"The Attic" is Danilo Ki's first novel. Written in 1960, published in 1962, and
set in contemporary Belgrade, it explores the relationship of a young man, known
only as Orpheus, to the art of writing; it also tracks his relationship with a
colorful cast of characters with nicknames such as Eurydice, Mary Magdalene, Tam
-Tam, and Billy Wise Ass. Rich with references to music, painting, philosophy, a
nd gastronomy, this bohemian "Bildungsroman" is a laboratory of technique and st
yle for the young Ki--at once a depiction of life in literary Belgrade, a regist
er of stylistic devices and themes that would recur throughout Ki's oeuvre, and
an account of one young man's quest to find a way to balance his life, his loves
, and his art."
