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Čuvaj se senjske ruke
Ovaj povijesni roman opisuje život i borbu Uskoka protiv Mletaka u prvoj polovici 17. stoljeća (točnije od godine 1600. do godine 1614.). U to je vrijeme grad Senj, u kome je i radnja ovoga romana smještena, pod austrijskom vlasti, a Uskoci su bili zaduženi braniti ovaj grad i njegovu okolicu od napada Turaka i Mletaka koji su njega i njegovu okolicu pokušavali cijelo vrijeme osvojiti i dovesti pod svoju vlast. Roman govori kako su Uskoci bili hrabri vitezovi i vojnici koji su se svim silama trudili obraniti ovaj kraj i njegov narod kako oni nebi pali u sužanjstvo interesa drugih naroda koji su ih samo htjeli porobiti i iskoristiti.
143 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1875
3 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
August Šenoa
65 books43 followersAugust Šenoa was a Croatian novelist, critic, editor, poet, and dramatist.
He was a transitional figure, who helped bring Croatian literature from Romanticism to Realism and introduced the historical novel to Croatia. He wrote more than ten novels, among which the most notable are:
Zlatarovo zlato (Goldsmith's gold; 1871)
Čuvaj se senjske ruke (Pirates of Senj; 1876)
Seljačka buna (Peasants' revolt; 1877)
Diogenes (1878)
Šenoa was also the author of the popular patriotic song "Živila Hrvatska".
He was born in Zagreb, then part of the Habsburg Empire, into a family of Czech-German origin. His surname was originally spelled Schönoa. He studied law in Prague. He also lived in Vienna for a while, but returned to Zagreb in 1866. From 1874 to 1881, Šenoa edited the literary journal Vijenac ("Wreath").
In 1880, he helped the victims of the Great Zagreb Earthquake, only to pick up pneumonia in the process. Despite the sickness, he didn't give up writing his last novel, "Kletva".
He died in 1881, at the age of 43.
In his novels, he fused the national romanticism characterized by buoyant and inventive language with realist depiction of the growth of petite bourgeois class.
This "father of Croatian novel" (and modern national literature) is at best in his mass Cecildemillean scenes and poetic description of oppressed Croatian peasantry, nobility struggling against foreign rule (Venetians, Austrians/Germans and Hungarians) and romanticised period from the 15th to the 18th century. It has become a commonplace phrase that "Šenoa created the Croatian reading public", especially by writing in a popular style.
He was a transitional figure, who helped bring Croatian literature from Romanticism to Realism and introduced the historical novel to Croatia. He wrote more than ten novels, among which the most notable are:
Zlatarovo zlato (Goldsmith's gold; 1871)
Čuvaj se senjske ruke (Pirates of Senj; 1876)
Seljačka buna (Peasants' revolt; 1877)
Diogenes (1878)
Šenoa was also the author of the popular patriotic song "Živila Hrvatska".
He was born in Zagreb, then part of the Habsburg Empire, into a family of Czech-German origin. His surname was originally spelled Schönoa. He studied law in Prague. He also lived in Vienna for a while, but returned to Zagreb in 1866. From 1874 to 1881, Šenoa edited the literary journal Vijenac ("Wreath").
In 1880, he helped the victims of the Great Zagreb Earthquake, only to pick up pneumonia in the process. Despite the sickness, he didn't give up writing his last novel, "Kletva".
He died in 1881, at the age of 43.
In his novels, he fused the national romanticism characterized by buoyant and inventive language with realist depiction of the growth of petite bourgeois class.
