Composed of seven dark tales, A Tomb for Boris Davidovich presents variations on the theme of political and social self-destruction throughout Eastern Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. The characters in these stories are caught in a world of political hypocrisy, which ultimately leads to death, their common fate.

A Tomb for Boris Davidovich: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Danilo Kiš

Contemporary

Harcourt, Brace. Jovanovich

Garden Ashes

Faber and Faber

"Kis is one of the handful of incontestably major writers of the second half of the century . . . Danilo Kis preserves the honor of literature."â€”Partisan ReviewComposed of seven dark tales, A Tomb for Boris Davidovich presents variations on the theme of political and social self-destruction throughout Eastern Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. The characters in these stories are caught in a world of political hypocrisy, which ultimately leads to death, their common fate. Although the stories Kis tells are based on historical events, the beauty and precision of his prose elevates these ostensibly true stories into works of literary art that transcend the politics of their time.

Tomb for Boris Davidovich

Faber Faber Inc

An entrancing, otherworldly collection of short stories from one of Europe's most accomplished 20th century writers, new to Penguin Modern Classics 
A counter-prophet attempts the impossible to prove his power; a girl sees the hideous fate of her sisters and father in a mirror bought from a gypsy; the death of a prostitute causes an unanticipated uprising; and the lives of every ordinary person since 1789 are recreated in the almighty Encyclopedia of the Dead. These stories about love and death, truth and lies, myth and reality range across many epochs and settings. Brilliantly combining fact and fiction, epic and miniature, horror and comedy, this was Danilo Kiš final work, published in Serbo-Croatian in 1983.\nKiš is one of the great European writers of the post-war period - Guardian 
Compulsively readable - Daily Telegraph\nFantasy chases reality and reality chases fantasy. Pirandello and Borges are not far away. But these names are intended as approximate references. Kiš is a new, original writer - Times Literary Supplement\nIntense and exotic, his mysteries hint at unspeakable secrets that remain forever beyond the story-teller's grasp - Boyd Tonkin\nDanilo Kiš was born in the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1935. After an unsettled childhood during the Second World War, in which several of his family members were killed, Kiš studied literature at the University of Belgrade where he lived for most of his adult life. He wrote novels, short stories and poetry and went on to receive the prestigious NIN Award for his novel Pešcanik. He died in Paris in 1989.

Encyclopaedia of the Dead

Short Stories & Anthologies

Faber Inc

Danilo Kis was one of the most artful and eloquent writers of postwar Europe. Of all his books, Hourglass, the account of the final months in one man's life before he is sent to a concentration camp, is considered to be his masterpiece.

Hourglass

Faber&Faber

Early Sorrows centers on Andreas Sam, a highly intelligent boy whose life at first seems secure. His mother and sister dote on him; he excels at school; when he is hired out as a cowherd to help with the family's finances, he reads the day away in the company of his best friend, the dog. He can only sense that terrible things may be going on in the world. Soon soldiers are marching down the road, and then one day, many people from the village are herded together and taken away, among them, his father, the dreamer.

Early Sorrows (For Children and Sensitive Readers)

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

New Directions

Mansarda is the first novel published by the renowned Serbian author Danilo Kis (1935-1989). Written in 1960, published in 1962, and set in contemporary Belgrade, Mandarda explores the relationship of a young man, known only as Orpheus, to the art of writing; it also tracks the personal relationship among a colorful cast of characters with nicknames such as Eurydice, Mary Magdalene, Tam-Tam, and Billy Wise Ass. Rich in references to music, painting, philosophy, and gastronomy, as well as literature, this bohemian Bildungsroman provides important perspectives on the evolution of Kis as a writer. It is a laboratory of techniques and the anvil of artistic ethos for Kis. In other words, as a work of art, Mansarda is at once a depiction of life in bohemian Belgrade, a register of stylistic devices and themes that would recur throughout Kis' oeuvre, and an account of one yong man's quest to work out one's artistic ethos and approach to representation by balancing art, life, and text. These three aspects of Mansarda add up to an admirable first novel, indeed. John K. Cox, Translator Professor and Department Head at North Dakota State University

Mansarda

Genre Fiction

The Serbian Classics Press

El Reloj de Arena.

Alfaguara

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Books by Danilo Kiš