Chapters 17-18 Summary

From the turn of the 20th century, the outside world creeps in on Višegrad through new religious and national parties, newspapers, cultural organizations, and students returning from Vienna and Prague on vacation. Socialism and the "agrarian problem" are debated. Within the daily rituals of coffee, tobacco, and plum brandy, bold new words are heard and men shift friendships. Political change in Serbia and Turkey are felt, as the gendarmes are increased and a special Information Officer installed. Time seems to move faster; exciting news is no longer rare.

In October of 1908, Alihodja is returning from noon prayer when he sees people on the kapia hearing read an imperial proclamation and recalls his earlier humiliation. The Government is giving Bosnia and Herzegovina a happy future through full equality and protection under the law. Alihodja knows that such "imperial words" hide behind...