This "father of Croatian novel" (and modern national literature) is at best in his mass Cecildemillean scenes and poetic description of oppressed Croatian peasantry, nobility struggling against foreign rule (Venetians, Austrians/Germans and Hungarians) and romanticised period from the 15th to the 18th century. It has become a commonplace phrase that "Šenoa created the Croatian reading public", especially by writing in a popular style.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 15, 2023
CRO/ENG
Inicijalno, nisam imao namjeru čitati ove godine djela Augusta Šenoe, ali sam, nakon opsežnog ''Rata i mira'', odlučio uzeti naslove koji bi me mogli zanimati zbog povijesnih događaja. Naposljetku, tko bi to mogao bolje napraviti od Šenoe (osim, možda, Marije Jurić Zagorke, premda još nisam pročitao dovoljno njezinih radova)? S idejom da se držim njegovih poznatih romana, odlučio sam početi sa ovim djelom (''Zlatarovo zlato'' sam pročitao prije nekoliko godina) i moram reći kako sam se spotaknuo već na samom početku. Iako roman (ako ga tako možemo nazvati) spaja ljubavnu i povijesnu tematiku, ono što me ne privlači je njegov opseg i previše likova, čije radnje nemaju dovoljno prostora da se razviju. Pogotovo kada su predstavljeni manipulacija i spletkarenja drugih osoba, prisutnih u ovom događaju, što je zbilja šteta, kada se uzme u obzir koliko povijest senjskih Uskoka znači i za samu povijest Hrvatske. Ovako, ostaje samo dobra ideja sa nedovoljno razrađenim planom, premda mi je prihvatljivije od ''Konjanika'' (isti žanr i opseg), primjerice, zbog obilja dijaloga između likova, a što mi daje razloga da, barem djelomično, marim za njih. Za fanove hrvatske književnosti i Šenoinih djela, ovo bi bilo najbolje posuditi ili uzeti kao dio kompleta (što sam ja učinio).
Initially, I haven't had the intention to read the works by August Senoa this year (2021), but, after very extensively ''War and Peace'', I decided to pick the titles that might interest me because of historical background. After all, who could make it better than Senoa (except, perhaps, Marija Jurich Zagorka, although I haven't read enough of her works)? With the idea to stick to his well known novels, I've decided to start with this novel (I read ''The Goldsmith's Treasure'' a couple of years ago) and must that I already stumbled at the very beginning. Although the novel (if we can call it such) combines love and historical thematic, what doesn't attract me is it0s length and too many characters, whose plots don't have time to be developed. Especially when introducing manipulations and schemes of other persons, included in this event, which is really a shame, considering how much the history of Uskoks of Senj means for Croatian history. In this state, it's only a good idea with insufficiently elaborated plan, although it's more acceptable to me than ''The Horseman'' (with the same genre and length), for example, because of huge amount of dialogues between characters, which gives me a reason to, partially, care for them. For the fans of Croatian literature and works by Senoa, this would be better to borrow it or buy it as a part of collection (which I did).
Inicijalno, nisam imao namjeru čitati ove godine djela Augusta Šenoe, ali sam, nakon opsežnog ''Rata i mira'', odlučio uzeti naslove koji bi me mogli zanimati zbog povijesnih događaja. Naposljetku, tko bi to mogao bolje napraviti od Šenoe (osim, možda, Marije Jurić Zagorke, premda još nisam pročitao dovoljno njezinih radova)? S idejom da se držim njegovih poznatih romana, odlučio sam početi sa ovim djelom (''Zlatarovo zlato'' sam pročitao prije nekoliko godina) i moram reći kako sam se spotaknuo već na samom početku. Iako roman (ako ga tako možemo nazvati) spaja ljubavnu i povijesnu tematiku, ono što me ne privlači je njegov opseg i previše likova, čije radnje nemaju dovoljno prostora da se razviju. Pogotovo kada su predstavljeni manipulacija i spletkarenja drugih osoba, prisutnih u ovom događaju, što je zbilja šteta, kada se uzme u obzir koliko povijest senjskih Uskoka znači i za samu povijest Hrvatske. Ovako, ostaje samo dobra ideja sa nedovoljno razrađenim planom, premda mi je prihvatljivije od ''Konjanika'' (isti žanr i opseg), primjerice, zbog obilja dijaloga između likova, a što mi daje razloga da, barem djelomično, marim za njih. Za fanove hrvatske književnosti i Šenoinih djela, ovo bi bilo najbolje posuditi ili uzeti kao dio kompleta (što sam ja učinio).
