Selvedin Avdi膰 is a Bosnian author and journalist. His first book was a collection of short stories titled "Tennants and other Fantoms" and it was a tourist guide to the historic Bosnian town of Jajca and a factual account of Zenica prison.
Furthermore, his short stories have also appeared in various anthologies and collections. He works as the editor-in-chief of the online magazine 沤urnal and also edits his own radio show, Free Fight, on BH Radio. His first novel, Seven Terrors, was published in 2010, and immediately short-listed for one of the most prestigious literary awards in the region. It was published in English in 2012 (translation by Coral Petkovich) and is long-listed for the Dublin Impac Literary Award 2014.
A supernatural-tinged Bosnian tale of despair and loss and echoes of war. I like to imagine I have an especially good search image for blindly rescuing strange used books, and this seasonal reading from the Strand dollar bins (now $3 with inflation) bears that out. Less a horror story (and not anthology!), but more an entry into that particular Eastern European tradition that manages to balance the absolutely bleak with shadings of the fantastic and absurd, as a way of processing the traumas of history, along with lightly postmodern found-manuscript trappings. And so, chasing phantoms, our protagonist leaves bed for the first time in months and sets off on an odyssey through small-city anywhere Bosnia, a place forever marked by war but alive in its own peculiar way, alive in alcohol-soaked cafes, alive with ghosts, alive with those made rich by the tragedies of others. Defies simple allegory for the richness of conflicting, layered image, and by the end, what images have blossomed in the cracks of walls and rubble-strewn pit mines. And of course the deepest terrors here are not portentous specters but the most absolutely prosaic -- fear of isolation, fear of death, fear of the blind enormity of all that lies without.
Out of the unsettling nightmare of post-war Bosnia, local author, Selvedin Avdic chooses only 7 Terrors on which to end his work of Gothic genius. Choosing to sublimate the actualities of mass burials and war crime confessions, Avdic has woven instead a story of paranormal activity and returning spirits,as his hapless protagonist tries desperately to bring love and meaning into his life.
While the hollow voices of Karadzic and Mladic ring out in self-justification at the Hague tribunals, here is a voice which does not hide behind ideology and rhetoric; a voice which speaks with human horror about the events of the last European war.
Presented as a collection of found texts, this Bosnian novel begins with its narrator getting out of bed for the first time since his wife left him, nine months previously, and by coincidence there is a knock at the door, a woman who wants his help to find her father. Outside again after nine months, the city has changed beyond recognition. When he starts seeing people from his dreams, and then mythical creatures and monsters, he questions reality.
The nine months in question are those most violent Sarajevo suffered in 1993-4 during the war. The monsters represent people who were previously harmless and went on to commit horrific acts. The novel鈥檚 intensity is broken by the unique writing style of Avdi膰; he uses noir from time to time, there are elements of a detective story, and frequently we are in the realms of horror. It鈥檚 a book that demands a second reading, as it is only quite late in the piece where the reader (of the translation) figures out what is going on.
Hands up if you were an adult in 1991 and unaware that a significant percentage of the former Yugoslavia鈥檚 population was Muslim. I don鈥檛 mean immigrants 鈥� I mean long-established communities hundreds of years old. It wasn鈥檛 until the onset of the terrible decade of wars that followed the breakup of the country that I became aware of this fact. This is perhaps not too surprising (or shameful), given the amount of news we received in the west about Yugoslavia. It always presented itself as stable, communist, and independent of both Moscow and Washington. This image (with the additional impression, in the western imagination, of drab utilitarianism) seemed to be generally accepted. There didn鈥檛 seem to be much to report. Now, of course, we know that there was.
The wars exposed massive ethnic and religious gulfs and decades of resentment dating back to the First World War and beyond. Suddenly we were hearing of butchery (literally, if we consider the weapons used) and witnessing concentration camps a couple of hundred of miles from Italy鈥檚 Adriatic coast. The conflicts were a brutal reminder of the fact that Yugoslavia had been an artificial state, a welding together of disparate peoples.
Selvedin Avdi膰鈥檚 debut novel is set in Bosnia in 2005, ten years after the war there ended 鈥� but of course the country鈥檚 citizens are still struggling to cope with their efforts to renew normality. The protagonist鈥檚 mental and emotional state reflects the damaged and fragmented society he eventually tries to connect with. Reduced to inertia by his wife鈥檚 departure, he is persuaded by the daughter of a friend to help her trace her missing father, Aleksa. Things get weird very quickly. The extent to which belief in the supernatural is ingrained in the country soon becomes obvious. There are djinns, phantom horses, spirits, and telepathy. Aleksa鈥檚 diary leads the un-named protagonist into the search and also, reluctantly, into his own past.
