Jahač nad jahačima
A novel about the absurd, power and downfall of a man obsessed with greatness. In a symbolic, grotesque world, the author exposes the cruelty of power and madness in which ambition and fear blur the line between man and beast.
The novel The Rider of Riders (published in 1966) is one of the most significant and complex works by Miodrag Bulatović, a writer known for his grotesque expression and exploration of the dark depths of the human psyche. The work is an allegory of violence, deformed morality, and the spread of madness in societies that idolize power.
The action takes place in a closed, symbolic space resembling a totalitarian world in which the "rider" appears — a figure of power, obsessed with his own greatness and superiority over others. His rise and fall are depicted through the prism of fantastic and grotesque scenes, in which reality loses its shape, and the line between oppressor and victim disappears.
Bulatović uses strong metaphors, dense language, and a mixture of black humor, irony, and brutal realism to depict the dehumanization and destructiveness of power, but also man's inner need for submission and domination. The novel is imbued with an atmosphere of anxiety, visions and madness, which makes it close to the tradition of Dostoyevsky and Kafka, although it retains southern, Balkan poetics.
At the center of Riders over Riders is not only the dictator, but also the mass that supports him and feeds his power — Bulatović thereby opens up the question of responsibility, collective fear and moral failure. Due to its symbolism, aesthetic power and universal themes, the novel is counted among the masterpieces of modernist and existential prose of former Yugoslavian literature.
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