LAUNCH OF NEW VESNA DEDIĆ'S NOVEL IN EAST SARAJEVO

Following its debut in Belgrade, the first promotion of the latest novel by renowned author Vesna Dedić, titled "Boli pesme kraj" (Songs Hurt in the End), took place in East Sarajevo, where the idea for this novel began to take shape one December morning.

PHOTO: SeeSrpska

"In September of last year, a young reader from Republika Srpska contacted me and expressed a desire to share her life story. We met in Belgrade, talked for three to four hours, and her story was deeply moving. Then, on December 6th, I came here to East Sarajevo and met another woman, who is here with us tonight, and over breakfast the next day, she told me her story about a perfect, eternal love she had with her husband, but also the story of all of you, starting from the first day of the war in Sarajevo, in April 1992," said Dedić at the promotion.

"Boli pesme kraj" is Vesna Dedić's 17th novel, chronicling the true-life confessions of women from Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, through events intertwined from the beginning of the war up to the present day.

"'Boli pesme kraj' is a contemporary novel that, I deeply believe, will inspire you to summon willpower and courage, even if you are currently facing a lack of love, money, health, or happiness," the author conveyed.

Dedić emphasized that this has been her most challenging novel to date, as she delved into difficult events she did not personally experience.

"I was anxious, and I still am, for those of you who haven't read the novel yet. While writing this novel, I was mentally absent, not leaving my apartment in Belgrade except for recording the show 'Balkanskom ulicom'. I was completely immersed in the novel. I had a responsibility to the people who shared their stories with me, to the people who will read the novel, as they know much better than me the spiritual and emotional history of these lands. I also had a responsibility to myself, having written 16 novels before, with a grown child. I have no right to write something that won't be a comfort, inspiration, and a gust of willpower and courage to everyone who reads this novel," Dedić stated passionately.

The novel has inspired a song performed by Bojan Vasković from the "Leksington band," based on themes from "Boli pesme kraj."

The event marked a significant literary moment in East Sarajevo, bringing together readers and enthusiasts of Vesna Dedić's work to reflect on the enduring impact of stories that resonate across borders and generations.