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Globetrotter
Displaced from his home more than twenty years ago as Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia descended into war, Serbian author David Albahari found safety in Canada, where this novel was written. In Globetrotter, Albahari deals with the bewilderments of exile and lost identity, themes he has investigated in earlier works. But in this unsettling experimental book he also enters new arenas, where sexual identity and the nature of blame and guilt attract his scrutiny.
Narrated in a single uninterrupted paragraph, the novel takes place in the late 1990s at the Banff Art Centre in the Canadian Rockies. Three men—a painter from Saskatchewan and the narrator of the tale, a writer from Serbia, and a man whose traveling Croatian grandfather long ago jotted his name in a local museum’s guest book—become acquainted, then attached, then fatally entangled. On a climactic mountain hike that seethes with jealousy, desire, shame, and guilt, each man must engage in a final struggle. Albahari seizes his reader’s attention and never yields it in this remarkable, gripping tale.
Narrated in a single uninterrupted paragraph, the novel takes place in the late 1990s at the Banff Art Centre in the Canadian Rockies. Three men—a painter from Saskatchewan and the narrator of the tale, a writer from Serbia, and a man whose traveling Croatian grandfather long ago jotted his name in a local museum’s guest book—become acquainted, then attached, then fatally entangled. On a climactic mountain hike that seethes with jealousy, desire, shame, and guilt, each man must engage in a final struggle. Albahari seizes his reader’s attention and never yields it in this remarkable, gripping tale.
- GenresFictionContemporary
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
2 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
David Albahari
113 books133 followersDavid Albahari (Serbian Cyrillic: Давид Албахари, pronounced [dǎv̞id albaxǎːriː] was a Serbian writer. Albahari wrote mainly novels and short stories. He was also a highly accomplished translator from English into Serbian.
Albahari was awarded the prestigious NIN Award for the best novel of 1996 for Mamac (Bait). He was a member of SANU (Serbian Academy Of Sciences And Arts).
Albahari was awarded the prestigious NIN Award for the best novel of 1996 for Mamac (Bait). He was a member of SANU (Serbian Academy Of Sciences And Arts).
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 4, 2019
Nekoliko zapisa iz beležnice:
Svetski putnik je treći roman Davida Albaharija koji sam pročitao (prethodno sam se neuspešno družio sa romanima Cink i Snežni čovek). Sada sa nekim stečenim iskustvom mogu da tvrdim da Albahari nije moj pisac. Svetski putnik je, pretpostavljam, najviši domet oduševljenja koji Albahari može u meni da probudi i to oduševljenje nije veliko.
Čitao Svetskog putnika u vozu, putujući obeljenim predelima. Sneg svet čini urednijim.
Roman o tri junaka. Dvojica (Danijel Atijas i Ivan Matulovic) su melodramatične papirnate prikaze. Obojici je funkcija da jadikuju. Albahari ne voli istoriju, niti mu je do nje stalo, ali mu to ne smeta da piše o junacima koji melodramatično zaključuju da se od istorije ne može pobeći. Istorija mu služi kao ulaznica, dobitni tiket, jer je najpomodinje definisati Balkan kao industriju koja prozvodi previše istorije sa kojom niko ne zna šta će.
U pauzama čitanja Snežnog čoveka i Svetskog putnika navirala su mi sećanja na moje najmilije u izbegličkim kampovima, na makarone za svaki obrok, na ruse i švabe sa osam nogu, ali i na nezaustavljivi život, život i život. Kod Albaharija izbeglištvo uvek izgleda mrtvo, svedeno na junake koji uzdišu. Albahari i nema izbegličkog iskustva. On nije emigrirao iz ratom zahvaćenog područja, već iz Zemuna. Albahari i ne piše zaista o kontuzijama izbeglištva već o bourgeois ennui, to jest, o građanskoj čami koja nosi masku ratnog izbeglištva.
Veoma mi se dopao treći junak, koji je ujedno i pripovedač. Kanadski slikar opsednut figurom Danijela Atijasa. Naglašeni homoerotizam, u isti mah stidljiv i neurotičan. Opsesiji telesnom javlja se kao kontrapunkt opsesija prazninom, koja se u vidu lajtmotiva varira kroz tekst (krivo mi je što ih nisam sve pobrojao). Voleo bih da je roman više (ili samo) o slikaru.
Svetski putnik je treći roman Davida Albaharija koji sam pročitao (prethodno sam se neuspešno družio sa romanima Cink i Snežni čovek). Sada sa nekim stečenim iskustvom mogu da tvrdim da Albahari nije moj pisac. Svetski putnik je, pretpostavljam, najviši domet oduševljenja koji Albahari može u meni da probudi i to oduševljenje nije veliko.
