Rights Information

Rights sold
Egypt (Masr El-Arabia)
Germany (Guggolz Verlag)
Italy (Voland Edizioni)
Spain (Sajalín Editores)
USA (Dalkey Archive Press)

Reviews

Many nations, no matter how small, have produced great war literature. American classics like A Farewell to Arms and Catch-22 have a Slovenian equivalent in Vitomil Zupan’s 1975 masterpiece, Minuet for Guitar, about a young partisan named Berk eager to battle German invaders during World War II. – Wall Street Journal

Zupan’s literary gifts are on full display in passages that range from startlingly lyrical to graphically realistic, achingly surrealistic to boldly philosophical. An intensely imagined exploration of war. – Publishers Weekly

Minuet’s resolution, to the degree that it does resolve, occurs in the shadow of perspective. It is the resolution of convalescence, of being made whole again in the awareness that in war the only difference between men is the colour of their uniform, the direction in which they are told to point their guns. As Berk observes, “War was cruel and innocent at the same time… It is a dance, accompanied by a 25-shot guitar.” – MAKE Literary Magazine

Author Biography

Vitomil Zupan (1914–1987) was one of the most extraordinary and charismatic Slovenian artists of the 20th century. A writer, poet, playwright, screenwriter and essayist, he left an undeniable mark on literature while also making notable contributions in the fields of film, TV and radio. His restless spirit took him to places all over the world and into all sorts of jobs and activities: he was a sailor, a boxer and a skiing instructor, as well as a culture editor and painter. He was a prisoner at two concentration camps and joined the partisan movement after the capitulation of Italy. After the war, he was sentenced at a show trial to 18 years of prison and forbidden to write, however, his sentence was commuted after seven years. He began writing again, initially under a pseudonym, and remained an independent writer until his death. Zupan received several awards for his writing, among them two Prešeren Awards, Slovenia’s highest award for artistic achievement: the first in 1947, the year when Prešeren Awards were instituted, and the second in 1984, for his lifetime achievement.