Just as the investigation 鈥� and the novel 鈥� seems in danger of going nowhere, we are introduced to the evil and compelling Pegasus twins, characters that could come from a Balkan folk tale. When you are as frightening and menacing as they are, you don鈥檛 need to commit acts of violence; others will do it for you. As so often with bullies, one of the most offensive things about them is the way they take advantage of their position to preach banalities and platitudes. Once they enter the scene this can only be a tragic tale.
Avdi膰 has his own way of expression, and the book throws up surprising topics. There are endnotes (that standard characteristic of post-modernism); some are wonderful (number 7 on his wife leaving him: 鈥淪he began a completely new life, in other rooms with unknown furniture.鈥�)
This is a very idiosyncratic and unusual voice. Don鈥檛 expect everything in this book to make sense or speak to you, but it will stay with you.
Bosnal谋 yazar Selvedin Avdic'in 2010 y谋l谋nda yay谋mlanan ilk roman谋 7 Korku, bize 莽ok katmanl谋 bir d眉nya sunuyor. Mitoloji, tarih, din ve pop眉ler k眉lt眉r gibi pek 莽ok konuya at谋fta bulunan roman, adeta d枚rt bir koldan ilerliyor. 脰n planda ad谋n谋 bilmedi臒imiz, eski bir gazeteci olan anlat谋c谋n谋n, kar谋s谋 taraf谋ndan terk edildikten sonra nas谋l bir Oblomov hayat谋 ya艧ad谋臒谋n谋 okurken, arka planda 1992-95 y谋llar谋 aras谋nda ger莽ekle艧en Bosna Sava艧谋'n谋n so臒uk nefesini duyumsuyoruz. Sava艧谋n alt眉st etti臒i ve bir daha geri d枚n眉lemeyecek 艧ekilde de臒i艧tirdi臒i 艧ehirleri ve insanlar谋 g枚r眉yoruz. Yugoslavya'n谋n da臒谋l谋艧谋ndan sonra daha 枚nce beraber ya艧ayan halklar谋n kutupla艧谋p ayr谋艧mas谋 sonucunda 莽谋kan sava艧, ayn谋 zamanda insanlar谋n i莽ine nefret, korku, d眉艧manl谋k ve k谋skan莽l谋k tohumlar谋 serpiyor. Romanda sadece anlat谋c谋n谋n hikayesini de臒il, anlat谋c谋yla ba臒lant谋l谋 insanlar谋n (枚r. Aleksa, Ahmet, Kar谋nca vs.) 枚r眉mcek a臒谋 misali i莽 i莽e ge莽mi艧, adeta ko艧ut ilerleyen hikayelerini de okuyoruz. T眉m bu hik芒yeler 枚nce d眉臒眉mlenip daha sonra katman katman ayr谋l谋p bir 莽枚z眉me ula艧谋yor, ki bu da roman谋 karma艧谋kla艧t谋r谋p okumay谋 zorla艧t谋r谋yor. Roman谋 okumay谋 zorla艧t谋ran di臒er bir 枚zellik ise romanda bolca simge ve metaforlar谋n bulunmas谋. Bunlardan baz谋lar谋 艧枚yle: Mitolojide Pegasus (陌slam inan谋艧谋nda muadili Burak at谋d谋r) akl谋 ve yarat谋c谋l谋臒谋 simgelese de romandaki Pegasus karde艧ler sa莽lar谋n谋n beyaz olmas谋 d谋艧谋nda Pegasus ile hi莽bir benzerlik ta艧谋m谋yor. Maden ocaklar谋ndaki Perkman (veya Bergmann) adl谋 cin veya k枚t眉 ruh sava艧 d枚nemindeki S谋rplar谋 temsil ediyor. Romanda bahsedilen Vogue dergisi ise kad谋nlara erkek egemenli臒i 眉zerinden "arzu edilen, 莽ekici ve k谋艧k谋rt谋c谋" bir imaj dayat谋p kendi "ideal kad谋n谋"n谋 yaratarak kad谋nlar谋 bu imaja benzemeye te艧vik ediyor ve benze(ye)meyenleri de mutsuzlu臒a s眉r眉kl眉yor, ki bu y枚n眉yle pop眉ler k眉lt眉r眉 ve moday谋 temsil ediyor. 脟ok emin olmamakla birlikte, romandaki "M眉zik Evi"nin de Srebrenitsa olabilece臒ini d眉艧眉n眉yorum. Ayr谋ca roman谋n ger莽ek ile ger莽ek d谋艧谋n谋 i莽 i莽e ge莽iren yap谋s谋yla ve cinler/ruhlar gibi ger莽ek眉st眉 枚臒eleriyle b眉y眉l眉 ger莽ek莽i bir roman oldu臒unu da s枚yleyebiliriz. Romanda ayn谋 zamanda akl谋selimlik ile delili臒in, hayal ile ger莽e臒in, do臒al g眉莽ler ile do臒a眉st眉 g眉莽lerin, ya艧am ile 枚l眉m眉n, sava艧 ile bar谋艧谋n, 枚l眉ler ile canl谋lar谋n, evlilik ile yaln谋zl谋臒谋n aras谋ndaki ince 莽izgi de silikle艧iyor. Hristiyanl谋ktaki 7 B眉y眉k G眉nah, sava艧谋n 莽ehresini de臒i艧tirdi臒i romanda 7 Korku'ya d枚n眉艧眉yor. Yazar da kitab谋n sonunda okura 7 korkusunu yazmas谋 i莽in 7 bo艧 sayfa b谋rakm谋艧. Karma艧谋k, 莽ok katmanl谋 ve ilgin莽 bir roman bu. Bu nedenle herkese tavsiye edemem ancak ilginizi 莽ektiyse bittabi okuyabilirsiniz. 艦imdiden keyifli okumalar.
