SARAJEVO: SURVIVAL GUIDE text by Miroslav...

SARAJEVO: SURVIVAL GUIDE text by Miroslav Prstojevic, translated from the Serbo-Croatian by Aleksandra Wagner with Ellen Elias-Bursac, photographs by Zeljko Puljic (Workman: $10; 96 pp., paperback original). In this mordant spoof, the members of the artist’s group FAMA juxtapose the blithely upbeat tone of a Michelin guide with the cruel realities of life under siege. In the section on “Drinking & Eating,” the authors remark, “People are healthy, in spite of everything, for no one eats animal fat anymore, nor cheese--meals are made without eggs, without milk, onions, meat, vegetables. We eat a precious mix of wild imagination.” The stark color photographs show once-lovely buildings in ruins, blood literally flowing in cobblestone streets and people engaged in desperate efforts to obtain water, food and fuel. The royalties from this darkly funny portrait will be used to help the displaced children of Sarajevo and other cultural projects.