The Great War is a novel that comprehensively and passionately narrates a number of stories covering the duration of World War One, starting with the year 1914 – the year that truly marked the beginning of the 20th century. Following the destinies of over seventy characters, on all warring sides, Gatalica depicts the experiences of winners and losers, generals and opera singers, soldiers and spies; including the British spy, Oswald Rayner, the Russian mystic Rasputin, and Field Marshal Boroievich von Boina of the Austro-Hungarian army. The stories themselves are various but equally important: here we find joyful as well as tragic destinies, along with examples of exceptional heroism, which collectively manage to grasp the atmosphere of the entire epoch. Yet The Great War never becomes a chronicle, or a typical historical novel; above all it is a work of art that uses historic events as means to tell many fantastic stories, with unbelievable and unthinkable convolutions. It is commendable in its breadth, its vision and its relevance to modern history.

Aleksandar Gatalica is a prolific author, editor and translator (from ancient Greek). His prose work has won him just about every literary award in modern Serbia, and he has published 11 titles. His distinguished professional career has seen him editor of pages on world literature for Serbian newspapers, as well as Serbian PEN Centre editions and the National Broadcast Network. Presently, Gatalica holds the position of the General Manager of the Foundation of the Serbian National Library.

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Prizes

Winner of Ninova nagrada (NIN Award) 2012,Winner of Mesa Selimovic Award 2012

'A whirlpool of a book that draws in the reader, moving ambitiously across place, class and profession yet tying all into the dreadful pull of the first global conflict. A war that began in the Balkans now has a fitting literary epitaph from a giant among Balkan writers.' - Tim Butcher,bestselling British writer and author of The Trigger 'This is a novel with a hundred faces, which all together make up a diverging and multi-layered story about World War I. Here, there is no separation between two worlds: the fictional and the real. Borislav Pekic would have added that the Spirit of History and the poetical content of the past is a predominating content of any successful literary work. 'The Great War' belongs to this category of work.' Petar Pijanovic, "Politika" magazine

Aleksandar Gatalica is one of Serbia's foremost contemporary authors. He is also a translator (from Ancient Greek), music critic and editor. He has published six novels and as many collections of short stories, and also a guide to Belgrade for Foreigners. He is the editor of pages on world literature (Danas daily), editor of Blic knjiga (literary supplement), editor of Serbian PEN Centre editions, assistant art director of Madlenianum Opera and Theatre, editor in National Broadcast Network Serbia. Presently, Gatalica hold the position of the General manager of Foundation of National Library of Serbia.