David Albahari: Gold Fish (excerpt in English)

Gold Fish

No, the spirits will never rest as far as Ilija is concerned. For some he is
mainly an eminent writer, but for others, and there are more and more of
these, he is one thing only, a traitor to his country. At the funeral, Veljko,
Ilija’s neighbor, was thinking, how strange that in one case it’s acceptable to
forgive and forget what were truly reprehensible actions, while for some-
one like Ilija there is no erasing a blot even though no one can remember
precisely how it came about. Even Ilija was no longer sure what he was
being blamed for, but he bowed his head, all those years, and resigned
himself to suffering with the burden of the affront.

Translated by Ellen Elias Bursać
(source: Vilenica Almanac 2012)