Ivo Andric (1892 - 1975) is a major twentieth-century European writer, winner of the Nobel prize for the literature in 1961. Set mainly in his native Bosnia, the stories and novella, collected here reflect Andric's overwhelming love of storytelling. Vivid, intensely suggestive and often disturbing, Andric's stories draw on legend, myth, archetype and symbol to reveal universal patterns of behavior. Andric lived through the turbulent first half of the twentieth century, with its two world wars and extremes of revolution and totalitarianism. The wisdom that informs his work is tempered from that brutal reality. A diplomat, he served across Europe, including Nazi Berlin, but it was in Bosnia that he experienced most clearly the destructive power of the arbitrary divisions between people and their potential for violent conflict, often in the name of ideas remote from their daily lives. At its best, when not disturbed by the interests of politicians, such a mixed society can offer the most positive image of conciliation and cooperation. Andric's clear-sighted acknowledgment of the human capacity for evil, however gives his voice a tragically prophetic authority. Contents: * The Story of the Vizier's Elephant * The Bridge on the Zepa * In the Guest-House * Death in Sinan's Tekke * The Climbers * A Letter from 1920 * Introduction to the House on Its Own * Ali Pasha * A Story * The Damned Yard

Ethnic tension ripples under the surface of all the tales, most of which occur under Ottoman rule. The description of the uniquely powerful Bosnian hatred in The Story of the Vizier's Elephant, "the object becomes secondary, only its name remains, and the hatred crystallizes, grows out of itself, according to its own laws and needs..." is a theme reinforced in A Letter from 1920, "Hatred which sets man against man and casts both alike into misery and misfortune, or drives both opponents to the grave; hatred like a cancer in an organism, consuming and eating up everything around it, only to die itself at the last." Bosnia was never a cultural melting-pot of understanding and harmony; intolerance and fear have always been palpable backdrops to everyday life.

Other striking images: the depiction of the Vizier's evolving superstition in The Bridge on the Zepa, "The triumphant Vizier had come to know the fear of life. So, unawares, he entered the stage which is the first phase of dying, when a man comes to be absorbed more in the shadows of things than in the things themselves". The description of a craftsman in The Climbers: "To be a craftsman is to be able to separate the work one is doing at the time from everything else, to know exactly and to hold before one's eyes one thing only: what should be done and how..." And finally, the title novella The Damned Yard, which refers to an Istanbul prison and the story-tellers incarcerated there. It is a curious narrative, reminiscent of "1001 Arabian Nights" where every tale draws us seamlessly into the next until we forget where we started. Andric is quite simply a great writer. These are great stories.

1 of 2 found the following review helpful:


A book wich brought him the Nobel prize  Jan 24, 1999
Ivo Andric's The damned yard has less or more the same subject as his other book it gives a picture of the medeavle Balkans. But there is something that radically differs this book hrom the others, it tells about the writting it self. It speaks of the 'story' as a basic instrument of human comunication and even more of lasting. This way Andric drives us back to an all-time topic of literature, wich we can follow all the way back to the 1001 night. A true masterpiece.

0 of 2 found the following review helpful:


Condensed Andric  Oct 22, 1998
The central theme in this collection of short stories is storytelling of past events. There are several stories that contain implicit comments by Andric, himself a storyteller. Most of the storytelling will suit those who have a soft spot for the Balkan people. Reactions from my classmates who have also read the book have been mixed. But even those who did not like the stories did appreciate the insights.

Andric is the master of prediction, and one of the stories (A Letter From 1920) essentially pinpoints the history of the region, and accurately describes its people--all in several pages.

Many stories are essentially a small-scale summary of The Chronicles and The Bridge. There are relationships between the Christians and the Turks, among the Christians, among the Turks, etc.