On Thursday, May 31st 2012 7pm at Nebojša Tower as part of the series “Tales of Belgrade” Vladimir Pištalo presented his novel entitled “Millennium in Belgrade”. The author and literary critic Nenad Šaponja spoke about the book.

The novel “Millennium in Belgrade” talks about three generations of people who lived in Belgrade, and yet it seems that the Belgrade is the main character of the story. This literary work encompasses two decades of recent history, starting from the death of President Tito, all the way to war in Croatia, as well as the unfortunate events in Sarajevo, the inflation in 1993 and the bombing of 1999… According to the author, the novel deals with devaluation of people and life in this part of the world of the entire decade, embodied in the disvaluation of all those characters from our past that are printed on our banknotes.

Vladimir Pištalo a Serbian writer born in Sarajevo in 1960. He graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade and earned his doctorate at the University of New Hampshire in the United States. He published a few books of poetic prose: Picture Book (1981), Nights (1986), Manifestos (1986), End of the Century (1990), short story Corto Maltese (1987), a collection of stories Stained glass in memory (1994), Stories from around the world (1997), a biography of Alexander the Great Aleksandrida (1999). Novels Millennium in Belgrade (2000) and About a miracle (2002).

French translation of the novel “Millennium in Belgrade” was shortlisted for the prestigious annual award “Femina” for best novel translated into French language last year. For the novel “Tesla, a portrait among the masks” he received the NIN Award for best novel of the year 2008.
Frederic Vitu in his article “Belgrade, year zero” for Le Nouvel Observateur writes:

“This is a story about a group of friends… their loves, hopes, conflicts… and all of life`s disappointments. At the same time, it is the story of a city, Belgrade, so beloved and often lauded, so abused in wars and revolutions. Finally, it is a story about a nightmare – about the history with a large H, about the end of a millennium, about the crushed and scattered Yugoslavia…. This story is a blend of refreshing short chapters, bitter scenes from the reality, acrimonious but gentle lyrical thoughts and happy moments of the despairer. In it the youth clashes on the lies of the older generation… Is this the end of one act in a drama with multiple parts or just the end of the millennium in Belgrade?”

With the project “Tales of Belgrade” PE “Belgrade Fortress” strives to promote the literary works of local authors through interviews with writers and experts in various fields of culture with the aim of establishing new and enriched content in the revitalized space of Nebojša Tower as well as promoting Belgrade together rivers it lies upon.