Slobodan Selenić’s Followers (55)

Slobodan Selenić

Born

in Belgrade, Serbia

June 07, 1933

Died

October 27, 1995

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers

edit data

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

Combine Editions
Slobodan Selenić’s books

Average rating: 4.39 · 2,087 ratings · 132 reviews · 32 distinct works • Similar authors

	Očevi i oci 4.60 avg rating — 711 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 predumišljajem 4.36 avg rating — 534 ratings — published 1995 — 16 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 4.16 avg rating — 302 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 — 190 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 really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 138 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 4.28 avg rating — 113 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 3.71 avg rating — 41 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 domaćih pisaca) (Serbo-Croatian Edition) 4.36 avg rating — 14 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 4.54 avg rating — 13 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 4.83 avg rating — 12 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

More books by Slobodan Selenić…

Quotes by Slobodan Selenić (?)

“Do sada sam opisivao druge, što je lako. Sada moram govoriti o sebi, što nije teško samo onome koji lako laže.”
― Slobodan Selenić, Timor mortis (Savremeni jugoslavenski roman)

8 likes

“Zapazio sam odavno da su svi dobri pisci besramni. Njihovo delo im je važnije od svake stidljivosti. Što ne bi nikada ispričali, oni napišu. Bez obzira na cenu koja, katkad, može biti visoka. Viša od cene lične sreće.”
― Slobodan Selenić, Timor mortis (Savremeni jugoslavenski roman)

7 likes

“Jezik nije čoveku dat samo zato da bi mogao tražiti papuče ili još malo čaja. Jezikom čovek, svaki ponaosob, pokazuje dušu, besmrtnu sa svoje jedinstvenosti sadržane u načinu, više no u predmetu, govora.”
― Slobodan Selenić, Fathers and Forefathers

6 likes

See all Slobodan Selenić's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Read Runners: Who's the one?	14	86	Apr 20, 2015 03:42PM
Around the Year i...: Hélène' s 2020 reading plan	2	38	Oct 24, 2019 01:46AM
Around the World ...: Hélène' 2020 random travels	1	14	Dec 27, 2019 09:44PM
UK Book Club: Ian's World Tour Continued	696	451	Oct 13, 2020 10:35AM
Drop Everything A...: 2024 Million Pages Challenge	366	74	Dec 31, 2024 08:37AM
Around the World ...: Serbia	21	1212	Mar 18, 2025 09:23AM

More…