Words Above The Clouds

Author: Evald Flisar
Publisher: Nirala Publications, New Delhi
(Pp 243, ISBN 9788182500945)

Captivating, as always, is the work of Slovene author Evald Flisar. He is a master craftsman of diverse genres covering literary fiction, travelogue and children’s stories. His books have been translated into English and other languages, including Hindi and Bengali. Words Above The Clouds, originally Besede Nad Oblaki, is translated by Timothy Pogacar from Slovene, and it is a mixture of detective uncertainty, tragedy, laughter and derision of people (air passengers) who involve in personal conversations of all kinds—polite or chatty, rude or disturbing. First chapter of the book opens with the narrator and his young son travelling to Australia, for meeting his wife after a gap of two years. The young boy tirelessly chatters throughout the air trip and asks his father questions why his mother is away from them, childish at some sense, but all painstaking reality that often bites.

This book is an increasingly dramatic exploration, as most of the chapters/stories are written in dialogues. The dialogues echo the fragmentary nature of contemporary human thought and a catalogue of deceptions people employ in their dealing with one another, all visibly displayed among passengers travelling long air journeys that include newly married couples, gay-heterosexual partners, relatives and complete strangers. This book is yet another brilliantly compiled history Evald Flisar has written collecting human ideas shared and expressed.

– Jyaneswar Laishram