Death and the Dervish
 | |
| Author | Meša Selimović |
|---|---|
| Original title | Derviš i smrt |
| Country | Yugoslavia |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Northwestern University Press (translation) |
Publication date | 1966 (original); 1996 (English translation) |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 473 |
Death and the Dervish (
Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian: Derviš i smrt, Дервиш и смрт) is a novel by Meša Selimović, published in 1966.[1] The novel was made into a 1974 feature-length film of the same name
.
Plot
Sheikh Nuruddin is a respected
kadı
(judge) but is in turn corrupted by the need to uphold the original deceit.
Principal characters
- Sheikh Ahmed Nuruddin: the Ahmedmeans friend in Arabic, whilst Nuruddin means “light of the faith”.
- Hasan: Nuruddin’s principal friend outside the tekke.
- Mullah Yusuf: the young student Nuruddin has brought into the tekke as an orphan, and who spies on him for outside interests.
Subject Matter
The principal theme of Death and the Dervish is “malodušnost,” or faint-heartedness, cowardice or indifference (the Slavic word means literally “diminished” or “reduced soul” – the Latinate English word “pusillanimity” has the same etymology and meaning). The most popular interpretation of this popular novel is that Selimović employed a fictional
Communist Yugoslavia
. Another important component is the fact that the story reflects a real-life incident in the author’s own life, when his brother, an ardent Communist functionary, was imprisoned and executed by Communist authorities after the war as an example to others for a very minor offense.
References
- ^ "Death and the Dervish". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
| Authority control databases: National |
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