Ksenija Benedetti has had a rich career, but she is best known as the long-time head of the Protocol of the Republic of Slovenia. The highlights of her work include the preparation and implementation of Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2008 and the visit of the British Queen Elizabeth II to Slovenia in the autumn of 2008. She has travelled almost the entire world on business with Slovenian presidents, and now she has embarked on the House of Harmony, a very special book project subtitled Autobiographical Interview with 75 Fellow Travelers. As the book's editor Urban Vovk writes in the foreword, the House of Harmony "offers a home to all the questions posed, enriching them with homeliness in the form of returning to childhood and young years, discovering precious little details from the intimate and provocative behind-the-scenes of work life, which has been recorded in the protocol for many years." The book has been in the works for three years, and its concept is fresh and original: the author invited 75 more or less close people to ask her three questions each, and she committed to answering them in advance. Among the questioners are members of her family, as well as actors, writers, journalists, professors, directors, politicians, entrepreneurs, etc. Author Ksenija Benedetti explains: "The idea for the structure of the book splashed out of the universe of my head one bright evening, just before going to bed. In such half-awake states, I see most creatively and clearly. The next morning, I grabbed a pencil and began winding journeys from fellow traveler to fellow traveler, from fellow traveler to fellow traveler, from question to question, from answer to answer. And so a book was created that is not just a slightly different autobiography, it is also a picture of my values and thoughts, as well as the face of the times in which we are embedded. "The extremely innovative format of questions that are sometimes provocative, other times mischievous, thirdly demanding and profound, and answers that are written without fear, proudly, clearly, also playfully and invitingly, enchants and absorbs you in. An unforgettable and multifaceted read.
