One of the major works of modern Macedonian literature, Black Seed is a brutal, unflinching novel of imprisonment, identity and survival.

First published in 1966 and long regarded as a classic in the Balkans, the novel draws on the turbulent aftermath of the Second World War, when borders, loyalties and ethnic identities became matters of life and death.

The story follows a group of Macedonian prisoners held in a Greek detention camp, where they are subjected to violence, humiliation and relentless pressure to renounce their language, culture and sense of belonging. Yet Black Seed is less a conventional political novel than an examination of what remains when every external marker of identity is stripped away. Georgievski writes with remarkable restraint, allowing the horror of the situation to emerge through the daily rhythms of camp life, acts of resistance, and moments of unexpected tenderness. It becomes a study of exile, memory and the fragile persistence of human dignity under systems designed to erase it. Readers of Ismail Kadare, Danilo Kiš, Herta Müller or Aleksandar Hemon will find much to admire here.

An uncommon Australian edition from Politecon Publications, translated by Elizabeth Kolupacev Stewart. A significant work from a literary tradition still far too absent from English-language bookshelves.

Paperback, 1996. Very good condition with light shelf wear and a clean, tight text block.