Between reality and a dream — the theme of beauty and violence in Mirko Kovač’s novel Crystal Gates
The narrator of Crystal Gates who is the protagonist of the novel too is making areconstruction of his youth and the artistic life in Belgrade of the 1960s. As he said, he has seen the past “in the lucid intervals” and dreams are really important in the story. They are usually connected with the real life and sometimes they are a kind of vision. The most important themes of the novel are beauty and violence. They are still related to each other, because they are two points of human life in general. The narrator is abudding writer, earning his living by trading in works of art and moving in artistic circle. On the other hand, he gets into touch with the exponents of new authorities communists because they are interested in buying his works of art. His friend, Kosma, is acommunist, too. The novel’s world has adualistic nature and is marked by right and wrong beauty and violence at the same time.