"I will certainly strive to believe in literature, no matter how dark the future may be, and my message to everyone is: 'Learn at least one verse - we are going to need it.'" said Mario Desiati, the Italian writer and the winner of the Strega Prize for his novel "Razdomljeni" (Dishomed) at the Breakfast With the Author which was hosted by Aljoša Pužar. The audience responded with a strong prolonged, heartfelt applause on the fifth day of the 29th Book Fair(y) in Istria.

"Desiati is a brilliant author, profoundly thoughtful, precisely the kind of writer literature needs today," said the esteemed translator Sanja Roić, who herself was dishomed from Pula.  Her words best describe the atmosphere of freedom and the beauty of art that the mild and sincere Mario Desiati brought to the 29th Book Fair(y) in Istria, where his novel " Razdomljeni" (OceanMore) was presented.
"Mario Desiati is an author who managed to talk about the first generation of European citizens who, after the borders were lifted, are at home everywhere in Europe, yet feel nowhere at home. They are dishomed, said Nataša Medved, editor at the publishing house OceanMore.

"Both 'dishomed' and the word 'queer' carry negative connotations. While writing 'Razdomljeni' I always had the word 'queer' on my mind. People want to break down the barriers within themselves and the ones surrounding them. Breaking those barriers brings trauma, brings pain, and the fear of that pain is always present. I directed my story at Berlin, a city of symbols of all the European walls," said Desiati and opened new spaces of freedom at the 29th Fair.

Historkozmos also demonstrated how far the limits of freedom can extend, even to the point of composing applied music for something like wine vinegar. In the section "Wine Tales" of the program "Pristrani", NOTA Vinegar was presented. The story goes like this: Tamara Obrovac, the public figure of Istrian NOTA, as she was presented by the charming and relaxed Robert Razzi, upon the invitation of the creative director Sean Poropat from SONDA, tasted the wines made at the Istrian estate of Tenuta Tre Terre by Ivan Catalan, a brilliant Sicilian from Novigrad. Then the unique musician composed three pieces for each type of wine vinegar. The wine vinegars are branded as NOTA, and SONDA marketing agency designs a unique, spectacular multisensory label, with QR codes links to Obrovac's compositions, offering a musical experience with each taste.

"Culture is what gives space its value ", this is how Sean Poropat summed up the main intention of all SONDA's projects, including NOTA Vinegar. The premise was inherited from his teacher, the great painter and music pedagogue Ivan Obrovac, Tamara's father, one of the microcosmoi of Istria. It was exactly with his words that Tamara Obrovac concluded Histrokozmos when answering a question about her father's influence on her artistic creation and freedom. 'I didn’t raise you; I just made sure others don’t raise you,' said Tamara’s father once to her, and the audience of Histrokozmos responded with a loud applause, acknowledging that he made a good job. Denis Mohenski, the head of marketing and chef of Tenuta Tre Terre, also participated in Histrokosmos, and Milan Budinski presented his own wines. Budinski will also be remembered for coining a term for an expert who works with vinegar (enolog koji je otišao na ocat).
All in all, another unforgettable experience.

Certainly worth highlighting are the beautiful programs that marked the evening sessions at the Fair. "When a person loses their memory, they lose their library. Libraries represent the entirety of humanity. That’s why libraries are burned and destroyed in wars; they are immensely precious," said the American writer, journalist, and screenwriter Susan Orlean, who presented her novel "The Library Book” (Knjiga o knjižnici) (Sandorf) within the Book Fair(y)’s library program. There were numerous librarians from all over Croatia in the audience, and apart from the editor Ivan Sršen, whose mother and grandmother were both librarians, the promotion was brilliantly coordinated by Emir Imamović Pirke. 

"I would like comics to remain on the margins forever. Personally, the  Academy of Fine Arts gave me a lot, and it was there, through my friends, that I discovered the world of comics," said Danijel Žeželj, who presented his graphic novel "Kao pas" (Bodoni) within the Life Between the Clouds program. Through this graphic novel, the backbone of which is Kafka's story "A Hunger Artist", Žeželj painted a complex, anxious and surreal world of Kafka's atmosphere with his unique visual narration. He also transposed his graphic novel "Kao pas" into the powerful exhibition "A Hunger Artist". The exhibition, welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd, opened at the Makina Gallery, an important sanctuary for the Fair, as noted by the Fair’s director Magdalena Vodopija at the opening.
 

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