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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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