Death and the Dervish (Writings from An Unbound Europe)

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Summary: From Selimovic's Tuzla
Review: After all of these reviews that I have just found here, there is no sense of talking about the characters of this great book, but I would like to write some things that maybe not all readers know. Mesa Selimovic was born in Tuzla, Bosnien and Herzegovina, same like me. My high-school name was Mesa Selimovic and I am very proud of it. The messages from "Dervis i smrt" are universal, but they are also the picture of bosnian tradition and society, and the most important fact - they represent the mirror of bosnian soul. If you want to learn something more about Bosnia, its people and history, than you should read this book. As a Bosnian I can't think of a better book. And I don't think that it's bad to say that Selimovic was Bosnian (according to Mazedonian reader ), because he was. It was not mentioned in the review was he a Croat, Muslim, or Serb, and it doesn't matter. I think that we after all that happened in my homeland at least have right to say that we are Bosnians without mentioning the nationality. Bosnia is home for all of us. Don't denial this right to Selimovic.

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Summary: Great because so different.
Review: Few days ago I finished my fourth reading of this book and I experienced exactly the same mixed feelings I had after my first reading.I was sad to witness such a human tragedy and I was happy because in this book I found a real treausure of human mind. Even though located in the Balkans dark age the story still sends a universal human mesagge where philosophical exsistence of good and evil live in eternal confrontation. The final sentence (...death is nonsense,the same as life) rather than lament sounds to me as an invitation for reflection about our existentialism and values we blindly follow and promote today. Finally, with all respect to the people who translated the book I find myself extremely lucky being able to read this book in its original version in bosnian language which is obviouslu much more authentic and colourful. P.S. I would not like to open a political debate in this place but I found the Cyprys' reader final comment about Selimovic's "Serb's" background extremely offensive, inaccurate and inappropriate. By the way, the biographic data about Selimovic, that I as a Bosnian know , are completely different but I have no intention to place his genius in a shadow of political triviality.

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Summary: If God were to punish every evil deed...
Review: Filling in many university applications I have been asked many times to point my most favorite book. The answer has always been one of Selimovic's "Death and the Dervish" or Hesse's "Siddhartha". Indeed, the thought inspired by these two seemingly so different works of art is equally strong and, in my case, interconnected.

This masterpiece by this great writer (I deliberately omitted an adjective of the type "Bosnian" or "Serbian"; it is a shame that such arguments still exist even among the amazon.com reviews) is a story about a dervish (a Muslim monk) that starts his quest for the Self after being awakened from a long dogmatic existence by the brutal murder of his own brother. Selimovic once commented that the main idea of his book is to show how people often seek refuge in dogmatic systems (in this case religion. No offense to religion what so ever; am religious myself), but life itself often forces them to seek their own path in life. And it was this mystique pursuit for the Self that inspired a connection to Hesse's Siddhartha in my mind. It is Siddhartha that decides not to follow the Illustrious One, although he knows the teachings of The Buddha hold the secrets to the Eternal Truth; rather, he decides to seek for the truth himself. In this journey Siddhartha passes through several phases, all bearing great similarity with Ahmed's life, to finally find the Internal Truth. It is the greatness of Selimovic's novel "Death and the Dervish" that Ahmed does not find the Truth, but rather dies in a death so sad and chilly that it leaves the reader pondering over the meaning of life and the existence of this so called Eternal Truth.

While reading the reviews by other people I was stunned by the diversity of their perceptions of the book. That is the greatest attribute I can give to this novel; If you wish to think and read, you will undoubtedly enjoy this great reading and find in it a reflection of your own self. The comment of the publisher says that this is clearly no perfect work of art. Indeed, the form of the story is at times improper, but the message and strength of the story by far overpower all the negative sides.

I had the opportunity to read this novel as a part of my high school literature course back in my home country of Macedonia, in Macedonian-a language that can picture the shades of the rich (what's the word, Bosnian or Serbian?) language Selimovic used. Nonetheless, this English edition provides an opportunity no serious reader should miss. It will also give you a taste of the dark and incredibly rich history of Bosnia depicted in other great novels like Andric's "The Bridge on the Drina", a history that can teach us a lot about the ways of the century that is on the verge of its end.

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Summary: This book is a masterpiece!
Review: For the first time I read this book when I was in the forth grade of the High School. What impressed me most was the personality and strength of Ahmed Nuruddin, a sheik of a tekka and the way he coped with reality. In this case it was a guilt for not trying too much to save his brother. On the other side, it was guilt for doing things that he was not supposed to do as a sheik of tekka. It is a philosophy of life - all in one in a wonderful book written by Selimovic. How did I fell after I read this book? I felt I had cleared my soul and I found a new approach to problems in life. It is a source of human feelings, from fear to joy. What is good and what is evil in every human being? What is it that makes people commit crime? The evil of the twentieth century comes to our souls once we read the book. We cannot escape it. It is a history of humankind. It is both our treasury and guilt. Selimovic made a picture of one soul. We make a picture of ourselves when we finish reading this great book. It might be time to ask yourself about your life.

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Summary: this is a great book
Review: I think it is wrong to trivialize this book with arguements about Selimovic's nationality. It would be a shame, if we were defined simply by our race, ethnicity, or religion. I hope we all agree that is wrong to define (and confine) a person, or person's work, within the limits of political and geographical boundaries. Selimovic's novel was not meant to be a confirmation of Bosnian "greatness," merely because it was written by a Bosnian. I tend to believe that he had other, deeper, and more spiritual motives in his writing. I certainly gained much from reading this book, and I am a serb.

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Summary: Wan Keeper of a Pale Flame
Review: Imagine that justice flees your homeland and fair play becomes the daydream of centuries, like aspiration carried in low flame. What if tending this pale ember became your duty and you alone, held the last bit of light in bottomless evil?