Very nice mash-up of literary supernatural horror with Eastern European magical realism (i.e. a dreamlike narrative mixed with grim imagery and an unhealthy amount of alcoholic resignation). The two flavors blend well. There are old diaries, visions of spirits, and descents into madness worthy of any old supernatural tale, but there's dark humor, clever literary construction, and a modern context to it that makes it feel pretty distinctive and contemporary. I wish parts of it had been a little more grounded in realism to fend off questions about whether the narrator's just going insane / dreaming / etc., but I guess if it were completely straight-faced about the supernatural stuff it might have sounded absurd. Anyway, I enjoyed it.
Seven Terrors is a mesmerising book, the first I鈥檝e ever read from Bosnia and one of those books where the reader is never quite sure where the boundary between madness and sanity lies.
From what I鈥檝e been able to find out about the author Selvedin Avdi膰, it is his first work of fiction and some minor aspects of it are autobiographical. Identified by Literlab as best book of the year, Seven Terrors tells the story of Aleksa Rankovi膰 who鈥檚 been missing since 1993, during the Bosnian War (1992-1995). He (like the author) was a radio journalist who enjoyed filing human interest stories, and he had a particular interest in coal miners. Aleksa鈥檚 story is pieced together by a narrator who is himself recovering from the shock of his wife鈥檚 sudden departure with another man. All he has to work with are Aleksa鈥檚 journals, supplied by his daughter Mirna, and some inconclusive information gleaned from people who knew the missing man.
However, Seven Terrors is nothing like an ordinary mystery or psychological thriller. The story begins in 2005 with this unnamed narrator explaining that he鈥檚 spent the last nine months wholly withdrawn from society, lying in bed and eating only tea biscuits. By coincidence, on the very day when he decides to get up and face the lonely world again, he is visited by Mirna appealing for his help, and also from the rent man, collecting nine months arrears. He鈥檚 embarrassed by his filthy flat and his grubby appearance, but his resurrection is hampered by an overwhelming inertia. He gets severe headaches and suffers strange dreams. It鈥檚 not easy for him to go out into the street and buy the newspaper鈥�
So from the outset the reader is not sure whether events are the product of his fevered brain and his self-inflicted solitary confinement, or whether demons have bled into reality.
A fascinating book, like an adult fairy tale cum psychological horror, as well as a commentary on the Bosnian war of the 1990s. We meet several fascinating characters and mythological creatures along the way, most notably the Pegasus Brothers, twin philosophical gangsters, and Perkman a supernatural being who appears to miners deep below the ground when tragedy occurs.
The notes and fragments at the end of the book are excellent vignettes in their own right. Recommended.