Initially, I haven't had the intention to read the works by August Senoa this year (2021), but, after very extensively ''War and Peace'', I decided to pick the titles that might interest me because of historical background. After all, who could make it better than Senoa (except, perhaps, Marija Jurich Zagorka, although I haven't read enough of her works)? With the idea to stick to his well known novels, I've decided to start with this novel (I read ''The Goldsmith's Treasure'' a couple of years ago) and must that I already stumbled at the very beginning. Although the novel (if we can call it such) combines love and historical thematic, what doesn't attract me is it0s length and too many characters, whose plots don't have time to be developed. Especially when introducing manipulations and schemes of other persons, included in this event, which is really a shame, considering how much the history of Uskoks of Senj means for Croatian history. In this state, it's only a good idea with insufficiently elaborated plan, although it's more acceptable to me than ''The Horseman'' (with the same genre and length), for example, because of huge amount of dialogues between characters, which gives me a reason to, partially, care for them. For the fans of Croatian literature and works by Senoa, this would be better to borrow it or buy it as a part of collection (which I did).
January 3, 2024
można przeczytać ostatnie 10 stron i nic się nie traci xoxo
April 13, 2018
Ćutih se od srca i volje za šenoinskom riječju te posegoh za vrijednim štivom. No prevarih se.
Ne bijaše mi po ćudi. :/ U priči vrli se junaci gorko protivlju tuđinskom maču te se gine i krvca lije proti Mlečiću i Turčinu, a odmaknem li pogled od slova - eno gdjeno se razdiru i glođu med sobom. Odviše je gorka ta miso, valjalo je posegnuti za Zagorkom. U nje bi se gorčina razdiobe razblažila razrađenijom ljubavnom fabulom - ko kapljom meda u čaši pelina.
Cijenjeni Šenoa, odista cijenim tvoj trud i prinos slavnom oltaru hrvatske riječi, no... U nekim vremenima teško pada. I neviklim očima aorist, i otežalom srcu poruka. :(
Ne bijaše mi po ćudi. :/ U priči vrli se junaci gorko protivlju tuđinskom maču te se gine i krvca lije proti Mlečiću i Turčinu, a odmaknem li pogled od slova - eno gdjeno se razdiru i glođu med sobom. Odviše je gorka ta miso, valjalo je posegnuti za Zagorkom. U nje bi se gorčina razdiobe razblažila razrađenijom ljubavnom fabulom - ko kapljom meda u čaši pelina.
Cijenjeni Šenoa, odista cijenim tvoj trud i prinos slavnom oltaru hrvatske riječi, no... U nekim vremenima teško pada. I neviklim očima aorist, i otežalom srcu poruka. :(
May 21, 2022
Fenomenalno. Veoma dobar utisak mi je ostavilo ovo djelo, prvo koje sam pročitao od Šenoe. Lijep primjer izražavanja patriotizma i pokušaja da se podigne nacionalna svijest jednog naroda koristeći slavne trenutke iz prošlosti, u vremenu najvećih poteškoća i borbe za opstanak. Pisac na sjajan način opisuje borbu slabijih protiv jačih, protiv zla koje pokušava nametnuti svoju prevlast. Vjerujem da je pisac iskoristio svu svoju moguću kreativnost kako bi čitateljima dočarao jednu, tako da kažem epsku priču i kod mene je to i uspio.
June 1, 2025
old croatian do be hard to parse but the substance of this book is awesome.
A lot of nationalistic myth building, propaganda from the post French Revolution times of the 19th century Europe, with a purpose of manufacturing a cultural and linguistic identity based on a slightly revisionist interpretation of history. With that said, I could enjoy those aspects regardless of my distaste for revisionism, because we are still not in the chauvinistic, dangerous waters of fascist tendencies.
The book oozes with themes of colonial oppression on the European soil in the 19th century, by the Habsburgs, Ottomans, Venetians and the Church of Christ. Set in the 17th century, following a ragged group of mercenary pirates, called Uskoks, employed by the Austrian emperor to fight off the Ottoman expansions, to "defend Christianity". Uskoks and the peasantry of Senj eventually buy into the narrative and their purpose as defenders of all Christians, only to get royally screwed by all sides in an orchestrated coup that is a collaboration of the so called "heretic enemy", the Ottomans, and the Church bishops under the Venetian banner, for profit and political gain of a few council members and nobles.
Extremely dense thematically and politically, lacking in any sort of attempts at characterization, with a lot of patriarchal societal structures and ideals. Traditionalism, rural unity of the uneducated god fearing peasantry and low nobility of the dalmatian balkans, everything as it always was and has been, heh.
