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The Lonely Poet and Other Stories Kindle Edition

5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

"Otto Visconti creates a theatre of the absurd in which he is the main character and the anti-hero, the victor and the victim, the celebrity and an irrelevant, obscure and insecure poet misplaced in an isolated and cold world created by his insecurities, obsessions and illusions, governed by the strange inner forces throwing him mercilessly into absurd situations and even more bizarre conclusions and outcomes.

He is the main protagonist and the narrator of his misfortunes in the first part of the collection.

The second part of the collection offers stories collected from Sydney to New York featuring odd characters in their constant search for meaning, for satisfaction, fulfillment or adventure. They chose unusual avenues in their pursuit of personal happiness; the avenues that often lead them astray."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

At the age of eighteen Branka Cubrilo wrote her first novel I Knew Jane Eyre, which won the Yugoslavian Young Writers Award in 1982. Soon after she wrote a sequel called Looking for Jane Eyre. In 1999 Branka published the book Fiume Corre - Rijeka Tece, a year later Requiem for Barbara and in 2001 Little Lies - Big Lies (as a part of a trilogy called Spanish Stories for which she obtained a scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to research the cultural and historical settings of Cadiz in Andalusia). The Lonely Poet and Other Stories is Branka's third book published in English by Speaking Volumes, following her earlier novels The Mosaic of the Broken Soul (2011) and Fiume - The Lost River (2014). Branka's latest novel Dethroned will be published with the same publisher in 2017. Branka has been living in Sydney with her daughter Althea since 1992. Now she predominantly writes in English and translates her earlier works in English. Praise for Branka Cubrilo 5-Star Reviews on Amazon.com

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01IE4ICLC
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Speaking Volumes (July 12, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 12, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2037 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

About the author

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Branka Cubrilo
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Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
7 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the characters likable and honest. The stories are thought-provoking and compelling, making readers reflect on issues for weeks. Readers appreciate the humor and variety of the collection.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

6 customers mention "Likability"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the characters likable and human. They appreciate the good-natured, honest narrator and the range of emotions and diversity of the characters.

"...He was so insecure, but he had such a talent in narrating stories which sounded almost like long poems...." Read more

"...funny, neurotic, pathetic, sad and child-like, but in a way he is quite likable - don’t we all long for appreciation, justice and recognition to a..." Read more

"Branka's characters are complex individuals. But the most troublesome one for me was Otto!..." Read more

"...He is likable because he is good-natured, a genuinely honest human, so we could easily find the fragments of our own deeply hidden thoughts in the..." Read more

6 customers mention "Thought provoking"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking. They say it makes them reflect on things for weeks. The stories are described as compelling, touching, and surreal. Readers praise the writing style as lyrical and magical.

"...But are any of us? Branka has creatively painted a world that none of us fully understand, a heretical world filled with lies, injustice,..." Read more

"...favourite story in this collection as they are diverse, occupied with different interests and injected by different degrees of subtlety...." Read more

"...This is a serious work; it needs insight and makes you reflect on things for weeks...." Read more

"...The first part of the collection is narrated by a misfit, a Poet, finely portrayed to be at the same time a likable and irritable character...." Read more

5 customers mention "Story quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the stories. They find the tales touching and compelling, with a wonderful storyline. The story about the stolen manuscript keeps them hooked.

"...upon which the collection is built, but Branka’s other ten stories are just as captivating, the kind of stories that remain lodged in your head long..." Read more

"...The second part – the collected stories is even better. I loved the story about the stolen manuscript - it kept me on the tip of my toes...." Read more

"...Simply marvellous tales! Highly recommended." Read more

"...For those who like thought-provoking, compelling fiction, Cubrilo's "The Lonely Poet and Other Stories" is the book for you!..." Read more

4 customers mention "Humor"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the humor in the book. They find it entertaining and engaging.

