Labirintski znakovni svijet u fantastičkoj prozi Lađa od vode Pavla Pavličića

A b s t r a c tSIGNS OF A LABYRINTH IN THE FANTASTIC SHORT STORYCOLLECTION LAĐA OD VODE (BOAT MADE OF WATER) BY PAVAOPAVLIČIĆSince the new edition of Pavličić’s short story collection Lađa od vode (Boat Madeof Water) was relatively recently published under the auspices of the art collectivethat bears the same title as Pavličić’s collection, it is worthwhile to examine themost significant narrative devices of this work, that originally appeared in 1972,alongside some other important Yugoslav fantasy works (Zavjera kartografa/Conspiracyof the Cartographers by Goran Tribuson; Talhe ili Šedrvanski vrt/Talha or theShadirvan Garden by Irfan Horozović; Noćni fijaker/Nocturnal Hansom Cab by VladoUrošević). As a collection of fantastic prose, Boat Made of Water brings together aseries of poetic devices that could be termed as mysterious, mystical and irrational.Pavličić sees a literary work as a linguistic sign. He problematizes communication,the system of signs and the possibility of a dialogue with the reader. This paperpoints out the importance features of his work whose reception has been ongoingfor the past almost thirty years. In that regard, the collection is discussed as a literaryparadigm of postmodernist fantasy.Keywords: fiction, labyrinth, palimpsest, Pavao Pavličić, Italo Calvino, Jorge LuisBorges