What of your loved ones? What if they were carried off into darkness for a whiff of gratuitous knowledge; knowledge gained by accident, not involvement? If you lived in a place unacquainted with justice, would you, could you be. . .

Courageous? Ethical? Forgiving? Would you carry the Flame?
What if fate suddenly reversed itself and granted you unanticipated powers? How would you use them?

Death and the Dervish takes place in 17th century Bosnia, in the cruel, clumsy colonialism of an Ottoman-held "kasaba," a provincial outpost of backward-facing empire. The enervated township of "Death and the Dervish," reeks of careless autocracy and malignant oppression. The backdrop of Mesa Semilovic's story makes the roots of the legendary "restlessness" of the Balkans" painfully transparent.

Sheikh Ahmed is wan keeper of a pale flame and light of this amazing novel. While not a novel of "action" per se, the rendering of Sheikh Ahmed's character is rare literary achievement. Beautifully drawn, sympathetic and humane, the Sheik's character shows us the inner workings of his convictions, of his education and the strength of spiritual discipline.

The tragedy he inhabits is a landscape of unrelenting corruption, fear and self-service. After suffering the loss of his brother, the Sheik endures a classic moral test; unanticipated access to power.

Sheik Ahmed's character is finest when facing the neglected avenues of public defiance. His public address to the mosque's congregants after the senseless murder of a blameless brother is a brilliant examination of human conscience and its lonesome power.

The Sheik's interior arguments are wonderfully written, furiously held battles of conscience and self examination that ultimately justify resistance. "Death and the Dervish" contains the best representations of the internal life I have ever read.

Mesa Selimovic has reached into the stream of human consciousness to find a good man caught in horrible circumstances, in a bad time. Not surprisingly, the inhabitants of the kasaba reflect this. However, Sheikh Ahmad is unique. As the author moves the Sheikh's character forward we are treated to the workings of an artfully drawn psyche, illumined by hesitant flame.

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Summary: The Flame
Review: Imagine that justice flees your homeland. Imagine fair play a faint daydream of centuries, like a remote religious aspiration carried cautiously like small flame into ever-present darkness. If tending this flame became your duty? What if you alone, had the last bit of light in a bottomless evil?

What of your loved ones? if they were carried off to heinous, hopeless imprisonment for the mere whiff of accidental knowledge; knowledge obtained by proximity not involvement? If you lived in a land unacquainted with anything resembling justice, if all was corrupt, diffident autocracy, would you, could you be. . . Courageous?

Ethical? Forgiving?

Would you continue to carry The Flame? And if tables were suddenly turned in your favor and you were inexplicably granted powers you had assumed would always escape you? How would you use them?

Death and the Dervish take place in 17th century Bosnia, in the clumsy, dull, cruel colonialism of an Ottoman-held "kasaba," a provincial outpost of backward facing empire. The story's events take place in the veritible vacuum reminiscent of all over-extended empires (not unlike the ones current in the news).

Not enough has been said here about the deep nuance and loving portrayal of Sheikh Ahmed, the light of this sensitive novel and wan keeper of a pale flame. He is beautifully drawn, wistful and human; devoted to the loftiness of his Muslim education and to his Sufi (a Muslim mystical order) training.

Sheikh Ahmed endures the greatest human test, short-lived and wholly unanticipated access to power. It costs him his life but affirms his wavering morality.

The Sheik is at his finest facing the neglected avenues of public defiance. The episode of the mosque, after his brother has died in prison is beautiful, close examination of the individual power of conscience. Sheik Ahmed's struggles contains his furiously private battles to find authentic grounds for the espressions of an outrage shared by everyone around him. Unlike his fellows, he neither deflects or suborns in the face or tyranny.

Should you desire to find a moving story, fine writing and a window to some of the arguments behind Muslim belief (a humane belief, after all), this book is a fine portrayal of one man's struggle for a barely obtained justice; for the lit flame.

Reading Death and the Dervish could also broaden understanding of what is, in the end, not actually so foreign. I say this because the book's characters, though Muslim, are European and aware of their proximity to western culture.

I will remain attached to Sheikh Ahmed and miss his inner weight. Mesa Selimovic has reached into the stream of human consciousness to find a good man caught in horrible circumstances. As he moves the Sheikh's character forward to face power's temptation and thereby, the seductions of revenge, we are treated to the workings of an artfully drawn human psyche and its shadowy but reticent power.

There but for grace . . . go we.

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Summary: Dervish and Death
Review: Mesa Selimovic was a great writer and it's a pitty that he didn't win the Nobel Prize (to my knowledge, he was never even considered). A talent like his is rare. "Dervish and Death" is a book I enjoyed reading very much, for the first time, and each time afterwards I enjoyed it even more. Unfortunatelly, this is not the case with all of Selimovic's works, as some of them are, to put it plainly, boring.
What captivated me about "Dervish..." is Selimovic's sentence, which is so melodic that it almost seems like poetry.
This is a demanding book and not the easiest read in the world. Even though it is a simple story, it takes time and it must be consumed slowly. Recommended but only if you have a lot of time on your hands.

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Summary: Extraordinary Masterpiece
Review: This is not a book that can be a bestseller. It doesn't come to that. This is a deeply philosophical book about life. It's easy to get confused by the title and the author's name that this is a book about the muslim religion. That is wrong and superficial. Yes, muslim religion is used as a starting point but basic life existencial questions and dilemas that are beautifully put here are the core of the book and that has no immediate relation to any perticular religion. I have read this book and it is deep, emotional and relly honest. It is full of wonderful quotes which I often go back to. If you get passed the firs three chapters - you will read the whole book and know what I am saying. It's one of those books that are like a bible in your library. It's something you will think about long after you've read it.