ASPECTS OF THE “DARK” IN DAVID ALBAHARI’S DARK AND PAUL AUSTER’S MAN IN THE DARK

Abstract

The idea of the paper is to demonstrate different aspects of the “dark” which occur as a central concept in two novels written by the Serbian writer David Albahari (Dark) and his colleague from the USA, Paul Auster (Man in the Dark). In the introductory part of the paper the two writers are presented, with the emphasis on various similarities which exist between them. The central part of the paper contains the overview of both novels, as well as the comparative analysis of the conceptual use and aspects of the “dark” in each novel. The “dark” is visible at three levels, where the first level marks the lives of the narrators of the two novels as they tell their stories, the second is related to the political situations in the narrators’ (and writers’) countries, while the third level refers to the personal losses (death of loved ones) which characterise the lives of the narrators of both novels and determine their fates in many ways. The final part of the paper investigates the “dark” while treating both novels together and partially relying on the trauma theory. Conclusions are given in the final part of the paper.