8.2 /10 1 Votes8.2
Language SerbianLadino Pages 506 pp Originally published 1986 Genre Historical Fiction | 4.1/5 Goodreads Media type Print, paper cover ISBN 978-86-7710-423-8 OCLC 69173162 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Publisher 1986 {Vuk Karadžić Books} Followed by The Blossom of Linden in the Balkans Adaptations The Scent of Rain in the Balkans (2010) People also search for Twilight in the Balkans | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The scent of rain in the balkans miris kise na balkanu trailer
The Scent of Rain in the Balkans (Serbian: Мирис кише на Балкану, Miris Kiše na Balkanu) is a historical novel written by Gordana Kuić. The novel was published in 1986, becoming an instant bestseller. It centers on the Salom family, most notably five sisters — Buka, Nina, Klara, Blanki and Riki. The novel was inspired by Kuić's mother Blanki Levi and her sisters. The Scent of Rain in the Balkans follows the destinies of, not only Jews, but also Serbs, Muslims and Catholics during two major historical events — World War I and World War II.
Contents
- The scent of rain in the balkans miris kise na balkanu trailer
- First look the scent of rain in the balkans
- Plot
- The Salom family
- Serbian characters
- Jewish characters
- Other characters
- Structure and language
- Awards
- Adaptations
- References
In his review of the novel, David Albahari wrote:
The Scent of Rain in the Balkans has been adapted into a ballet, a play and a television series.
First look the scent of rain in the balkans
Plot
The novel describes the historic period in the Balkans from the beginning of World War I in 1914, to the end of World War II in 1945 through the lives and destinies of the Saloms, a Sephardic Jewish family from Sarajevo. The leading characters are the five courageous Salom sisters whose struggle to fulfil personal desires and aspirations run contrary to the strict conventions of the multicultural and religious societies — Bosnian Jew, Muslim, Serbian Orthodox and Catholic — of the time, living side by side in the small town of Sarajevo.
The Salom family
Serbian characters
Jewish characters
Other characters
Structure and language
The Scent of Rain in the Balkans is written in Serbian language, with some parts in Ladino, the language of Sephardi, and Bosnian variant of Serbian. It is divided in thirteen parts — 28 June 1914 (28. jun 1914), A Flight to Unknown (Let u nepoznato), Linden, the Tree of Old Slavs (Lipa, drvo starih Slovena), Time for Decisions (Vreme za odluke), Toboggan (Tobogan), When a Day Turns Cold and the Shadows Are Gone (Kad zahladni dan i senke odu), The End of One Age (Kraj jednog vremena), A Critic Point (Kritična tačka), Runaways (Bežanja), Paper Jesters (Papirni pajaci), A New Life (Novi život), Lasting (Trajanje) and Epilogue (Epilog).
Awards
Adaptations
In 1992, ballet by Croatian composer Igor Kuljerić The Scent of Rain in the Balkans – a Ballet for Riki premiered in Sarajevo, and then a week after in Belgrade. In 2009, screenwriter Nebojša Romčević wrote a stage adaptation of the novel that premiered on 12 April 2009 in the Madlenianum Opera and Theatre, starring Sloboda Mićalović and Vuk Kostić. In 2010, Ljubiša Samardžić directed the television adaptation of the novel, which was shown on the RTS.