Abstract
A comparative analysis of selected short stories in the Balkan countries, as well as contemporary short stories of the
world, will show us that the key themes of those stories are very similar to the short stories written during the period of
transition in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995-2010). For example, the story of the Soul Operation by an Iranian writer
Mohsen Mahmalbafa, The Falcons by a Dutch writer Kader Abdolaha and On the Kitchen Stairs by a Polish writer
Witold Gombrowic zinter connect with short stories by authors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as The Secret of
Raspberry jam by Karim Zaimović or The Devilish work of Zoran Riđanović. A common thread manifests itself in the
aforementioned stories, more specifically, a common theme which focuses on the need for eradication of the seeds of
submission and compliance with the political system. Most authors focus on their domestic political systems; however,
some portray and analyze systems in other countries as they see it, such as a Dutch narrator who focuses on a potential
threat of infringement of human freedom. Moreover, Bellow Hubei by an Argentinian writer Anhelika Gorodis
her underlines the importance of humanization within a political order. Faruk Šehić examines the political system in
Bosnia and Herzegovina from a slightly different perspective. His collection of stories Under Pressure emphases the
issue of pressure in the above war model of short stories in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These stories are the product of
pressure and anxiety, with intent to latently promote new ways of spiritual survival, directly relating to the concept and
the theme of the story The Past Age Man by Christian Karlson Stead. Further analysis of the alienation theme singled
out short stories in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Plants are Something Else by Alma Lazarevska and Dialogues by Lamija
Begagić, and pointed out their connection with some recent international short stories such as The Last Defence by
Mahdi Šodžaija a contemporary Persian author who indicates the inappropriateness of spousal relations and the crisis
of modern marriage. The alienation theme present in many short stories in Bosnia and Herzegovina also appears in a
particularly impressive way in a short story Raggedy Africa by a Slovenian author Mark Švabič, which is clearly related
to a short story The Seaside Fairy Tale by Miljenko Jergović from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Extremely interesting are
the stories that suggest a crisis of legitimacy of culture and behavior, such as the story of Tito or Curriculum Vitae by
a Slovenian writer Maja Novak, or Bankophobia by Ante Zirdum, demonstrating the individual culture of behavior and
society in general in a regressive dimension manifested through addiction or phobia from banking institutions.
Citation
ID:
213110
Ref Key:
gasal2014humanshort