The eminent Bosnian author Dževad Karahasan, an expert on both Arabic and western literature and philosophy, attempts to discover connections between cultural traditions whose aesthetic and spiritual riches are in danger of being lost.
Are our earthly gardens merely shadows projected to earth from the Garden of Paradise? Why were the Holy Scriptures of the written religions revealed in so few languages, and why in Arabic, Hebrew and Greek? Is there a connection between the language of mankind and that of gardens? Is it pure chance that those cultures that were familiar with the desert developed our idea of paradise? What can parks and gardens tell us about nature in a city, about a society's inner state, about the way it perceives, happiness, intimacy and secrets?Dževad Karahasan, born in Duvno/Yugoslavia in 1953, was an author, playwright and essayist. The Siege of Sarajevo is the subject of Dnevnik selidbe (1993), translated into ten languages, of the essay collection entitled Knjiga vrtova (2004) as well as of his novels Šahrijarov prsten (1997) and Sara i Serafina (2000). His works also include the novel Noćno vijeće (2006), Izvjestaji iz tamnog vilajeta (2007), a collection of stories, and Die Schatten der Städte (2010), a collection of essays. Karahasan has received numerous awards, including the Goethe Prize 2020. Dževad Karahasan died on May 19, 2023, in Graz, Austria.
Dževad Karahasan, born in Duvno/Yugoslavia in 1953, was an author, playwright and essayist. The Siege of Sarajevo is the subject of Dnevnik...
Peter Hurd, classical philologist and mythologist, comes to Sarajevo for a reading – just a few days before the war begins. When his translator and admirer Rajko takes him to the bus station...
Italy (Keller Editore)
»White with fear and sleeplessness we set out to see what was left of Marijin Dvor.« Once more they have been spared: a piece of shrapnel missed the author and his wife and hit the books instead:...
Italy (ADV)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: USA & Canada (Kodansha America), Spanish world rights (Circulo de Lectores / Galaxia Gutenberg), France (Calmann-Lévy), Netherlands (Van Gennep), Czech Republic (Mlada Fronta), Slovenia (Wieser)
Sarajevo, September 1914. In a newspaper editorial office, at the national bank and in other official locations, letters arrive with considerable delay, often years later. Yet it is not the war...
Italy (Keller Editore)
In Isfahan, capital of the Seljuq Empire, a highly respected man dies unexpectedly. The son of the deceased demands an investigation into the circumstances of his father’s death. Court...
Chinese simplex rights (Shanghai Translation Publishing House), Bulgaria (Paradox), Slovenia (Beletrina), Turkey (Iletisim), Greece (Hestia), Part 1: Macedonia (Templum)
Poland (Borderland), Bulgaria (Paradox)
English world rights (Anubih), Bulgaria (Paradox), Slovenia (Cankarjeva Založba), Turkey (Apollon)
A young couple is supposed to be smuggled out of the besieged city of Sarajevo with forged baptism documents. The plan fails. The participating rescuers are tormented by guilt. Serafina,...
Arabic world rights (Alaan)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Spanish world rights (Galaxia Gutenberg), France (Laffont), Italy (Il Saggiatore), Sweden (Bosnisk-Hercegovinska Riksförbundet i Sverige), Slovenia (Cankarjeva Založba), Turkey (Ketebe)