All About My Mother
A world-exclusive book-recommending interview with the one and only Branka
Happy Friday before Mother’s day. To celebrate, I have something very special planned for today. If you know me in real life, you know that my family and sharing updates about them is probably 75% of my personality (the remaining 25% is some mix of books/movies and tinned fish, and that aspect comes from my family as well). So, it only made sense that the first ever Very Breezy interview (kind of a hybrid of the “By The Book” NYT questionnaire) features the woman that is responsible for basically everything you like and dislike about me: My Mother! She is fiercely loyal, incredibly resilient, truly very elegant and extremely culturally savvy and while she would never ever (ever!) be someone who actively posts on social media, she would crush at influencing.
She has this insane effect on everyone she ever meets: everyone is a little bit in awe of her, a healthy amount afraid that they may dissappoint her, and very eager to earn her approval. And this power (there’s really no other word) comes to her seemingly effortlessly, but it is there because she actually earned it. She has an MD AND a phD, loves Anette Benning and Cate Blanchett, wears only Chanel lipsticks (and always only owns like 2 of them, but they alwayss seem that they’re exactly the two lipsticks anyone would ever need), puts only Estee Lauder creams on her face and Clarins body lotions on her body, and owns a truly spectacular amount of genuine Italian leather footwear, swimwear and cool scarves. She is always cold, but thinks cashmere is too hot to wear on the body. She has been wearing kaftans and kimonos her entire life. I mean, you get it.
The newsletter title comes from one of her favorite movies, by one of her favorite directors (she was the kind of Mother that would take you to see Almodovar and Tarantino when you were a tween), but since this is also the very first lifestyle related interview she has ever done so I kept it simple: it is 99% about books (she is a rigorous, omnivorous novel reader).
You’re in for a treat: It is beautifully, timelessly trend-free and evergreen feeling, though she does casually namedrop Sally Rooney, and offers some shade toward Nobel Prize winning authors, which even I did not see coming. You know, she’s not just any Mom, she’s a cool mom.
So, shall we?
(photo by Chris Chen @furcafe, from my wedding)
Introduce yourself:
I am Branka Legetic, mother of Svetlana and Nikola. Officially, I am: retired as medical doctor and tenured professor at School of Medicine, as well as WHO (World Health Organization) expert in chronic disease prevention. Unofficially: someone with broad interests in art, cultural diversity, recreation, cooking, travel and avid theater and cinema fan.
What are some of your favorite things to do in your free time?
I really enjoy doing a number of different things that may all be considered my favorite. Some are rare, like spending time with my children doing whatever that may involve, so I appreciate those times and consider them among favorite. Otherwise I love spending time at our cottage in the mountains, or at the beach house where I attend to my plants, read, go for a walk or a swim and share quality time with friends. Recently I started volunteering at our National Gallery where am enjoying the experience of being more immersed in art history and Serbian national painters and sculptors as well as enjoying meeting people interested in what I can share during there visits to the gallery exhibitions. (Svetlana side note: she also travels more than anyone I’ve ever met. She used to travel for work all the time, and now that she is retired she is averaging 4-5 international trips, near or far every year - this year so far already included United States, Amsterdam and she’s en route to Naples as we speak. If there is one thing I wish she’d telepathically transfer to me is her ability to sleep on any plane, train or bench you put her at)
How many books would you say you read in a year? (estimate)
I guess around 40?
Describe your ideal book reading experience?
If I understand the question correctly, my ideal book reading experience would be to be on my terrace, in a quiet afternoon with a book that brings such vivid need to learn what is on the next page, so I am fully immersed and do not hear or see anything around me.
Where are you right now, for how long, what type of book are you reading?
I am at the cottage for a few days, enjoying beautiful weather and the company of my friends. As we have collected all sorts of books in the house, I took one received in 1994 from my only daughter when returning from her first summer English course in Oxford that has a cute little incription on it: To my Mom, a hot-new English book from a writer who became “ flavor” of 1994. The book is by Kathleen Rowntree “Between Friends”. I read it then and I am rereading it with pleasure now. I brought with me two books that I recently got as a gift: “Van Gogh’s Table” and “The Notes from Monet’s Kitchen”. There is a story behind the gift, I just got back from Amsterdam and am planing to go to Paris and Giverny in September.
Describe what kind of reader you were when you were a child
As a child in former Yugoslavia, I was surrounded by books, they were everywhere because my mother was a literature teacher. I did read classic children books like Heidi, adventure books by Karl May, books about different cultures by authors like Pearl Buck or Jack London, as well the books from our national children writers like Dusan Radovic, Branko Copic. I was a library fan and besides the National children’s program on TV (please note: it was in late 50 and early 60 in Yugoslavia, so this aired twice a week in the afternoons for 60 min) and Saturday matinees, reading was my favorite way to pass time.
