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Stradija

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Stradija je, na primer, – kako je ocenio Ljubivoje Ršumović – naše, srpsko, nemilosrdno ogledalo. Sve nam se čini da zemlja Stradija i grad Kradija ne postoje, da su se „ratoborni varvari Anuti s juga“ umorili i odustali, da nam se svima „ljušno mozak u glavi“ i da smo vremenom postali lepši, bolji i pametniji. Onda se pogledamo u Radojevom ogledalu i vidimo gorku istinu – i posle 110 godina, sve je isto!

64 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

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About the author

Radoje Domanović

72 books31 followers
Radoje Domanović was a Serbian writer and teacher, most famous for his satirical short stories.

Domanović was born in a village Ovsište which is located in Topola municipality, Šumadija District. He attended a gymnasium in Kragujevac. Some of his teachers were Pera Đorđević and Sreten Stojković, followers of Svetozar Marković, who were arrested for an attempt to take control of the local government and displaying a red flag. From 1890 to 1894, Domanović studied at the history and philology department of Belgrade's Grande Ecole (what soon became the University of Belgrade). He read some of his first works to the members of a student organization Pobratimstvo (Bloodbrothers).
In 1893, he published his first work, a short story Na mesečini (In the Moonlight), in a magazine Javor. Two years later, he got his first tenure as a lecturer in a gymnasium in Pirot. There he met Jaša Prodanović, who was transferred to that school as a punishment. At that time, Domanović joined Republikanska stranka (The Republican Party), and got married to Natalija Ristić. He took an active part to maintain the doctrine of republicanism during the time of the monarchy, was threatened repeatedly not to criticize The Establishment. After nine months, he was transferred, as a punishment on request of his political rivals, to a gymnasium in Vranje. On the same count, after a year in Vranje, he was transferred to Leskovac. Following a critical speech on the position of teachers in 1898, he was dismissed from his post, along with his wife. As a response, he wrote a short story Ukidanje strasti (The Tearing of Passion).
In 1899, he published two collections of short stories and his famous story Danga, perhaps an inspiration for Yevgeny Zamyatin's We (novel). The following year, he got a well-paying, government job as a clerk in the State's Archives. In 1902, after he published Stradija, he was again dismissed from his post. He started writing editorials for magazine Odjek (Echo). After the coup in 1903, Domanović returned to his post, and soon got a stipend to work on his stories. It was rumoured that the coup saved his life, since he was on a list for liquidation of the old government. In 1904, he started a magazine Stradija, that had 35 editions. The following year, he was appointed to the State press. He died in 1908 of tuberculosis survived by his wife and two children Zoran and Danica.

It can be said that Domanović is the diminutive Serbian Swift, if we lend ourselves to compare our writers with foreign ones. During his short literary career he succeeded in developing the great powers of the satirical novel, although some of his stories are distorted by pessimism and grime.
Domanović lived for only 35 years and did not publish much, leaving some work in manuscript form. Some of his most famous stories are:

"Danga" (Mark), a story about the author's dream of visiting an imaginary country where all people blindly follow their leaders in a dystopian society. After all of the citizens were branded on the forehead, without complaints, the story culminates when the narrator proclaims that he, as a Serb, is much braver then anybody and requests to be branded ten times.

"Ukidanje strasti" (Abolishing Passion), a satirical fiction about a legislation that outlawed passion, after which people stopped doing things like smoking, drinking, or taking political participation.

"Razmišljanje jednog običnog srpskog vola" (Reasoning of an Ordinary Serbian Ox), criticizes Serbian misuse of their history and tradition.

"Kraljević Marko po drugi put među Srbima" (Marko Kraljević Among Serbs For the Second Time), a story of a return of an epic Serbian hero.

"Mrtvo more" (Dead Sea), a story about resistance of masses against any kind of progress.

"Vođa" (The Leader), a story about people who chose a person they never saw before to lead them to a better place. After suffering through a long trip, they realized that their leader was blind.

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Profile Image for Nataša Bjelogrlić .
123 reviews30 followers
March 12, 2021
Kada bi se nekom strancu ili neupućenom čitaocu ova pripovijetka prosto našla u rukama, on ne bi mogao tačno odrediti da li je ona izdata prije stotinu, pedeset ili deset godina ili je pak iz štampe izašla upravo prošli mjesec. On bi je sagledao kao izvrsnu satiričnu priču, direktno prepoznajući likove i događaje iz svakodnevnog privatnog ili društveno političkog života. A kada djelo kakvo je Stradija uzme čitalac upućen u Domanovićevo stvaralaštvo, on čita, uživa i često ne zna da li da se smije ili plače.
Profile Image for melozvucno.
96 reviews2 followers
December 17, 2022
Počivaj u miru, veliki, vanvremenski Radoje Domanoviću, mnogo bi ti imao da kažeš o današnjim prilikama u Stradiji. A svet neće znati šta je prava satira i prava kritika društva, dok se ne okane Orvela i ne pročita tebe.
Profile Image for Аркула.
82 reviews1 follower
September 21, 2024
Генијална сатира. Дело које је данас можда и актуелније него када је написано, пре више од века. Домановић је озбиљан кандидат за место најбољег српског писца свих времена, не само због Страдије, него због свог комплетног опуса.
Profile Image for Ерудита.
14 reviews
April 12, 2023
Godina 1902. a politička situacija u Srbiji ista. Da li se smejati ili plakati. (Retoricko pitanje)
Profile Image for Maja Milosevic.
25 reviews2 followers
July 25, 2020
Stradija.... Srbija juče, danas, zauvek. Štivo za svaki dan uz jutarnji kaficu☕
162 reviews25 followers
May 8, 2015
Раскорак између идеалистичке слике јуначкој Србије представљене у епским пјесмама и народним предањима и знатно мрачније стварности у истој тој напаћеној земљи, коју Домановић сликовито назива Страдијом.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews

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