"Then, during the war, she just disappeared. I didn't even notice when she left because at that time everything was disappearing - people, habits, things, customs, a whole pile of words. The town itself changed, almost completely. I got used to people going away, somehow quite easily, just as I adopted as a normal occurrence the shortage of food, water, electricity." (p. 9)
"Have you ever experienced that strange feeling when someone shows you an unknown photograph of yourself? It feels as though you are looking at a stranger; of course, you know that it is you, but you don't feel as though it is." (p. 148)
Re膰i 膰u vam prije svega da Avdi膰 bome zna koristiti pero, vje拧to,dopadljivo,blisko poput ve膰ine doma膰ih pisaca pi拧e. O knjizi: Na拧 bezimeni narator budi se nakon devet mjeseci le啪anja u bezimenom gradu u Bosni. Stan je prazan, ogoljen,bez du拧e, on se hrani 膷ajnim keksima, ne gleda televiziju, nema vi拧e ni posla, nihilizam niknuo iz depresije jer ga je 啪ena ostavila. Budi ga Mirna, k膰erka Alekse, radijskog novinara koji je nestao u ratu. Mirna ga moli da joj na膽e oca i misli da ga on mo啪e na膰i vjeruju膰i da je on i dalje novinar sa poznanstvima. Daje mu svesku koja je zadnji zapis njenog oca... I kre膰e u potragu. Nije na拧ao to 拧to je tra啪io,a da nije sebe pretresao, od egzistencije, golih i primitivnih pobuda , krivinje koju osje膰a-ooo itekako krivice i straha u njemu na putu tra啪enja. Balansiranje sa javom i snom, javom i onim svijetom, sa demonima,duhovima, utvarama,prikazama i na 127 stranica(!) je savr拧eno sve uklopio,da se pita拧 je li demon od depresije ili depresija od demona. Neki bolji filozof ili neko rje膷itiji od mene bi vam mogao malo i ra拧膷laniti srahove, sne, pojmove-nestanak Aleksa, krivica grada jer je 啪mirio, pa je osu膽en da trpi zauvijek, krivica mahale jer je okrenula glavu kad je trebala djelovati pa je dobila "krilate konje" da nikad se ne zaboravi zlo, da mu ne umakne拧 i kad glavu od njega okrene拧. Zlo je zlo i koliko god glavu okretao. "Najdeblji strah, masniji 膷ak i od straha od smrti je strah od budu膰nosti. U na拧em gradu je toliki da bi ljudi najradije zauvijek ostali u jednom danu."
Strah je dio nas, nekad damara kao slu膷ajno u nama, a nekad odre膽uje sve, svakakvih je nabrojao i ta膷no te natjera da razmi拧lja拧 i o svojim. "-膶ovjeka 膷ine njegovi strahovi. 艩to vi拧e strahova ima拧, to si vi拧e 膷ovjek. Ako ne grije拧im, ti ih ima拧 ta膷no sedam. A ja, nije da se hvalim, ali nemam ama ba拧 nijedan. Mnogo to govori o meni..."
Uglavnom,raspisah se vi拧e od toga koliko sam namjeravala re膰i. Ako ve膰 nisam jasna-odli膷na knjiga!Na momente sam se znala naje啪iti,nelagodni trci niz vrat, pa eto ako to nije pokazatelj da je knjiga doprla do mene ne znam 拧ta jest.
As a whole, the book just about works, despite not knowing what it really is trying to be. It touches on the war, but not much. It deals with spirits and the supernatural, but does not fully reveal anything. There is recovery from a failed relationship, but this is not seen all the way through. Put altogether, it is interesting enough and Avdi膰 has done a great job of getting believability into his protagonist. His best writing is when the main character is left alone and the plot is put aside as he manages to capture an impressive level of sympathetic patheticness. Character work is encouraging and the writing style (and its translation) is one of the better examples of Slavic Gothic but overall, Seven Terrors is hindered by a rushed plot accumulating in a disappointing and clumsy antagonist dialogue-driven climax.
"Najdeblji strah, masniji 膷ak i od straha od smrti jeste strah od budu膰nosti. U na拧em gradu je toliki da bi ljudi najradije zauvijek ostali u jednom danu."
Selvedin Avdi膰 je sa romanima Kap veselja i Sedam strahova bez sumnje postao jedan od mojih omiljenih bh. pisaca. Me膽utim, ono 拧to volim kod njega jeste velika koli膷ina ulo啪enog truda i promi拧ljanja da se ne膷emu tako uobi膷ajenom u na拧oj knji啪evnosti (rat i poslijeratni period) 拧to je haman postalo trivijalno i i啪vakano utisne ne拧to originalno i svje啪e. Volim njegovo mije拧anje 啪anrova, pogotovo kada horor i strava upadaju u svakodnevnicu pa se stvarnost i fikcija mije拧aju u nekom ludom psiholo拧kom fazonu. Volim njegovu intertekstualnost, metatekstualnost, ali i sposobnost da ne postane 啪rtva svih tih knji啪evno-teorijskih zavrzlama.