi intinya begini, Kamus Khazar ini disusun oleh beberapa orang berdasarkan sudut pandang agama masing-masing, yakni Islam, Kisten dan Yahudi. Nah, proses perjalanan dalam membuat kamus ini, serta perjalanan tokoh-tokohnya yang diceritakan disini. Uniknya, buku ini pun berformat seperti kamus. Tahu dong kamus? Jadi misal ada satu kata, seperti dalam kamus, maka kata ini dijabarkan artinya secara lengkap. Begitu pulalah buku ini bercerita, misalnya saja: Polemik Khazar. Diterangkan deh tuh polemik Khazar secara panjang lebar, ya memang benar, seperti kamus pada umumnya. Bedanya, yang dijelaskan disini gak sebanyak di kamus asli, kalau seperti itu, tak terbayangkan tebalnya buku ini. Apalagi, buku ini terdiri atas tiga bagian besar, Buku Merah, Buku Hijau, dan Buku Kuning. Masing-masing bagian mewakili satu agama, merah untuk kristen, hijau untuk islam, dan kuning untuk yahudi. Bisa dibilang, Khazar diceritakan dalam tiga sudut pandang dalam bagian-bagian buku ini. So, kadang-kadang bisa ditemukan satu kata yang ada dan dijelaskan dalam ketiga bagian tersebut, tentunya dengan sudut pandang yang berbeda.

Salah satu penanda yang unik pula dalam buku ini ialah tanda-tanda superscript yang menyertai sebuah kata. Salib untuk kristen, bulan untuk islam dan bintang daud untuk yahudi. Ada juga segitiga, nah, segitiga ini bermakna bahwa kata tersebut dapat ditemukan di ketiga sumber agama tersebut. Ada tiga tokoh utama sebenarnya yang memegang peran penting di buku ini, Masudi di Islam, Brankovich di kristen, dan Cohen di yahudi. Satu tokoh lagi ialah Putri Ateh, dia adalah putri di kekaghanan Khazar. Oh ya sebelumnya, Khazar ini mempunyai pemimpin yang dinamai kaghan, ini semacam kaisar atau raja di tampuk kekuasaan yang lain. Ketiga orang beragama inilah yang membawa agama masing-masing untuk disebarkan di Khazar, dan Putri Ateh pula yang memegang peranan penting untuk memutuskan, agama apa yang nantinya akan dianut oleh bangsa Khazar.

Selain pengetahuan tentang kekhaganan tadi, ada pula beberapa hal yang unik tentang Bangsa Khazar ini. Khazar dikenal sebagai bangsa yang sangat terbuka terhadap kedatangan bangsa lain, bukan dalam opsi dijajah tentu saja, tetapi mereka hidup berdampingan. Walau begitu, biarpun bangsa lain yang menetap di Khazar tersebut telah lama tinggal, tetapi ketika terjadi peperangan antar agama maupun dengan Khazar, orang-orang tersebut tidak mau berjuang dengan Khazar, mereka kembali ke bangsanya masing-masing. Sebenarnya, hal ini bukan salah mereka, karena satu lagi khas Khazar, mereka adalah bangsa yang rendah diri, mereka tidak bangga dengan bangsanya sendiri, bahkan aturan yang ada untuk bangsa Khazar sendiri malah terkesan memberatkan sendiri dibandingkan aturan untuk bangsa lain yang menetap di Khazar. Itulah mengapa hari ini, sekarang ini, bangsa Khazar hilang dari peredaran, selain hal kerendahandiri, pengaruh perlahan-lahan pindahnya mayoritas warga Khazar ke dalam tiga agama yang dibawa tiga orang tadi membuat Khazar akhirnya kehilangan identitas diri mereka yang asli.

2 bintang...(less)

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Nov 30, 2012 Eliav rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: imaginary-places

It took me the better part of a year to finish reading this. The title is somewhat misleading - rest assured it is a collection of stories. But it is not immediately clear how one should go about reading a book like this - from front to back? by following a trail through to other entries? It is up to the reader to navigate the book. Whatever path you choose to follow through the text will be a version of the narrative. For every entry there are two others like it - one for each of three faiths,...more

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Apr 15, 2013 Roxana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The male version of the book fell into my possession more than 11 years ago. I bought it because the name Khazar was closely related to my then boyfriend's name.
Its bizarre characters are alive in my mind, especially princess Ateh, the one to judge and choose between three main religions of our world: Judaism, Christianity and Islamism. To save the Khazar people. There are almost no true historical facts in the book, except for the existence of the Khazar people around the 8th century A.D. an...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Cheryl Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Metafiction lovers

Recommended to Cheryl by: A now-defunct magazine, 'The World & I'

Shelves: strange-brew

Puzzle Box in a book.

The subject of this book is history, and how it is told and understood. It is presented as a trio of encylopedias or dictionaries, which tell one story throught the eyes of three peoples: Christians, Jews and Muslims.

Anyone who has researched anything from the distant past with documentation from more than one nation or faction has encountered something like this book. A researcher will order the information and try to draw some conclusions that 'tell the story.' Yet, those...more

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About Milorad Pavić

Milorad Pavić was a Serbian poet, prose writer, translator, and literary historian.

Pavić wrote five novels which were translated into English: Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel, Landscape Painted With Tea, Inner Side of the Wind, Last Love in Constantinople and Unique Item as well as many short stories not in English translation.

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Books by Milorad Pavić

The Inner Side of the Wind, or The Novel of Hero and Leander

Last Love in Constantinople: A Tarot Novel for Divination

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Quotes from Kamus Khazar: Sebuah N...

“When we read, it is not ours to absorb all that is written. Our thoughts are jealous and they constantly blank out the thoughts of others, for there is not room enough in us for two scents at one time.” — 15 people liked it

“It is not I who mix the colors but your own vision,' he answered. 'I only place them next to one another on the wall in their natural state; it is the observer who mixes the colors in his own eye, like porridge. Therein lies the secret. The better the porridge, the better the painting, but you cannot make good porridge from bad buckwheat. Therefore, faith in seeing, listening, and reading is more important than faith in painting, singing, or writing.'

He took blue and red and placed them next to each other, painting the eyes of an angel. And I saw the angel's eyes turn violet.

'I work with something like a dictionary of colors,' Nikon added, 'and from it the observer composes sentences and books, in other words, images. You could do the same with writing. Why shouldn't someone create a dictionary of words that make up one book and let the reader himself assemble the words into a whole?” — 4 people liked it

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Kamus Khazar: Sebuah Novel Leksikon

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