Leeches Quotes

“Ono što je jednom ispričano ne može nikada više da se ponovi. Ono što se jednom desilo, desilo se zauvek.”
― David Albahari, Leeches

“Which war are you referring to, I asked, when you say the "last"? I meant the big one, the world war, he answered, because little ones, like ours, don't count as real wars. For those who are no longer alive, I said, every war is real. That is correct agreed Isak Levi, but a local war is actually abuse of the noun war, since it is most often armed conflict of limited intensity being waged on limited territory. Of course, he said, most of the conflicts registered in history belong to that category, I admit, and there are few wars that were truly grandiose. You speak of wars, I said, at least of the big ones, as though you admire them, and I see no justification for that. He saw no reason to admire them either, Isak Levi replied, but if they did exist, there was no point in closing one's eyes to the fact.”
― David Albahari, Leeches

“Međutim, onaj ko ne voli pripadnike drugih naroda, ne voli, naglasio sam, ni svoj narod, te ako kažem da ne volim strance, ja u isto vreme priznajem da živim u praznini, lišen bilo čije ljubavi. A onaj u kome nema ljubavi, ni podarene ni ponuđene, taj i više nije ljudsko biće, jer ljubav je ono što nas definiše u sistemu prirode koju nastanjujemo.”
― David Albahari, Leeches

“History is not a novel that unfolds according to established rules. But it is also not a book, rejoined Isak Levi, that can be leafed through now from the beginning, then from the end.”
― David Albahari, Leeches