The Use of Man - Softcover

Tisma, Aleksandar

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0151932034 ISBN 13: 9780151932030

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1988

Synopsis

Four individuals from a small town in Yugoslavia find themselves among drastically different fates during World War II. Two become Nazis, one joins the Partisans, and one is sent to a concentration camp.

Set in Yugoslavia prior to and during World War II, this tale of devastation traces the lives of four friends born in the same small town. They went to school together, took dancing lessons, stole kisses, were taught German by an old maid who kept a diary. But when war comes, half-Jewish Vera is sent to a concentration camp while her German cousin becomes a Nazi; Serbian boyfriend Milinko joins the Partisans; and another classmate, also a Serb, becomes fascinated by the magic of killing. Tisma's portrayal of their situation is certainly poignant, but he belabors the obvious in overly melodramatic fashion.

About this title

About the Author:

ALEKSANDAR TISMA was born in 1924 in Vojvodina, Yugoslavia, to a Serbian father and a Hungarian mother. He experienced the Holocaust in his native town of Novi Sad. After the war he worked as a journalist in Novi Sad and Belgrade, and later became an editor, writer, and translator. He has written sixteen works of fiction, of which the last five--what he calls a pentateuch of novels and stories--have been devoted to the subject of the Holocaust.

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0151932034
• ISBN 13: 9780151932030
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 342