The Use of Man - New York Review Books Classics | Literary Fiction Novel | Perfect for Book Clubs & Intellectual Reading

I had no real literary reason to read this book but a personal one as my grandparents came from Vojvodina back in the early 1900's, before the two major wars affected the area. Some remnants of the family cousins were made refugees during WWII and my earliest memories were of my dad sending CARE package to somewhere in Germany and waiting for every letter that would shed light on their situation. I was aware of the ethnic mix in the area and knew that my grandfather spoke five languages in order to do effectively do business in the town where he lived. I found the descriptions of the various group and their interactions in Novi Sad most interesting. The author's style of heaping descriptions on top of each other in phrases and fragments was wonderful in that it allowed the reader to vividly see, smell, taste and hear the characters and scenes in the book. I can also say that the book has a ring of authenticity to me as one of the conversations in the book pretty much mirrors something that one of my displaced, distant relative said about the new Yugoslav government. Horrible things happened in Yugoslavia in WWII and I was afraid the book would focus too much on the gruesome atrocities in the area. With the exception of one bad chapter in the book,set in a camp, the book does not focus on the grisly aspects of the war any more than necessary to advance the plot. I did find the ending a bit inconclusive and wanted to know how the heroine of the book would end up for the rest of her life.I am really not able to give a literary critique of this book as I read it more to round out my knowledge of my family history. For me it was a beautifully written description of a place that doesn't exist anymore.It's a confronting reminder of some of the less well known atrocities of WWII and it's aftermath, but it can read a bit like a catalogue"The Use of Man" by Aleksandar Tisma is the story of a multi-ethnic community prior to, during, and after World War Two--in all its beauty and horror. The characters are revealed in snippets and develop slowly, but provide the reader with enough to understand motivations and psychologies during this fascinating, but also devastating, time and place.This is a great book. It describes german, jewish and serb families, thier lives and reactions before, during and after the World War 2 in the city of Novi Sad, Serbia.It contains one of the most vivid description of Concentration Camp suffering and survival that I have ever read.Thank the Gods of literature for this NYRB series because they have resurrected and preserved some of the greatest books of all time that otherwise would have been forgotten. The Use of Man is such an example, written originally in Serbo Croatian, by a writer who otherwise would never be read by English readers. Which would be a tragedy, for this book is brilliant, incredibly important and therefore one that no one should live without reading.Yuk!