Povestea cu elefantul vizirului

A cruel new vizir takes power in Travnik. He brings in an elephant from abroad. The restless beast wrecks stalls in the town's market. It shows the power of the man who owns it. The ruler wants the townspeople to bow before him. This title story asks what makes humans cruel. It shows how Yugoslav peoples suffered under Ottoman rule.

Ivo Andrić's tales of the past read like spoken folk stories. They explore the past of Yugoslav groups and their spiritual life. Some deal with fears before the Second World War. Others show the first signs of revolt among women who weave carpets. The tales also deal with corrupt officials and old age. They show the tragic lives of women. Andrić looks at the narrow bounds of an artist's life, too.

Andrić was born in Bosnia and grew up in Višegrad. He had ties to Young Bosnia and Serbian nationalist groups. These ties led to his arrest in 1914. He later served as a Yugoslav diplomat. He hid in Belgrade during the Second World War. He wrote there while in hiding. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. Bosnian Muslim thinkers later took issue with his view of Ottoman history. Serbian nationalists also claimed his legacy as their own.

This edition forms part of the Esențial series. Gellu Naum and Voislava Stoianovici translated the stories from Serbian. They also wrote notes for the text.