FANTASTIC ALTERNATIVES IN THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE DEAD

Abstract

Considering Kiš’s negative autopoetic views on the fantastique in literature, this paper reevaluates and reinterprets the fantastical narratives within his collection The Encyclopedia of the Dead. We also briefly define the nature of the fantastique and the characteristics of this story collection. Further research, conducted inductively, highlights the various modes of fantastique that Kiš employs (sacral projection, horror, oneirism, and fantasy of reality) and interprets how these modalities, in conjunction with the implicit worldview of opposing matrices, transform the so-called grand narratives represented here by the Bible, the Quran, encyclopedic knowledge, official history, and totalising representations of the world. The approach, as demonstrated, is postmodern and innovative. It projects new perspectives on Kiš’s oeuvre and enriches Serbian prose from the latter half of the 20th century.