The dangerous book

observations on the prose by Danilo Kiš, Aleksandar Hemon and Igor Štiks

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.60056/CCL.2017..39-49

Keywords:

Balkan cultures and literatures, Jewish culture, urban culture, comparative literature

Abstract

The text compares three books by South Slavic authors: A Tomb for Boris Davidovic (1976) by Danilo Kiš, The Lazarus Project (2008) by Aleksandar Hemon, and Elijah’s Chair by Igor Štiks. In different genres, all three books analyse possibilities to defend human rights, and particularly the freedom of speech and thought. In these literary worlds, Europe exists mainly with its philosophical and cultural history, but also as a place with a very long tradition both in the defence and in violation of human freedom. Of course, the book as a main symbol of wisdom and thought is the primary subject of these works, and therefore it is not surprising that their writers devote important space to ‘dangerous books’ and knowledge, and ask about ethic and poetic borders between permission and prohibition.

Author Biography

  • Liudmila Mindova, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

    Liudmila Mindova [Людмила Миндова] studied Slavic philology at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski and eceived a Master’s degree in 1998 and a PhD degree in 2006. She is the author of three collections of poems and two monographs on South Slavic literatures: The Voice of the Baroque. Ivan Gundulić and the Croatian Baroque Norm (2011) and The Other Ithaca. On the Literary Home (2016). In her translation are published many books by Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav writers. Liudmila Mindova is research fellow PhD at the Institute for Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) and part-time lecturer at Sofia University. Her scientific research is in the field of comparative literature, South Slavic literatures, cultural semiotics, and culture studies.

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Published

2025-11-06

Issue

Vol. 3 (2017)

Section

Pars pro toto. Proceedings of the Literature Session of the 11th CONGRESS OF SOUTH-EAST EUROPEAN STUDIES

License

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How to Cite

The dangerous book: observations on the prose by Danilo Kiš, Aleksandar Hemon and Igor Štiks. (2025). Colloquia Comparativa Litterarum, 3, 39-49. https://doi.org/10.60056/CCL.2017..39-49