"This is a strong collection, and I look forward to reading the others in the series. I’d also happily read more." -- Lizzie Siddall This volume brings together six unique female voices: Magdalena Blazevic, Tatjana Gromaca, Vesna Peric, Natali Spasova, Sonja Zivaljevic and Ana Svetel from six countries that were part of Yugoslavia until the early 1990s. Elements of a common history shine through in this smorgasbord of classic short stories, travel writing, diarylike accounts and stand-alon...

New Year's Eve. The last day of the last year of human existence. A high-ranking minister criss-crosses the city with blood on his hands, a dying necrophile attempts to go clean before God, and a traumatized nurse is pressured into keeping a powerful secret. With undisguised glee, a nameless narrator unravels these twisted tales of moral turmoil, all of which are brought to an abrupt close by a cataclysmic collision of time and space. What will remain on New Year's Day? An exhilarating, pr...

The first of Robert Perisic’s novels to be translated into English, Our Man in Iraq gets to the heart of life made and remade by war and serves as an unforgettable introduction to a vibrant voice from Croatia that's filled with characteristic humor and insight.2003: As Croatia lurches from socialism into globalized capitalism, Toni, a cocky journalist in Zagreb, struggles to balance his fragile career, pushy family, and hotheaded girlfriend. But in a momen...

In his novel The Eighth Wonder of the World, Plevnes takes his dark sense of humor and undeniable wit on a search for a common ground in an uncommon world. His protagonist Alexander Simsar, during the last 3.3 seconds of his life in Berlin in 1989 (weeks before the fall of Berlin Wall), envisions the creation of a monument—an eighth wonder of the world—that would embrace humanity in all its layers and countenances. In this absurdist novel, Plevnes invents a utopia that unites many...

A subtle exploration of identity and displacement in post-war Bosnia.Bekim Sejranovic's From Nowhere to Nowhere follows an unnamed narrator, scattered from his Bosnian hometown during the Yugoslav Wars, as he journeys through Croatia and Norway. He grapples with reclaiming a sense of self that feels perpetually out of reach.From childhood soccer games on Unity Street to Muslim funerals, interpreting for Balkan refugees, and navigating complex relat...

A family unravels amidst war and mental illness in 1990s Croatia.As Yugoslavia crumbles, so does Mother. Ostracized for her Serbian background, her bright cheer darkens with mental illness, devouring her family. Through her daughter's wry perspective, Divine Child reveals the forces shaping individuals during economic crisis and rabid nationalism.This survival narrative explores family secrets, identity, and resilience. What happens when a mother's...

Wryly incisive stories from a major contemporary Croatian voice.Robert Perišić is celebrated for his novels, but his short stories first garnered recognition, establishing him as a vital voice in Croatian literature. Horror and Huge Expenses showcases Perišić's ability to capture a wide range of experiences with humor and sharp insight.From tragic ethnic conflicts to the absurdities of globalism, Perišić fearlessly explores failure and loss, findin...

There is nothing easy about being the Minister of Culture of Montenegro— but the next nine days for Valentin Kovacevic will be especially difficult. During an artist' s performance, he has accidentally killed her, and now, if he hopes to preserve both his position and his sanity, he must navigate the murky corridors of government bureaucracy, cultural expectations, and relentless family pressures. The Minister, winner of the 2020 European Union Prize for Literature, is a darkly satirical p...

Nobody knows Bangkok like Royal Thai Police Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, and there is no one quite like Sonchai: a police officer who has kept his Buddhist soul intact-more or less-despite the fact that his job shoves him face-to-face with some of the most vile and outrageous crimes and criminals in Bangkok. But for his newest assignment, everything he knows about his city-and himself-will be a mere starting point.He's put in charge of the highest-profile criminal case in Thaila...

“Absurdistan is not just a hilarious novel, but a record of a particular peak in the history of human folly. No one is more capable of dealing with the transition from the hell of socialism to the hell of capitalism in Eastern Europe than Shteyngart, the great-great grandson of one Nikolai Gogol and the funniest foreigner alive.”–Aleksandar HemonFrom the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of The Russian Debutante’s Handbook comes the uproarious and po...

Travel in the entertaining company of a man made of equal parts bullshit and inspiration, in what is ultimately a twisted panegyric to the power of strange music to change people from the inside outAt turns funny and strangely sobering, this "found memoir" is a picaresque tale of inspired, heroic deceit, incompetence, and -- just possibly -- triumph. Follow the flailing escapades of maverick music manager Campbell Ouiniette at the Calgary Folk Festival, as he leaves a trail of empt...

The acclaimed author of The Lazarus Project revisits his youth in Sarajevo and recounts his adjustment to life in North America in this emotional memoir.A Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle AwardA Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2013Aleksandar Hemon's lives begin in Sarajevo, a small, blissful city where a youn...