Novel
Пустина
Not translated into English
Gjorgji Abadžiev · 1961
Synopsis
In the spring of 1903, young Macedonian revolutionaries carried out the Salonica bombings. Two of them survived, Arso and Gligor, and the novel follows them at the trial, then in a prison lost in the middle of the desert. Arso lives in the shame of still being alive and in the memory of Ana, the woman he loves; Gligor wants to continue the struggle and thinks of escaping. The narrative moves from the present of captivity to memories of the action, and the tunnel dug under the city.
Context
The book appeared in 1961. It was included in 1972 in the four-volume selection of its author's works, reissued by Misla in 1980, then in 2021 in a series of classics of Macedonian literature. In 2024 Valentina Mironska-Hristovska reads in it the trauma of those who survived the sacrifice they had promised themselves. Half historical, half psychological, the book belongs to a body of work almost entirely turned toward the years of the 1903 uprising.
Who it is for
In Macedonian, with no French translation. Be prepared for a narrative turned towards the inner life of its characters rather than towards action.
Prizes and reception
Described as a cult novel on its 2021 reissue, it is one of the two books by its author that have drawn the most critical attention.
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