The Inner Side of the Wind, or the Novel of Hero a

Like his cleverly designed Dictionary of the Khazars , which was printed in both male and female versions, Serbian writer Pavic's lyrical and brooding new work is inventively structured. It consists of two surrealistic and remarkably beautiful stories: ``Hero'' begins, conventionally, at the front of the book, and ``Leander'' begins when the book is turned over and opened at the ``back'' cover. The two are linked by bits and pieces of Greek myth . Pavic's Leander, born in the 17th century, works as a merchant, traveling between Belgrade and Constantinople. He is inducted into a monastic order and eventually gains renown as the builder of a fantastic tower at the Sava Gate in Belgrade. Landscapes are rendered desolate by pillaging Austrian and Turkish armies, and Leander is killed during a bloody battle--elements that resonate strongly and bitterly today. ``Hero,'' set in the 1920s and '30s, describes a Serbian chemistry student who is eventually murdered by her jealous lover. Like Leander, Hero lives with foreknowledge of her death. Pavic has masterfully combined many facets of the Serbian psyche in this polished work. (May)