BOOK RED ROOFTOPS ON EXODUS OF SARAJEVO SERBS PRESENTED

PALE, MARCH 18 /SRNA/ - The novel Red Rooftops by Neda Bjelanović was presented this evening in Pale, dealing with the great tragedy of the Serb people, the peacetime exodus of Sarajevo Serbs.

Bjelanović stated that, although it contains elements of her personal memories, the book is not strictly an autobiography, but rather a prose mosaic of the experiences of multiple people.

“I was a young girl at the time of the exodus, and part of what is in the book has an autobiographical basis, but I took many stories and reshaped them through the experiences of people close to me and those who went through those difficult moments together with us,” Bjelanović told reporters.

She emphasized that she did not write the book with the intention of it serving as a historical testimony for younger generations, but that she sees such an interpretation as a great recognition.

“If Red Rooftops helps younger people understand the tragedy and suffering of the Serb people, I will be proud, both as an author and as someone who lived through it,” emphasized Bjelanović.

Željka Pandžić, a professor at the Department of Serbian Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Pale, said that this is the first novel in more than three decades to address the exodus of Sarajevo Serbs in a comprehensive way, and that, although it is not strictly autobiographical, the experiences of many can be recognized in it.

She added that she reads the novel Red Rooftops both as a literary critic and as someone who, as a ten-year-old child, lived through the period the work portrays.

She emphasized that already at the very beginning, through the memories of the main character, she was confronted with her own personal traumas and recognized numerous details from both the wartime and peacetime periods.

According to her, the significance of the book lies in the fact that it reminds readers of one of the most difficult chapters of recent history, which must not be forgotten.

She recommended the novel to young people, stressing that it is important for new generations to understand the sacrifice and experiences of those before them, and that the topics of war and exodus must be discussed openly.

Neda Bjelanović was born in 1984 in Sarajevo. She completed her primary and secondary education in Višegrad and obtained both her degree and PhD at the Department of Serbian Language and Literature of the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade.

The promotion was organized by the City Administration of Istočno Sarajevo and the Veterans' Organization of Pale on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the exodus of Sarajevo Serbs.