Čitao Svetskog putnika u vozu, putujući obeljenim predelima. Sneg svet čini urednijim.
Roman o tri junaka. Dvojica (Danijel Atijas i Ivan Matulovic) su melodramatične papirnate prikaze. Obojici je funkcija da jadikuju. Albahari ne voli istoriju, niti mu je do nje stalo, ali mu to ne smeta da piše o junacima koji melodramatično zaključuju da se od istorije ne može pobeći. Istorija mu služi kao ulaznica, dobitni tiket, jer je najpomodinje definisati Balkan kao industriju koja prozvodi previše istorije sa kojom niko ne zna šta će.
U pauzama čitanja Snežnog čoveka i Svetskog putnika navirala su mi sećanja na moje najmilije u izbegličkim kampovima, na makarone za svaki obrok, na ruse i švabe sa osam nogu, ali i na nezaustavljivi život, život i život. Kod Albaharija izbeglištvo uvek izgleda mrtvo, svedeno na junake koji uzdišu. Albahari i nema izbegličkog iskustva. On nije emigrirao iz ratom zahvaćenog područja, već iz Zemuna. Albahari i ne piše zaista o kontuzijama izbeglištva već o bourgeois ennui, to jest, o građanskoj čami koja nosi masku ratnog izbeglištva.
Veoma mi se dopao treći junak, koji je ujedno i pripovedač. Kanadski slikar opsednut figurom Danijela Atijasa. Naglašeni homoerotizam, u isti mah stidljiv i neurotičan. Opsesiji telesnom javlja se kao kontrapunkt opsesija prazninom, koja se u vidu lajtmotiva varira kroz tekst (krivo mi je što ih nisam sve pobrojao). Voleo bih da je roman više (ili samo) o slikaru.
August 20, 2021
This was a very good read. But it twisted my head in a knot and right now I wasn’t ready for being taken on a manipulative ride. (Yes there are times when I am willing to suspend skepticism to enjoy a good story, not so here). The writing is deliberately obscure, so much hidden in a very long un-broken paragraph that it seems dishonest. More was unsaid than what was explicit, and I always felt something sinister was going on in the narrator’s head, but I couldn’t put a finger on it or be called upon as a witness.
I will definitely be reading more of Albahari, for he intrigued me. It will take me a lot of effort to become a fan.
I will definitely be reading more of Albahari, for he intrigued me. It will take me a lot of effort to become a fan.
January 4, 2019
What an amazing reading experience! I was so invested in the story and the characters that I both couldn't wait to finish this book and didn't want it to end. While I am bound to forget some of the details of the story, I think that the feeling of it will stay with me for a long time
This is the first David Albahari book that I have read. I am now eager to read those of his other works that have been translated into English.
This is the first David Albahari book that I have read. I am now eager to read those of his other works that have been translated into English.
April 15, 2015
Another big Albahari success, and yet this is the first Goodreads review, nearly eight months after its publication?
It is, as they say, a novel of ideas about the immigrant experience, but that says very little about it. The novel is made special by the frame it is hung on — the narration of a Canadian painter who becomes obsessed with a Serbian writer he meets at an arts colony in Canada — and by the wandering, propulsive way in which Albahari has his narrators, including this one, tell their stories. The novel's only negative is how annoying the narrator becomes.
But otherwise, it is fascinating seeing the world through this unreliable narrator’s mind, and through him and the Serbian writer Albahari feeds the reader a stream of fascinating ideas. A 4.5, and a must for Albahari fans.
It is, as they say, a novel of ideas about the immigrant experience, but that says very little about it. The novel is made special by the frame it is hung on — the narration of a Canadian painter who becomes obsessed with a Serbian writer he meets at an arts colony in Canada — and by the wandering, propulsive way in which Albahari has his narrators, including this one, tell their stories. The novel's only negative is how annoying the narrator becomes.
But otherwise, it is fascinating seeing the world through this unreliable narrator’s mind, and through him and the Serbian writer Albahari feeds the reader a stream of fascinating ideas. A 4.5, and a must for Albahari fans.
March 3, 2015
really sad and interesting
February 12, 2024
This is madness, an exceptional
August 27, 2021
The book definitely took me to a whole new world and if you see that with the portrayal of an immigrant’s struggle, it absolutely painted a marvellous picture of an unapologetic truth. I enjoyed the honesty that I perceived among the words of Albahari’s work but found it difficult to connect with the what I think were opinions present on multicultural lifestyles.
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August 16, 2015
Its very cool when you realize that this is a love story
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews