The Book of BlamMiroslav Blam walks through the empty streets of Novi Sad, remembering. The war has ended, but for Blam the town is haunted with its presence, and memories of its dead: Aaron Grün, the hunchbacked watchmaker; Eduard Fiker, a lamp merchant; Jakob Mentele, a stove fitter; Arthur Spitzer, a grocer who played amateur soccer and had non-Jewish friends; and Sándor Vértes, a communist lawyer. They stand before him as ever, but they are only the ghosts in Blam's mind. Accompanying the others are Blam's family and his best friend, all of whom perished in the infamous Novi Sad raid in January 1942. Blam lives. He seeks no revenge, no retribution. His life is a spectator's-made all the more agonizing by the clarity with which he sees the events around him. The silhouettes of the dead pass before him, and he incorporates what would have been their daily lives into his own. And in telling the story of one man's life after the war, Ti |
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Page 186
... cigarette . The three of them stopped , and the short gendarme let the rifle slip from his shoulder into the crook ... cigarettes - he kept them in the jacket of his uniform , underneath the strap of his knapsack — and since his fingers ...
... cigarette . The three of them stopped , and the short gendarme let the rifle slip from his shoulder into the crook ... cigarettes - he kept them in the jacket of his uniform , underneath the strap of his knapsack — and since his fingers ...
Page 215
... cigarette in the air . " What about the Youth Hall of the Board of Commerce where we had concerts before the war ? It had acoustics , didn't it ? And if the town fa- thers think a magnificent hall is so important , why don't they build ...
... cigarette in the air . " What about the Youth Hall of the Board of Commerce where we had concerts before the war ? It had acoustics , didn't it ? And if the town fa- thers think a magnificent hall is so important , why don't they build ...
Page 218
... cigarette to the ground and steps on it with the nonchalance of a street - corner loafer . What opens before them , obstructed by the backs of the men and women re- turning to their seats , is the temple's elongated hemisphere ...
... cigarette to the ground and steps on it with the nonchalance of a street - corner loafer . What opens before them , obstructed by the backs of the men and women re- turning to their seats , is the temple's elongated hemisphere ...
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Common terms and phrases
ALEKSANDAR TIŠMA Andja arms Arrow Cross asked Avala Bačka Palanka Blam's Blanka Blam body Budapest cigarette coat cold courtyard crowd Čutura dance Danube dark daughter death door dressed entrance hall Erdut Erzsébet Csokonay Estera everything eyes face father feels friends front Funkenstein gendarmes girl give hand head Hungarian Janja Jew Street Jewish Jurišić Karadjordje kitchen Lajos Kocsis leave legs lieutenant Lili live looking Miroslav Blam mother moved Naše novine never night Novi Sad Novi Sad synagogue patrol pocket Popadić raid Rakovsky rifle says Serbia shot shoulders side sitting Slobodan smile soldiers someone step stood suddenly talk things thought tion took turned Vilim Blam voice Vojvoda Šupljikac Square waiting walk wall watched wife window woman women in black young