Old age came in one day, on May 23, 2010, at 11 a.m. I’d just made myself comfortable in a bamboo chair in front of a small café underneath the Observatory, just below a device used to bring closer the stars that school children watch when they visit the capital on excursion. The signs of [&helli
They spent the next hour in quiet conversation about anything and everything, sprawled across some old workers’ jackets with faux-fur underlay. The conversation was now relaxed; friendly bickering gave way to heavier topics, so a rascally tone was no longer appropriate. They couldn’t talk lo
Ferid is forty-four. Unmarried. Unemployed. Lives with his mother. Barely finished high school. Three years after that, he spent every night drinking in bars, and then the war came. He avoided the war with the excuse of a strong prescription that took away his good vision. Now he avoids life with th
“One time in Siberia, near Tobolsk.” “Near what?” “Near Tobolsk. Well, I mean, nothing is near there, but Tobolsk is nearest . . .” “Well, that’s helpful.” “You haven’t heard of Tobolsk? That’s where Križanić published his treatise. In 1665!” “Who would know such things
Beware! Beware of embracing faith, one of Guglielma’s followers cautioned his wife, fearing the Inquisition. Beware of embracing faith! If you do, we all burn at the stake. Because faith begets stronger faith. Therein lies the main difference between knowledge and belief; the former trusts lim
Bilo je tu svega: srce pluća jetra bubrezi itd. Kitove usi guste i brojne poput čekinja kakvog starog slikarskog kista. Ali ničega u crijevima, ničega polu probavljenog što bi mirisalo na skupi francuski parfem. Prazna crijeva, govorilo se, razvlačila su se više od pola kilometra. Živio je n
