The Writer and the Tale is one of those thick works that I consult again and again after reading it for the first time. An exciting book, written in an accessible style, yet an almost inexhaustible source of material. A life’s work.

Professor Robert Hodel, Universität Hamburg

This book synthesises the works of several generations of biographers of Ivo Andrić, and enriches them with Žaneta Đukić Perišić’s own discoveries, thus setting a standard which will be difficult to surpass. The author reads the entirety of Andrić’s works from the perspective of his biography and offers many innovative, rich and convincing interpretations. By shedding light on both Andrić’s life and his work, Đukić Perišić’s book achieves a completeness which is rarely found in other studies: if you want to read only one book about Ivo Andrić, this is the one you should read.

Professor Zoran Milutinović, University College London

The Writer and the Tale has all the features of a good biography: an exceptional yet not pretentious style, a balanced historical background, a cunningly depicted psychological portrait of Ivo Andrić, and subtle interpretations of his entire work. Guided by the author’s masterful hand, the reader is being summoned on an exciting journey that leads to an ultimate question concerning the rise of a genius.

Professor Gorana Raičević, Faculty of Philosophy, Novi Sad