"Originally published in Serbian as Lauta i O'ziljci, by BIGZ, Belgrade, 1994"--T.p. verso.

Danilo Kis was one of Serbia's most influential writers and the author of several novels and short-story collections, including "A Tomb for Boris Davidovich, The Encyclopedia of the Dead", and "Hourglass". In 1980 Kis was awarded the Grand Aigle d'Or from the city of Nice. He died in 1989 at the age of 54.