MAPIRANjE PROSTORA DETINjSTVA U ROMANU „DEČAK I DRUGA PRIČA“ DAMIRA JOCIĆA

It is often overlooked that the space of a novel is not merely a physical (named) setting — a stage for events — but also a social space in the sense understood by Bourdieu. This social space consists of multiple, non-homogeneous fields of institutional, social, or private action (e.g. home, school, department store, cemetery, etc.). The changes in these fields, marked by their conquest and abandonment, define the narrative structure of the literary work. This paper explores how physical spaces are imbued with meaning in A Boy and Another Story (Dečak i druga priča), ranging from intimate, personal spaces of childhood (house, yard, basement, pantry) to broader environments (village, forest, abandoned mine, city, Yugoslavia), and finally to socio-cultural spaces (village school, city, zoo, department store, restaurant — spaces of abundance, etc.). These spaces not only reflect the protagonist’s maturation but also represent initiation rites. Cultural (and geographical) spaces often demarcate the boundaries of semantic fields and the semiosphere. The journey across these boundaries — from the center to the periphery — marks the cognitive adventure of growing up, which is intricately linked to the ritual of social initiation. Damir Jocić’s novel, though narrated in the third person, offers a deeply personal, intimate, and subjective portrayal of childhood, with a unique, Felliniesque lyrical narrative style.