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Radosav Stojanovic's collection of fourteen short stories Kraj sveta (The End of the World) is like a huge canvas on which the southern part of Yugoslavia, Kosovo and Metohija, is painted with bright, warm colors. This canvas is contemplated through the eyes of a schoolboy, Ivan, the main narrator. Predominant throughout the tales are the author's own family and neighbors, as well as petty characters, musicians, artisans, and references to the vast frontier, to which men throughout history have journeyed in search of security and a livelihood while leaving their wives and children behind to tend their homesteads.
With a warm heart and a keen eye, Ivan observes things and events around him, all of which are imbued with folkloric and mythological elements. The most striking figure is Ca Dragomir (Uncle Dragomir), who appears in the story of the same name and in several others as well. This natural, joyful, life-loving, indulgent man is as wild as the stallions he buys,...