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608 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2020
Do it now, do it now while the vision is clear
Do it now while the feeling is here
If you leave it too late, it could all disappear
Do it now while your vision is clear
[…] Forse è per questo che ha paura di amare di nuovo, di aprire il cuore… perché i morti a volte si rifiutano di lasciarci – o forse siamo noi che non riusciamo a staccarci da loro. Ce li trasciniamo dietro come massi pesanti e scuri. Liberateci, ci chiedono loro, lasciateci sprofondare in una dimensione alla quale non avete accesso. E continuate a vivere, perché solo così è possibile consolare noi che siamo morti.
Nell’ultima fatica letteraria di Stefánsson, dal titolo emblematico e, al tempo stesso, suggestivo si intuisce subito che il tema portante sarà l’elaborazione del lutto.everything takes less time now, except maybe sex, football matches, and wagner operas. yes, everything takes less time, our knowledge is expanding, we've reached the moon, sent spacecraft out beyond the solar system, we live longer, we can communicate with the whole world from the couch, yet humanity is no happier. shouldn't that fill us with sadness, doesn't it suggest that mankind's journey is a failure?melancholy and memory, life and love, death and desire, philosophy and possibility. jón kalman stefánsson's your absence is darkness (fjarvera þín er myrkur) is an achingly gorgeous novel spanning several generations full of longing, heartbreak, hard choices, and a yearning for happiness and connection. with lyrical prose, thoughtful tangents, and a meandering, moving examination of being human amid hardship and responsibility, your absence is darkness feels as close to living as perhaps any novel could aspire to. stefánsson writes with humor, compassion, tenderness, and wisdom. this is as fine a novel as they come.
some people say that when you look at everything and consider it carefully, it's hardly possible to conclude otherwise than that humanity is a monster. and the more you study the history of man, the better you observe current events, the easier it becomes to accept that conclusion. maybe it takes a little blend of immorality, selfishness, and incorrigible optimism not to be filled with pessimism.