''The Scent of Rain in the Balkans'' ( sr, Мирис кише на Балкану, ) is a

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

written by Gordana Kuić. The novel was published in 1986, becoming an instant

bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

. It centers on the Salom family, most notably five sisters — Buka, Nina, Klara, Blanki and Riki. The novel was inspired by Kuić's mother Blanki Levi and her sisters. ''The Scent of Rain in the Balkans'' follows the destinies of, not only Jews, but also

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...

and

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

during two major historical events — World War I and World War II. In his review of the novel,

David Albahari David Albahari (, ; born 15 March 1948)Biography
at

wrote: ''The Scent of Rain in the Balkans'' has been adapted into a ballet, a play and a television series.

Plot

The novel describes the historic period in the Balkans from the beginning of World War I in 1914, to the end of World War II in 1945 through the lives and destinies of the Saloms, a

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

family from Sarajevo. The leading characters are the five courageous Salom sisters whose struggle to fulfil personal desires and aspirations run contrary to the strict conventions of the multicultural and religious societies — Bosnian Jew,

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and Catholic — of the time, living side by side in the small town of Sarajevo.

Characters

The Salom family

* Leon Salom, the father of the family * Estera Salom, the mother of the family * Laura "Buka" Salom, later Laura Papo, the eldest daughter of Leon and Estera * Nina Salom, later Nina Ignjatić, the second daughter of Leon and Estera * Klara Salom, later Klara Valić, the third daughter of Leon and Estera * Isak "Atleta" Salom, the eldest son of Leon and Estera * Blanka "Blanki" Salom, later Branka Korać, the fourth daughter of Leon and Estera * Rifketa "Riki" Salom, the fifth and the youngest daughter of Leon and Estera, who becomes a successful ballerina * Elijas Salom, the second son and the youngest child of Leon and Estera * Nona Salom, one of the aunts of the Salom children and a highly respected member of the family

Serbian characters

* Marko Korać, a Mostar–born Blanki's childhood crush and eventually her husband * Škoro "Ignjo" Ignjatić, Danijel's friend and Nina's husband * Miloš Ranković, Riki's mentor and lover for a while * Dušan, a journalist from

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

who fancies Riki * Sanda Jovanović, Riki's friend from Belgrade of Jewish heritage * Nena Ranković, Miloš's wife * Vlada Stefanović, a teacher in the village where Riki hides * Danica Stefanović, Vlada's wife * Vera Korać, Blanki and Marko's daughter * Risto Korać, one of Marko's brothers * Pero Korać, one of Marko's brothers * Saveta Primorac, Marko's sister * Jovo Primorac, Saveta's husband * Ana Primorac, one of two Saveta and Jovo's daughters * Jelena Primorac, one of two Saveta and Jovo's daughters * Toma, a Serbian peasant who shelters Riki * Spasenija, Toma's wife * Mrs. Ninković, a frequent shopper in Nina's hat boutique who likes gossiping

Jewish characters

* Danijel Papo, Buka's husband and the father of her sons Leon and Koki * Zdenka Vajs, an

Ashkenazi Jew Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

, Atleta's wife * Leon Papo, Buka and Danijel's elder son, named after his maternal grandfather * Barkohba "Koki" Papo, Buka and Danijel's younger son

Other characters

* Ivo Valić, a Catholic Croat, Klara's husband * Didi Valić, Klara and Ivo's daughter * Pol Valić, Klara and Ivo's son * Cliff Morton, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

soldier and Didi's husband * Grethen, a rich

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

girl and Blanki's good friend from school * Carl Raimund, the agent of a ballet school from Vienna * Dragu, a ballet dancer and Riki's friend * Mr. Panzini, an Italian rich man who fancies Blanki * Sister Agata, a nun in the convent where Buka dies

Structure and language

''The Scent of Rain in the Balkans'' is written in Serbo-Croatian language, with some parts in

Ladino Ladino, derived from Latin, may refer to: * The register of Judaeo-Spanish used in the translation of religious texts, such as the Ferrara Bible *Ladino people, a socio-ethnic category of Mestizo or Hispanicized people in Central America especi ...

, the language of Sephardi. It is divided in thirteen parts — ''28 June 1914'' (''28. jun 1914''), ''A Flight to Unknown'' (''Let u nepoznato''), ''Linden, the Tree of Old Slavs'' (''Lipa, drvo starih Slovena''), ''Time for Decisions'' (''Vreme za odluke''), ''Toboggan'' (''Tobogan''), ''When a Day Turns Cold and the Shadows Are Gone'' (''Kad zahladni dan i senke odu''), ''The End of One Age'' (''Kraj jednog vremena''), ''A Critic Point'' (''Kritična tačka''), ''Runaways'' (''Bežanja''), ''Paper Jesters'' (''Papirni pajaci''), ''A New Life'' (''Novi život''), ''Lasting'' (''Trajanje'') and ''Epilogue'' (''Epilog'').

Awards

* 1986 — Association of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia Award for Novel of the Year

Adaptations

In 1992, ballet by Croatian composer Igor Kuljerić ''The Scent of Rain in the Balkans – a Ballet for Riki'' premiered in Sarajevo, and then a week after in

. In 2009, screenwriter Nebojša Romčević wrote a stage adaptation of the novel that premiered on 12 April 2009 in the

Madlenianum Opera and Theatre Madlenianum Opera and Theatre is an opera house and theatre located in Zemun, Belgrade, Serbia. It is the first privately owned opera and theater company both in Serbia and in Southeast Europe. It is located in Belgrade, Serbia, and was founded o ...

, starring

Sloboda Mićalović Sloboda Mićalović Ćetković ( sr-cyr, Слобода Мићаловић Ћетковић; born 21 August 1981), better known as Sloboda Mićalović, is a Serbian actress. She is best known for her roles in film ''Zona Zamfirova'' and television ...

and

Vuk Kostić Vuk Kostić ( sr-cyr, Вук Костић; born 22 November 1979) is a Serbian actor. He is famous for his roles in movies '' Apsolutnih 100'', '' Stvar srca'', "Ubice mog oca" and ''Klopka''. Private life He is the son of actor Mihajlo Kosti� ...

. In 2010, Ljubiša Samardžić directed the

television adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...

of the novel, which was shown on the

RTS RTS may refer to: Medicine * Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim * Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma * Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized by ...

References

External links

Official Website
of Gordana Kuić {{DEFAULTSORT:Scent of Rain in the Balkans 1986 novels Historical novels Novels set in Yugoslavia Serbian novels Novels set in Serbia Fictional Yugoslav people Fictional Bosnian people Fictional Serbian Jews Fictional Jews Bosnia and Herzegovina in fiction Jewish Bosnian history Judaeo-Spanish literature