Often times the narrative felt like a montage or a summary of an existing novel rather than a flowing string of scenes of its own, with a ton of spacial and time cuts and an incredibly fast pacing.
However, the biggest obstacle is probably the language itself. Senoa literally used some version of old Croatian in it which makes the book extremely visceral and immersive, but also hard to read since a dictionary for this sort of thing is not really readily available with a simple google search. Alongside Old Croatian, dialogue uses latin phrases and whole sentences at times, with a given translation thankfully. The effort is admirable though, and I got used to it halfway through which made the 2nd half fly by, helped by the tension that was greatly built up from the opener itself.
"Beware of the Senj's hand", the title is so fitting for the story presented and I will be reading more of Senoa for sure, might also visit Senj this summer to see all of the ancient fortresses and landscapes that were romanticised in the book.
overall, 3.5/5, rounded up!
A lot of nationalistic myth building, propaganda from the post French Revolution times of the 19th century Europe, with a purpose of manufacturing a cultural and linguistic identity based on a slightly revisionist interpretation of history. With that said, I could enjoy those aspects regardless of my distaste for revisionism, because we are still not in the chauvinistic, dangerous waters of fascist tendencies.
The book oozes with themes of colonial oppression on the European soil in the 19th century, by the Habsburgs, Ottomans, Venetians and the Church of Christ. Set in the 17th century, following a ragged group of mercenary pirates, called Uskoks, employed by the Austrian emperor to fight off the Ottoman expansions, to "defend Christianity". Uskoks and the peasantry of Senj eventually buy into the narrative and their purpose as defenders of all Christians, only to get royally screwed by all sides in an orchestrated coup that is a collaboration of the so called "heretic enemy", the Ottomans, and the Church bishops under the Venetian banner, for profit and political gain of a few council members and nobles.
Extremely dense thematically and politically, lacking in any sort of attempts at characterization, with a lot of patriarchal societal structures and ideals. Traditionalism, rural unity of the uneducated god fearing peasantry and low nobility of the dalmatian balkans, everything as it always was and has been, heh.
Often times the narrative felt like a montage or a summary of an existing novel rather than a flowing string of scenes of its own, with a ton of spacial and time cuts and an incredibly fast pacing.
However, the biggest obstacle is probably the language itself. Senoa literally used some version of old Croatian in it which makes the book extremely visceral and immersive, but also hard to read since a dictionary for this sort of thing is not really readily available with a simple google search. Alongside Old Croatian, dialogue uses latin phrases and whole sentences at times, with a given translation thankfully. The effort is admirable though, and I got used to it halfway through which made the 2nd half fly by, helped by the tension that was greatly built up from the opener itself.
"Beware of the Senj's hand", the title is so fitting for the story presented and I will be reading more of Senoa for sure, might also visit Senj this summer to see all of the ancient fortresses and landscapes that were romanticised in the book.
overall, 3.5/5, rounded up!
February 11, 2021
Great historical book about brave Croatian warriors named "Uskoci", who defended their land from Ottomans and from Venice..
August Šenoa is one of the most famous Croatian writers...
August Šenoa is one of the most famous Croatian writers...
October 2, 2025
Zanimljiva knjiga, pogotvo meni (koji voli djela povijesne tematike).
August 9, 2024
I čuvaj se senjske ruke!
Malo sam se pogubila napočetku koji su sve likovi, jer ih ima dosta, ali se da pohvatati.
Malo sam se pogubila napočetku koji su sve likovi, jer ih ima dosta, ali se da pohvatati.
July 7, 2016
knjiga je to napisana, da bi se uskoci prepoznali u narodu. Neki vjeruju da su oni barbarsko pleme, a među sobom imaju đenerale, kako u poštapalici zovu svoje pametnije. U Senju je u drugoj polovini XIX stoljeća postojala kršćanska vjera i građanstvo, a sav narod od tuđinske napasti, mletaka i turaka, branili su uskoci. Dokazano postoje narod koji je na prostorima kaštela živio prije mletačke republike. Pouka knjige je /Vanitas vanitatum vanitas!/
July 30, 2016
I like combination of history and love story. This is a book that motivates on many areas of life.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews