Image ID: A translated book cover for the book SACRED AND TERRIBLE AIR, by Robert Kurvitz. The cover illustration shows a band of stars in the sky, resembling the milky way, that goes diagonal across the cover. On the right end of the illustration there are the leaves of trees at night, which obscure part of the band of stars. The background is a deep, bluish-grey. In the bottom left corner is the logo for ZA/UM, with the 'bird of prey' logo. On the right side is a series of segments. Each segments has a small caption attached. The caption for the first fifth of the book reads "ooh, fun, an Elysium mystery story about 3 men trying to solve the disappearances of their childhood crushes". The next, very small segment, says "What". The next segment, which covers about 40%-55% through the book, says "ah, I see, this is actually a story about unhealthy obsession with the past". The next segment, also very small, is captioned "WHAT". The next segment, about 75-85% through the book, reads "I am inconsolable and my heart is empty.". The following segment, which is very small, says "IGNUS NILSEN?!?!". The final segment, about 95%-100% through the book, reads "K Inconsolable again"
source (cw slur reclamation)
spoiler
(post originally by tumblr user
crustaceousf****t
where the '*'s are replaced by the letters for the relevant homophobic slur)
This book was fascinating, because it felt like a book that was 60% done. It's a serious mess, but the bones are there. The bones are so good. I can see why that translated to a phenomenal game in Disco Elysium. The idea of the past eating up our world, that we really just live in a museum, that there's nothing left to Do, that all history has been Decided, that's delicious.
What language did you read it in?
I liked the English, but I have no idea if the translation did Justice because I have exactly zero desire to learn Estonian.
Kinda sad universal translators don’t exist yet, it would be cool to know if the translation was the reason for that partially empty vibe. Maybe it’s intentional :shrug:.
