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Belgrade: A Cultural and Literary History

Belgrade: A Cultural and Literary History Book Reviews 473 DavidA.Norris,Belgrade:ACulturalandLiteraryHistory(SignalBooks [Cities oftheImaginationSeries],Oxford,2008),xx 1 255pp.withabibliographyand two indexes, ISBN978-1-904955-43-6 (Pbk), $16.95 David A. Norris’s book on Belgrade is the latest addition to Signal’sremarkable seriesonculturalandliteraryhistoriesofworldcities.Truetotheseries’concept, Norris narrates the history of Belgrade in the contextofthe political and social history of the different countries and cultures to whichthe settlement at the confluence of the Sava and the Danube has belonged. What makes the books from this series stand out is the emphasisgiven to representations ofaplace in literature, and Norris’s historical reconstructions of the city areaccompanied by accounts left by city dwellers from different periods. Asaconsequence,areader is offered adoubleperspective—not only what an eventmeans in history,but also what its contemporaries made of it. Given that modern Serbian culture has been centralized in only two towns, an account of one of them easily encompasses Serbia’s nineteenth- andtwentieth-centurycultural history, narrated here from afresh angle—from the urban development of its main centre. Norris’s book on Belgrade can also be read as abrief overview of the political, social, cultural and literary history of Serbia. Norris begins by describing the oldest kernelofBelgrade, the Kalemegdan fortress and its immediate surroundings, which as apalimpsest speaks of the long history of this Celtic, Roman, Serbian,Ottoman and Austrianborder post. The author’s http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies Taylor & Francis

Belgrade: A Cultural and Literary History

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Belgrade: A Cultural and Literary History

Abstract

Book Reviews 473 DavidA.Norris,Belgrade:ACulturalandLiteraryHistory(SignalBooks [Cities oftheImaginationSeries],Oxford,2008),xx 1 255pp.withabibliographyand two indexes, ISBN978-1-904955-43-6 (Pbk), $16.95 David A. Norris’s book on Belgrade is the latest addition to Signal’sremarkable seriesonculturalandliteraryhistoriesofworldcities.Truetotheseries’concept, Norris narrates the history of Belgrade in the contextofthe political and social history of the different countries...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN
1944-8961
eISSN
1944-8953
DOI
10.1080/19448953.2012.747852
Publisher site
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Abstract

Book Reviews 473 DavidA.Norris,Belgrade:ACulturalandLiteraryHistory(SignalBooks [Cities oftheImaginationSeries],Oxford,2008),xx 1 255pp.withabibliographyand two indexes, ISBN978-1-904955-43-6 (Pbk), $16.95 David A. Norris’s book on Belgrade is the latest addition to Signal’sremarkable seriesonculturalandliteraryhistoriesofworldcities.Truetotheseries’concept, Norris narrates the history of Belgrade in the contextofthe political and social history of the different countries and cultures to whichthe settlement at the confluence of the Sava and the Danube has belonged. What makes the books from this series stand out is the emphasisgiven to representations ofaplace in literature, and Norris’s historical reconstructions of the city areaccompanied by accounts left by city dwellers from different periods. Asaconsequence,areader is offered adoubleperspective—not only what an eventmeans in history,but also what its contemporaries made of it. Given that modern Serbian culture has been centralized in only two towns, an account of one of them easily encompasses Serbia’s nineteenth- andtwentieth-centurycultural history, narrated here from afresh angle—from the urban development of its main centre. Norris’s book on Belgrade can also be read as abrief overview of the political, social, cultural and literary history of Serbia. Norris begins by describing the oldest kernelofBelgrade, the Kalemegdan fortress and its immediate surroundings, which as apalimpsest speaks of the long history of this Celtic, Roman, Serbian,Ottoman and Austrianborder post. The author’s

Journal

Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies – Taylor & Francis

Published: Dec 1, 2012

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