This is a story about a chance encounter between the poet Lord Byron and a Bosnian woman, however, this is not only a love story. It is about Eastern and Western Europe , the Balkans, friendship and cruelty. The longings of the poet, the power and dignity of an oriental ruler, the charms of a beautiful woman, the decency and wisdom of a Jewish physician, and the courage and honour of a Turkish nobleman are all blended together.

Bazdulj combines lyrical tenderness with epic calm, erudition with humour, historical facts with motifs out of “1001 Nights” and he combines Baroque fantasy with the simplicity of Bosnian folk songs. All of this creates a work of unusual beauty or to put it more simply: great literature.

“Muharem Bazdulj is doubtless a first-class writer, bold and original, a new voice which is not stuck in the nationalistic “box” that characterises so many Balkan writers.” (David Albahari, author of “Mutterland”)

About the author:

Born in 1977, Muharem Bazdulj studied English literature at the University of Sarajevo and has worked as a journalist. He is currently a post-graduate student of history and literature. He is the recipient of many literary prizes and his essays and short stories have been translated into several languages. “The Infidel and Suleika” is his first novel to be translated into the English language.