As young adult, I became interested in Hemingway, discovered Francois Sagan, Erica Jong, John Updike, Bukowski, Gabriel Garcia Marques, Mario Vargas Llosa.
Nowadays my reading interest are even broader: Elif Shafik, Rabih Alameddine, Andrei Makine, Carlos Ruiz Zafron, Mario Benedetti and Elena Ferrante among others. I enjoy reading books in the original language they are written, so that may be the main difference to my previous reading experience. (Svetlana’s note: my Mom speaks Serbian, English and Spanish fluently, and can get by in French, all very casual)
What is your favorite kind of book to read and why?
This is a hard question to answer, but I would opt for a novel (almost always) with interesting characters and a good story that pulls the reader forward. Recently I read a few books by Irish writers that I enjoyed very much, like “Small Things Like These” by Claire Keegan and “This is Happiness” by Niall Williams, which I left for Svetlana on my last visit.
What is your least favorite book genre to read and why?
I was never attracted to science fiction and I rarely read poetry. Cannot explain why, maybe some early experience that stayed with me, without much clarity.
What is a book you recommend to everyone?
I have a few authors that any book written by them would be my warmest recommendation:
But to do a good job with recommendations, before recommending I usually either know or try to learn about the taste of the person I am recommending something to read.
Is there a book you have read multiple times in your life?
Books I liked and return to some depending of the mood and moment, to read some parts are:
“The Forsyte Saga” by John Galsworthy
“Roman O Londonu” (“A Novel of London”) by Milos Crnjanski
“Pantaleon Y Las Visitoras” (Captain Pantoja and the Special Service) by Vargas Llosa
Is there a classic novel you haven’t read yet but want to read and why?
“The Alexandria Quartet” by Lawrence Durrel. I think that the story told from different perspectives in such an interesting city and time period would just be an incredible thing to get lost in.
What is your favorite book-turned-into-a-movie-or-TV-show and why?
Usually I like either a book or a novel better, but in a few cases both can be considered as really/almost equally good. Some picks in that category:
The Painted Veil (book + movie)
Small Things Like These (book + movie)
Lessons in Chemistry (book + TV show)
(Svetlana’s note: was very surprised not to see the Colin Firth starring “Pride & Prejudice” on here because we have certainly watched it a 1001 times together)
Which book would you turn into a movie or TV show?
“The Whalebone Theatre” by Joanna Quinn (Svetlana: I co-sign this one)
What are you currently reading? What do you think about it?
Continuing my Irish writer focus, I am starting a book by young Irish writer Sally Rooney: “Intermezzo”, that looks promising.
Is there a book or series of books people would be surprised you liked (a guilty pleasure etc?)
I don’t know….. (Svetlana’s note: I do have it on good authority she has read all of “Bridgerton” novels, which I personally found somewhat surprising)
Is there a book you feel is overrated (people really like it but you don’t)? Why?
I am not sure if this is a correct answer but I do not like, and could not read, although many people do like/love these highly praised authors: Salman Rushdie and Milorad Pavic (a famous Serbian author translated in many languages) .
What is an author (or authors) you will ALWAYS buy/read? Why?
Ones that you can find among those I would highly recommend to others
What book are you most excited to read next (and why?)
I just ordered “Table for Two” by Amor Towles in English (the book has been translated into Serbian, but I prefer to read anything I can in the original language). I liked his storytelling style in all of his previous novels. I am keen on seeing what this one will bring.
How do you get book recommendations / choose what you’re going to read - friends, newspapers etc?
I have many sources depending where I am: in US, I really rely on my daughter’s recommendations as well as from a good friend, Judit, who is an avid reader and knows my interests. In Montenegro and Serbia I look for recommendations that come in journals or specialist publications.
If you could throw a literary dinner party, who would you invite (authors - dead or alive, and why?)
Jose Saramago and Simone de Beauvoir
Jose, for his sharp view on social issues and Simone for her view on women and their place in society that is, in my opinion, still very much a hot topic nowadays. I think with the two of them, it would be a very dynamic meal and discussion.
What would you cook for them?
I would ask first where their preferences are re:food and adapt?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And that is that. Hvala Mama / Thanks Mom! I also asked her for any other recommendations because she has seen more movies than this entire subscription list and always smells and looks more like herself than anyone I know, but she demurred and said that even the questions above were “quite a lot” to go through. Maybe we’ll do a Pt 2 next year. If we’re lucky.
I love this so much! Thanks for sharing!
My reading list so long now, I might not live long enough to read it all.