DIVAN

DIVAN · Genres

Social fiction

11 published works. Explore books by literary genre and discover new works.

  • At the Well

    At the Well — Laza Lazarević. A flask hangs from a plum tree for any passer-by to drink from. This small act of hospitality introduces a household so large that the narrator compares it to an army. Its work is shared, its welcome elaborate, and its hierarchy almost unquestioned. Into that order comes Anoka, a young bride accustomed to having her own way.

    Laza LazarevićShort storyeBook

  • Bakonja, Friar Brne

    Bakonja, Friar Brne — Simo Matavulj. Before Bakonja arrives at the monastery, he already knows what makes a friar’s life desirable: a good horse, clean linen, a warm bed, meat, wine and the respect of everyone he meets. His relatives have another reason for sending him there. The Jerković family has supplied generations of friars, and the next appointment promises to keep both honour and material advantage within the right branch of the family.

    Simo MatavuljNoveleBook

  • Big Phil

    Big Phil — Simo Matavulj. A hungry Dalmatian peasant refuses to abandon his faith in exchange for relief. Matavulj links poverty and personal dignity with a painful moment of compassion for the man’s donkey.

    Simo MatavuljShort storyeBook · Audiobook

  • In a Village Inn

    In a Village Inn — Radoje Domanović. A traveller caught in a winter storm finds shelter in a village inn. At first the place seems to promise warmth, food and company. The conversations he overhears gradually reveal how the village is governed, how its leisure is paid for, and whose labour keeps everyone else comfortable.

    Radoje DomanovićShort storyeBook · Audiobook

  • Into the Mire

    Into the Mire — Vjenceslav Novak. A prosperous student in Zagreb encounters talented young men struggling to afford food, rooms and education. Novak tests his conscience against the unfair distribution of support.

    Vjenceslav NovakShort storyeBook · Audiobook

  • My Friend Lovro

    My Friend Lovro — August Šenoa. Rain cancels a country-house vintage party, and conversation settles into the safe topics of respectable company: politics, fruit trees, household work. A young widow refuses to be entertained. She is bored by Croatian stories, she says, because their little world produces only little events.

    August ŠenoaShort storyeBook · Audiobook

  • The Last Stipančićs

    The Last Stipančićs — Vjenceslav Novak. The room in which The Last Stipančićs opens is almost sealed against the world. The air is too warm, the furniture too large, and the light too weak. Beyond the windows the bora roars through Senj; inside, a mother watches her daughter and tries to keep suffering at bay. Before the novel tells us how this family once lived, it makes us feel what its remaining life costs.

    Vjenceslav NovakNoveleBook

  • The People Will Gild It All

    The People Will Gild It All — Laza Lazarević. Two men wait for an overdue steamboat on the Sava. Blagoje the coppersmith expects his son home from the war; Captain Tanasije Jeličić is waiting for his wife. For each, the boat’s arrival promises an answer to questions he can scarcely bear any longer. Conversation, silence, memories and mistaken sounds fill the hours.

    Laza LazarevićShort storyeBook · Audiobook

  • The Singer’s Easter

    A singer can turn private sorrow into public pleasure, but what happens when the sorrow becomes too great to sing? In Pevačev Uskrs (The Singer’s Easter), Radoje Domanović follows Pera through the preparations for a holiday that other households can afford to celebrate. Lambs, new clothes, cakes and painted eggs are ordinary comforts to the people around him.

    Radoje DomanovićShort storyeBook · Audiobook

  • The Village Schoolmistress

    The Village Schoolmistress — Svetolik Ranković. Village teachers confront private hopes, loneliness and pressure from local authorities. Ranković combines their relationships with a critical portrait of provincial society.

    Svetolik RankovićNoveleBook · Audiobook

  • Through the Blizzard

    Through the Blizzard — Petar Kočić. Relja and his nephew Vujo return from market with their cow unsold. Behind this small failure lies the loss of a household once full of people, livestock and standing in the world. As the road climbs towards the mountain, the story opens into a long recollection of prosperity and its collapse. Returning to the winter night means returning to the little life Relja still has left.

    Petar KočićShort storyeBook · Audiobook
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