Zeko/Zeko

Only three Andrić’s stories deal directly and exclusively with the War itself, and of these one is in fact a sketch for a passage from the longest of three, “Zeko”, published in 1948. Describing the experience that led the inadequate Zeko, dominated by an aggressive wife and collaborator son, to become involved in illegal activities in the Resistance in occupied Belgrade, it has something of the uneven quality of the “The Woman from Sarajevo”. In the novel the protagonist becomes almost a caricature among characters whose treatment is realistic. In “Zeko”, the situation is reserved. The main character’s credibility is undermined initially by the almost grotesque figures of his wife and son, and his later development lacks conviction. Nevertheless, the story contains some vivid passages, particularly those describing life by the Sava River and the bombing Belgrade.

[Introduction][The Journey of Ali Đerzelez][Ćorkan and the German Lady][In the Camp][Love in a Small Town] [Mustafa Magyar][In the Guest-House][The Bridge on the Žepa][The Pasha’s Concubine] [Anika’s Times][Thirst][Death in Sinan’s Tekke][Torso][Letter from 1920] [Mistreatment][The Story of Vizier’s Elephant][The House on Its Own][Zeko][Bar Titanic] [Woman on the Rock][Panorama][A Summer in the South][Jelena, the Woman of My Dream]

Copyright © The Ivo Andrić Foundation; Managing Board President: Miroslav Pantić