Because Pavic didn't just write a story about a vanished people; he wrote a book that vanishes if you try to turn it into a simple file.
There is no "correct" way to read this novel. Pavić encourages readers to: Read it from beginning to end like a standard novel.
The novel centers on the , a historical event in the 8th or 9th century where the Khazar ruler invited representatives of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism to debate their faiths. According to legend, the ruler would convert to whichever religion provided the best dream interpretation.
First published in 1984, Hazarski rečnik defied everything a novel was supposed to be. It does not have a linear plot. You do not read it from page one to page three hundred. Instead, it is presented as an encyclopedia of a vanished people, the Khazars.