VĚČNY EPOS BALKANU. Slovem a Obrazem
THE ETERNAL EPIC OF THE BALKANS. In Word and Image

Author(s): Václav Fiala
Subject(s): Human Geography, Historical Geography, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
Published by: CEEOL Digital Reproductions / Collections
Summary/Abstract: Vaclav Fiala leads us in his new travelogue to the colorful ends of the Balkan Peninsula, full of inner tension and dramatic conflict in the distant and recent past. This book journey begins with Zagreb and the Plitvice Lakes, goes through Split and Dubrovnik to Montenegro, then through Bosnia and Herzegovina to Belgrade and finally through Bulgaria to Constantinople. The author does not limit himself to the description of natural beauties or the description of social customs. He does not cling only to the memories of the past or to a close approximation of artistic treasures. He strives above all for a spiritual depiction of the Balkans and its destinies. This attempt to synthesize the present with the past runs through the entire book and gives it a unified meaning despite all the thematic diversity. The writer says about this in his afterword: "My main concern was that a Czech person would not walk around the symbols of life in the Slavic South as if they were dead stone or cold bronze. I would like to contribute to making them feel like a related member of the Slavic community in the South, who will one day bring home from the Balkans a lasting interest in its spiritual struggles and literary efforts." It is also to be expected that the briefly sketched portraits of Maruk Marulic or Dživ Gundulič and the echoes of many South Slavic literary works will tempt many a reader of "The Eternal Epic of the Balkans" to reach for them themselves.

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