Work
Vitomil Zupan is best known for his semi-autobiographic novels. In his probably best work Menuet za kitaro (A Minuet for Guitar; 1975), he gave a highly individualized account of the Slovenian National Liberation War. The Minuet, the Levitan (1982), in which he described his experiences in prison, and Komedija človeškega tkiva (A Comedy of Human Tissue), which describes the period before and during World War II, form an original autobiographical trilogy centered on the quest of an individual for his identity in the modern world. In his probably most popular novel, Igra s hudičevim repom (A Game with the Devil's Tail; 1978), Zupan wrote about a middle-aged man who gets involved in a sexual affair with his housekeeper.
Zupan's novels are written from an individualist perspective and are full of detailed depictions of sexuality, the banality of everyday life, and the ruthless environments in repressive institutions, such as the army and the prison. He has occasionally been accused of pornography and excessively exhaustive descriptions of violence. On the other side, his writings are always very reflective and filled with philosophical and cultural references.
He also wrote poetry, most of which remained unpublished during his lifetime. A collection of Zupan's poetry from his prison years was first published in 2006 and revived the interest for Zupan's literary legacy.
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