Slobodan Seleni膰 (Author of O膷evi i oci)

Slobodan Seleni膰鈥檚 Followers (53)

Slobodan Seleni膰

Born

in Belgrade, Serbia

June 07, 1933

Died

October 27, 1995

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers

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Slobodan Selenic was one of the greatest literary talents in Serbia of recent times. His novels such as Prijatelji ("The Friends") and Ocevi i oci ("Fathers and Forefathers") and plays such as Ruzenje naroda ("Spiting the Nation") and Knez Pavle ("Prince Paul") have dominated the last 15 years in Belgrade.

His chief preoccupation concerned the coming to power of the Communists in 1945 and their destruction of the economic, political and cultural life of his country. Describing the fabric of Serbian society before the Second World War he painted a picture of a fledgling democracy struggling to emerge in Europe and leave behind the legacy of Balkan primitivism. His Belgrade of the 1920s and 1930s is a city in development. Paved streets are tak Slobodan Selenic was one of the greatest literary talents in Serbia of recent times. His novels such as Prijatelji ("The Friends") and Ocevi i oci ("Fathers and Forefathers") and plays such as Ruzenje naroda ("Spiting the Nation") and Knez Pavle ("Prince Paul") have dominated the last 15 years in Belgrade.

His chief preoccupation concerned the coming to power of the Communists in 1945 and their destruction of the economic, political and cultural life of his country. Describing the fabric of Serbian society before the Second World War he painted a picture of a fledgling democracy struggling to emerge in Europe and leave behind the legacy of Balkan primitivism. His Belgrade of the 1920s and 1930s is a city in development. Paved streets are taking the place of mud and cobblestones, while men educated in Western universities are striving to replace the notional myths of the largely peasant population by more rational ways of thinking.

Always a realist, both by intellectual constitution and in his narrative designs, he never lost sight in his fictional world of the fact that these changes are difficult; and his characters frequently bear the imprint of two worlds. They are caught between the European future and the weight of the Balkan past, trying to balance them. His works present the need to confront the truth of history and to build an honest patriotism which respects the patriotism of others. He sees this vision destroyed by the arrival of the Communists in whose collectivist ideology there is no room for the kind of individual integrity on which his characters construct their goals.

In the last few years he witnessed the re-emergence of similar powers in his native country. As he blamed the Communists for blocking the development of civil society, so he blamed the present Serbian nationalist forces for a return to a false ideal of a "folksy" culture.

More than this, in his last novel, Ubistvo s predumisljajem ("Premeditated Murder", 1993), he presents the irrationality of the present wars. The narrative is set at the end of 1992 in Belgrade under sanctions, with student demonstrations against the government and its policies. He juxtaposes these scenes with scenes from 1944 with which he sees unmistakable parallels. The work closes on a battlefield in Croatia at the beginning of 1993 and the recovery of the corpse of a Serbian soldier from the Krajina region. His meaningless death says it all.

Selenic studied drama at the University of Belgrade, including a stint as a postgraduate student at Bristol University in the 1950s. He was later appointed as a lecturer and then professor of his subject, posts which he combined with his literary activities. He was politically active in the Depos organisation supporting the candidature of Milan Panic against the incumbent Slobodan Milosevic towards the end of 1992. Disappointed by the collapse of the opposition movement in Serbia, he refused to wallow in despondency, believing that there would be a better future for his country.

Selenic's general outlook and his easy tolerance made him many enemies amongst nationalists at home and in Croatia. It also made him many friends amongst like-minded people. His company was sought by diplomats and other foreigners arriving in Belgrade trying to understand the present Balkan situation.

It is ironic that his early death from cancer came at the time when his literary reputation is about to spread. The publishing house Harvill is planning the publication of his last novel in English translation for next year. The author both as a human being and as a writer, in himself and in his fictions, offered a ray of hope otherwise absent in these evil times.

David Norris

Slobodan Selenic, writer: born 7 June 1933; died Belgrade 27 October 1995.

By David Norris ...more

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Average rating: 4.38 · 2,021 ratings · 125 reviews · 29 distinct works 鈥� Similar authors

	Fathers and Forefathers by Slobodan Seleni膰, Ellen Elias-Bursa膰 (Translator) 4.59 avg rating — 682 ratings — published 1985 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ubistvo s predumi拧ljajem 4.36 avg rating — 522 ratings — published 1995 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prijatelji 4.10 avg rating — 218 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Timor mortis (Savremeni jugoslavenski roman) 4.51 avg rating — 187 ratings — published 1989 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Memoari Pere Bogalja 3.99 avg rating — 136 ratings — published 1968 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pismo glava 4.29 avg rating — 111 ratings — published 1972 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Malajsko Ludilo 3.68 avg rating — 40 ratings — published 2004 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Drame (Nove knjige doma膰ih pisaca) (Serbo-Croatian Edition) 4.31 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 1990 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dramski pravci XX veka 4.50 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 1971	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ocevi i oci 4.78 avg rating — 9 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Slobodan Seleni膰 (?)

“Do sada sam opisivao druge, 拧to je lako. Sada moram govoriti o sebi, 拧to nije te拧ko samo onome koji lako la啪e.”
― Slobodan Seleni膰, Timor mortis (Savremeni jugoslavenski roman)

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“Zapazio sam odavno da su svi dobri pisci besramni. Njihovo delo im je va啪nije od svake stidljivosti. 艩to ne bi nikada ispri膷ali, oni napi拧u. Bez obzira na cenu koja, katkad, mo啪e biti visoka. Vi拧a od cene li膷ne sre膰e.”
― Slobodan Seleni膰, Timor mortis (Savremeni jugoslavenski roman)

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“Tu膽a iskrenost, ni膷im izazvana sa moje strane, 膷inila mi se uvijek nezamislivo otu啪nom. Iza nje sam, neizostavno i pomalo pani膷no, otkrivao 啪elju da me ucenom nagnaju na 膷in pro拧nje za razumevanjem, prijateljstvom, sau膷e拧膰em - velikim re膷ima izmi拧ljenim da prikriju uzajamnu trampu slabosti me膽u onima koji ne umeju mu拧ki da hodaju, ili 拧antaju, sami.”
― Slobodan Seleni膰, Timor mortis (Savremeni jugoslavenski roman)

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Slobodan Seleni膰鈥檚 Followers (53)

Slobodan Seleni膰

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