"...He is funny, neurotic, pathetic, sad and child-like, but in a way he is quite likable - don’t we all long for appreciation, justice and recognition..." Read more

"...part of the Collection features around ten stories, which are absolutely quirky, funny and surreal, and whilst reading them I couldn’t put the book..." Read more

"...lines and utilize empathy in understanding Otto, which leads to an engaging and ultimately very satisfying collection of stories...." Read more

"...and character that you wont find anywhere else - she is funny quirky and yet always human and touching in her humanity and wonderful story line...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2016
    Branka Cubrilo is never alone. She chances to meet her characters along the way, often in the dead of night and usually when she least expects to find them. It’s as if they have been waiting for her. Branka’s characters are never far away - even when she thinks she has forgotten about them. They travel with her and live just on the far side of her mind, content to remain amidst the shadows until it’s time for Branka to sit down and write about them. Some wind up playing bit roles, but others demand a story of their own. They are weary of the passing time, and refuse to wait any longer. One of them was Otto Visconti.

    Branka remembers, “Otto came to me in the form of a lonely, gentle soul I had met years earlier in Andalucia. The character, the voice in my head, would not leave until I wrote about him. Every writer knows well when the voice appears, we have to follow it. He was so insecure, but he had such a talent in narrating stories which sounded almost like long poems. He performed for me that evening a real drama of his life, narrating, crying, gesticulating, and convincing me that he was a character worthy of my attention.”

    Otto came time and again until Branka believed she had captured most of the outpourings from his gentle, yet disturbed soul. The result is “The Lonely Poet and Other stories,” a collection of emotionally charged portraits of life that are both poignant and thought-provoking. Spend some time with Otto, and wonder how man who appears to be so mentally unstable, perhaps even mad, can make you laugh at him and his misery, but he does. However, there are moments when you are laughing through the tears that stain your face. He is not who you might think he is. Otto is not even who thinks he is. But are any of us?

    Branka has creatively painted a world that none of us fully understand, a heretical world filled with lies, injustice, dishonesty, and pitfalls, daring us to fall. And, like Otto the Lonely Poet, we sometimes do. The story of Otto is the bedrock upon which the collection is built, but Branka’s other ten stories are just as captivating, the kind of stories that remain lodged in your head long after you have finished the book. The characters have long traveled with Branka. Now they will travel with you as well.

    Branka Cubrilo’s writing is lyrical, at times magical, and always hauntingly beautiful. Her stories are fresh and original, her books meant to be read more than once. Like traveling to an intriguing place as often as you can, you find something unforgettable each time you go. Branka and her characters don’t live in the same world as they rest of us do, and, as readers, we are glad they don’t.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2016
    EXCELLENT COLLECTION – VERSITILE AND ENTERTAINING!

    Who is Otto Visconti, a Kafkian character on the verge of a mental breakdown? Is he a hypersensitive soul, or is he just an ordinary man irritated by life’s plainness/dullness and its distinct lack of magic? Is it all his own work, are all his misfortunes merely figments of his imagination – which he projects onto the people he meets in his daily life?

    He craves for a better world, a more emotionally fulfilled relationship with his mother, and the women he meets or with any person he gets in contact with.
    He is funny, neurotic, pathetic, sad and child-like, but in a way he is quite likable - don’t we all long for appreciation, justice and recognition to a certain degree?
    Doesn’t he spit out everything he wants without discrimination, everything that we hide deep inside but are too civil to ever verbalise it in such a manner?
    I really enjoyed and laughed out loud reading this part of the book. But there is more to it than entertainment or laughter as when you plunge deeper, between the lines you grasp the message that identity is just a façade, Otto’s identity is a fabricated aspect of himself which he communicates to others and it has been made of many conflicting parts in an attempt to defend him against the reality of everyday. He poses questions like: what is the source of identity? Is it one’s name, status, career or environment?
    The second part – the collected stories is even better.
    I loved the story about the stolen manuscript - it kept me on the tip of my toes. What a nerve-wrecking child! I wished I could have shaken her silly or just screamed at her – No! You can’t be such a brat!
    Pia’s Poem is one of my favourites - it builds a strange atmosphere, a melancholic and isolated world of a poetic soul.
    Otto Visconti is a Poet, Pia is a Poetess but those two characters are vastly different – they have different depths while narrating and portraying their inner landscape, therefore I applaud Branka Cubrilo for having the skill of conveying her characters so well by showing the range of emotions and diversity of those characters. She penetrates into the psyche of her protagonists keeping the reader mesmerised and confronted by a variety of emotions.
    Every reader can find their favourite story in this collection as they are diverse, occupied with different interests and injected by different degrees of subtlety.
    Yes, it was a very rewarding experience, so I finish with – highly recommended!
    One person found this helpful
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