Maxim Znak

Autor de The Zekameron: One Hundred Tales From Behind Bars and Eyelashes

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Obras de Maxim Znak

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The Zekameron: One Hundred Tales From Behind Bars and Eyelashes (2023) 4 copias

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Género: male
Nacionalidad: Belarus

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The Zekameron: One hundred tales from behind bars… por Maxim Znak

The background to this publication is an infuriating one. A lawyer working for free and fair elections in Belarus, Znak was arrested by the dictator Lukashenko’s regime as it repressed domestic opposition that briefly had a moment in 2020. Znak began writing these 1-2 page wryly humorous glimpses into prison life after his arrest and subsequent sentencing to a decade in a penal colony. The stories were then smuggled out; an introduction to the book coyly comparing that event to the figures floating in the skies of Marc Chagall’s paintings, Chagall’s birthplace being near the prison.

The completed book is a collection of 100 of these little stories (comparable there to the Decameron, thus the title) featuring unnamed prisoners, stand-ins for all prisoners be they of the political or criminal variety. The tone is not at all what you would probably expect of such stories, being gentle and humorously ironic while portraying the poor conditions the prisoners exist in. It’s certainly a curious way to write about life inside of a dictator’s jails as a political prisoner. Instead of understandable righteous outrage and political arguments, we read a stoical and often tender account of what passes the time, the camaraderie between prisoners generating warmth and good vibes. The guards are something like bullying sitcom big brothers, there to give you a hard time, sure, but never really threatening.

In story 78, “Savasana”, for instance, a prisoner tries to argue to a guard that he was not actually sleeping during the day, which is forbidden:

“No! I was practising Savasana. That’s the name of the Corpse Pose. I was falling into a meditative state.”

“It’s not allowed. You can’t do it in the daytime.”

“But it’s a spiritual practice of my religion. I am allowed to conduct religious services.”

Did it actually help? Yes, and how! To help him meditate more successfully he was dispatched to the peace and quiet of the punishment cell two days later.

He had naively hoped to be able to work on his Savasana, but during the day the bed was locked away against the wall, and in answer to his request for space to be made available for his spiritual devotions the head warder of the wing recommended that he should master the Tree Pose.

Possibly Znak originally wrote these little stories to entertain fellow prisoners, I’m not sure but it would seem logical. Their translation and publication is a chance for us to have a unique sort of reading experience. The reader will learn all sorts of things, like why toilet paper is valuable as air freshener, why spiders are the real bosses of the cells, and why Andy Dufresne’s character from Shawshank Redemption is so unpopular.… (más)

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lelandleslie | Feb 24, 2024 |

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