Synopses & Reviews
Sheikh Nuruddin is a dervish at a Sarajevo monastery in the eighteenth century during the Turkish occupation. When his brother is arrested, he descends into the Kafkaesque world of the Turkish authorities in order to find out what has happened. As he does so, he begins to question his relations with society as a whole and, eventually, his life choices in general. Hugely successful when published in the 1960s,
Death and the Dervish appears here in its first English translation.
Review
"If there is any alternative to the bleak despair that permeates
Death and the Dervish, it could be found in the solidarity and love between members of a family and friends. This simple message is timely, and badly needed in Bosnia today." --
World Literature TodayReview
"A famous novel...that generates enormous power--worthy of comparison with Selimovic's great countryman and forerunner Ivo Andric." --
KirkusReview
"Speaks to contemporary readers with all the force of their twentieth-century sufferings and travails...a writer with a broad, tolerant orientation." --
World Literature TodaySynopsis
Death and the Dervish is an acclaimed novel by Bosnian writer Mesa Selimovic. It recounts the story of Sheikh Nuruddin, a dervish residing in an Islamic monastery in Sarajevo in the eighteenth century during the Ottoman Turk hegemony over the Balkans. When his brother is arrested, he must descend into the Kafkaesque world of the Turkish authorities in his search to discover what happened to him. He narrates his story in the form of an elaborate suicide note, regularly misquoting the Koran. In time, he begins to question his relations with society as a whole and, eventually, his life choices in general. Hugely successful when published in the 1960s, Death and the Dervish is an enduring classic from twentieth-century Yugoslavia.
About the Author
Meša Selimovic (1910 - 1982) was born in Tuzla, Bosnia. He became one of the most important writers in Yugoslavia.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part 1
Part 2
Notes
Select Bibliography