Buri i Englezi

Boers and Englishmen is a famous humorous story by Stevan Sremac, based on real events during the Second Boer War (1899–1902). Sremac masterfully depicts the life of the small Serbian town world – taverns, families and everyday life.

The main character, the owner Radisav, follows the news from South Africa with his friends over brandy in the tavern "Kod ruske krune". The Boers become "ours" to them – a brave little people fighting against the powerful Englishmen, whom they identify with Turks.

World politics enters the province through a naive, emotional filter: children play "Boers and Englishmen", women argue at home, and men argue and bet in the tavern. Humor arises from lively dialogues, family conflicts and the disproportion between the distant war and local experiences.

Sremac does not mock his characters maliciously, but with warmth and mild irony. The story is a classic example of his style: rich vernacular, precise descriptions and depiction of the Serbian mentality – solidarity with small nations, kafan patriotism and the ability to turn great history into personal entertainment.

Boers and the English still seems fresh today because it deals with eternal themes: how ordinary people experience great events and how humor is born from human weaknesses.