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Nušić, Branislav, 1864-1938Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 125K words
Chapters: 13

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Свет by Branislav NušićAuthor: Nušić, Branislav, 1864-1938,Language: Serbian, Class: PG: Language and Literatures: Slavic (including Russian), Languages and Literature, Release Date: Feb 10, 2005

Editor's review

This is a work by the Serbian writer Branislav Nušić, digitized by Project Gutenberg and circulated as a free e-book. Nušić is known for comedy and satire, and his works often reveal social manners through witty dialogue and exaggerated plots. The book is short and serves as a good introduction to Serbian literature and its comic tradition. The electronic edition preserves the original appearance of the public-domain text, making it convenient for researchers to check the text and for general readers to browse on a phone or e-reader. Readers might treat it as a small window onto urban life and language in the late nineteenth-century Balkans. Because it is a public-domain e-book without notes or an introduction from a modern translation, readers need some background knowledge or a habit of looking things up. Overall, it is a light but literarily significant little book, suitable for leisurely reading in spare moments.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Serbian literature or Balkan culture
General readers who enjoy satirical comedy and stories of everyday life
Students who need free public-domain e-books for textual research
Learners who want a light introduction to Eastern European literature

Not a good fit for

Readers who are not used to reading non-Chinese originals or who need a translation to assist them
Beginners who expect modern notes and an introduction
Readers who prefer long, complete novels or systematic literary histories

Reading tips

Learn about Nušić's comic style first, then read the text; it is easier to enter the context.
Compare with the Serbian original and English-language materials, and pay attention to the satirical tone of the dialogue.
Read a short section each day and enjoy the scattered scenes as sketches of social customs.
After finishing, look up the author's life and historical background to fill in the notes missing from the public-domain book.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a Chinese translation?

No. The version provided by Project Gutenberg is the Serbian original, without a modern Chinese translation. Readers need some ability to read Serbian or must rely on reference tools.

What kinds of works did Nušić mainly write?

Nušić is known for comedy and satirical literature. He often depicted ordinary city people and social follies, with humorous language, exaggerated plots, and a distinctively Balkan local color.

What is the difference between a public-domain e-book and an ordinary publication?

Public-domain e-books usually lack notes, introductions, and textual collation by modern editors, and their formatting is plainer. But the text is free and easy to search, making them suitable for research or light reading.

Comments

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About the author

Nušić, Branislav, 1864-1938 Author · Serbian · 1864–1938

Branislav Nušić (1864–1938) was a Serbian playwright and satirist. Living from the mid-nineteenth century to the eve of the Second World War, he witnessed Serbia's transformation from a principality into a modern state, and his writing reflects a keen eye for social change. His comedies drew on the lives of the urban middle class and the bureaucracy, using misunderstanding, coincidence and exaggerated dialogue to expose vanity and the absurdities of institutions, while his satire usually carries a gentle sympathy that lets audiences reflect on reality through laughter. His characters are vividly typical and his language lively, and his plays are still regularly performed on Serbian stages. His representative work is The Minister's Wife, a classic of Serbian realist comedy that intertwines officialdom with domestic life. The library also holds his work Svet. Given the limited public material available, this note focuses on his themes and style rather than biographical detail.