TASSOS GOUDELIS
The Charm of Promise
editor Patakis, 2022, p. 160

OUR “Charm of Promises” from Thassos Gudeli this is not just a collection of short stories. Make a suggestion literary form, the product of its maturity author. With his characteristic hypocritical-sarcastic writing, Goodelis presents a book proposal for reading as well as for analysis, focusing on his reflections on the role and limitations of the small form.

A faithful follower of the end of the novel, but also of any larger form, the author in this work presents an important proposal for today’s Greek writing, where the small literary size has not yet found the place it deserves. Gudelis’ starting point is his personal experience, combined with a filtered fiction that contains any position, opposition and synthesis in the small and clear. Keep it small, simple, and safe – in the sense of completeness – said the theorists of small forms in the last century. This is what Gudelis has in common, along with most of the starting points from moments in his own history.

The interest in this composition lies in mixing the imaginary with the real, analytical discourse with organized fiction. The main feature of his writing is prudence through the delicacy of descriptions, which often represent the author’s reasoning and position on the essence of life.

It is storytelling on its own terms, which often undermine and often destroy autobiographical evidence. The small format and references to childhood, formulated in the text thanks to the author’s carefully constructed style, lead away from the autobiographical element towards literary and meaningful universality. Often the author combines the literary with an extra-literary element, with a skill that involves a kind of literary intervention, a micro-skill of writing.

Through non-humorous self-mocking, the author inspires the reader with his point of view.

His extra-literary elements often come from reading philosophical essays or travels, which are, however, fully integrated into his writings. This completeness satisfies the author, which is especially obvious to the reader. Thus, he does not leave questions unanswered, except as part of the game that he himself starts in some stories.

In the story “Oblivion” he begins with the key phrase – “I don’t remember if I wanted to forget.” Thus he defines the effect of his composition: “And then one morning I got up, adjusted the pillow in the void next to me and said:“ Yes, this is … ”,” the friend suffering from dementia finishes the sentence. This description with self-reference to the author’s thought is characteristic of Gudelis. Often also rendered immediately, without any effort to protect the author. Through non-humorous self-mocking, the author offers the reader his own view.

Missing punctuation

More experimental lyrics can be found in “Chronoi 2”. This story generalizes Goodelis games with small form constraints. Thus, the absence of punctuation in its own way abolishes the oral, even if the reading of the story continues. The reader can choose where and whether to stop reading, that is, make him a small director in each reading. The semantic flexibility and connection between the reader and the author is thus also achieved through personal narrative improvisation – only at the discretion of the reader. The choice can be arbitrary, but personal: the author gives the material, not the way of reading, that is, in the hands of the reader.

These experiments are one of the strengths of the book and worth reading, especially for those who don’t like short stories, as it brings the thinking about the short form to the modern level. The Charm of Promises, in addition to the experimental reflection that permeates it, has many points of reference to the present day, as well as to the recent past through emotional stories – often indirect autobiography, as a means of acquaintance with literary experience. Characteristic is the story “Aforma”, which summarizes the experiences of Mr. N. (Nikos Caruso). There is no doubt that Gudelis’s experiment is worth seeing dynamically for the fertility it offers as a solution to energize the reader.

Mr. Petros Stephaneas is an NTUA Associate Professor and writer.