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Special Needs
Ten-year-old Emil lives with his mother in a rented flat in an unnamed European city. While she works hard in a low-paid job, Emil struggles to understand school work, abstract maths and the motivations of the adults that surround him, He is a special boy who talks to some people normally while with others is fully or partially mute. His uncle Jakov thinks that everything to do with Emil is about intimacy and trust and searches for a way to get close to him, while blind Professor Antun delights in his acute, almost magical hearing abilities and the local drug dealer connives to take advantage of the boy's guilelessness.
Special Needs reads like a modern-day To Kill a Mockingbird, where the heart-breaking truth of life is narrated through the voice of an innocent child. With the perception and skill of an artist in charge of her craft, the author has created for us the unforgettable character of Emil, who understands everything and yet is so rarely understood.
Special Needs reads like a modern-day To Kill a Mockingbird, where the heart-breaking truth of life is narrated through the voice of an innocent child. With the perception and skill of an artist in charge of her craft, the author has created for us the unforgettable character of Emil, who understands everything and yet is so rarely understood.
- GenresFiction
220 pages, Paperback
Published September 6, 2021
2 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
Lada Vukić
7 books5 followersRođena je u Zadru 1962. godine. Radi u Financijskoj agenciji Zadar na poslovima računovodstva. Završila je Gimnaziju "Juraj Baraković" i srednju Glazbenu školu "Blagoje Bersa". Za svoje kratke priče osvojila je više nagrada, između ostalih Ulaznica 2011., Pričigin 2012., PitchWise 2012. Ušla je i u uži izbor Večernjakove književne nagrade 2013. Priče su joj objavljenje u više časopisa i na portalima Kritična masa, Književnost uživo te u zbornicima Gradske knjižnice Samobor, Sušičke kronike i Pod krovom stare knjižnice. Povremeno piše i bajke za djecu, od kojih joj je jedna dramatizirana i čitana na Hrvatskom radiju u emisiji "Priče za laku noć".
2016. godine je s Ivicom Ivaniševićem podijelila nagradu V.B.Z.-a i Tisak medije za najbolji neobjavljeni roman (za roman Specijalna potreba).
2016. godine je s Ivicom Ivaniševićem podijelila nagradu V.B.Z.-a i Tisak medije za najbolji neobjavljeni roman (za roman Specijalna potreba).
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 9, 2020
Iskreno preporučam. Autorica se dotakla teških tema i prezentirala ih bez zadrške. Na trenutak sam pomislila da joj je zanimanje povezano s djecom s teškoćama ili njihovim roditeljima te sam se iznenadila kad sam otkrila da nije niti blizu. Jako lijepo je prikazala, nažalost, još uvijek tešku okolinu te djece, a sve nam je to dodatno približila koristeći se hrvatskim, odnosno dalmatinskim narječjem kod pojedinih likova. Emil je predivan lik koji će vas zasigurno dotaknuti. A moja nada je da će vas dotaknuti i njegova okolina - jer kad bi se okolina osvijestila možda ne bi više bila tako bešćutna.
September 11, 2021
My name is Emil and I'm ten years old. The same as the number of fingers I have when I count them one by one, hiding my hands under my school desk and counting. I don't know what will happen when I reach eleven. I don't mean fingers, I mean eleven years of age. How will I count then? The teacher says that fingers have nothing to do with counting. You think with your head, not with your fingers. But that's the only way I know how to count. I do know how to describe the number eleven, though. It's two ones standing next to each other. Like two of Emil's drooping heads. Like most of my low scores in assessment.
Special Needs has been translated from Specijalna potreba, the debut novel of Croatian author Lada Vukić, by Christina Pribićević-Zorić, best known to me as the translator of the incredible Dictionary of the Khazars.
The novel is narrated by Emil, a 10-year-old boy with the special needs of the title. Mentally he suffers from selective mutism and, to the reader, also it appears autistic spectrum condition. Physically he needs special braced shoes, and as a result craves one day owning a pair of trainers like the other boys, resulting in his unusual hobby, of collecting used shoe boxes:
Stamps and picture cards don't have that smell of leather and rubber that lingers in cardboard boxes for a long time, and they don't have the picture of the shoes on the outside of the box. When I see the picture, I know right away what's inside. I know where you can go with them. That day, I took the professor's box straight home and put it at the back of my wardrobe with the others. Later, when I went back down again, I forgot all about his rubbish.
The hallway is quiet as I walk to the lift. Too quiet. There's only the sound of my shoes, the ones I don't like. Not because it's hard to tie the shoelaces, but...
You can't buy my shoes in a shop. They're not displayed in the shop window like other shoes. And they don't have the logo of a famous brand. I get them from Uncle Mario. So, no Nikes, no Adidas, just - Uncle Mario. And who wants shoes called Uncle Mario? I mean, nobody normal. And I'm normal, though sometimes they say I'm not. First, he makes imprints of my feet, which are then used to make the shoes. I've seen that he does the same with others, so I'm not the only one. There are others like me, with special feet. But that doesn't mean anything to me because I don't like being special, I want to be ordinary. I wish my feet were ordinary, and that I could choose the shoes I want from were the shop window. I've got nothing against Uncle Mario, but be already knows that he mustn't ever touch my feet to make a clearer imprint. Mum does that. The last time she said right in front of him that I was childish and too big to be so silly.
But Emil also has special abilities, an artistic gift unrecognised by his teacher, who is too busy trying to deal with the difficulties of fitting a child with his demands into a conventional class, and super-human hearing (he detects the early signs of his teacher's pregnancy, without realising what it is, as he can hear two heartbeats coming from her).
Meanwhile Emil's loving but long-suffering mum has to cope with Emil, as well as trying to make ends meet in the new post-Communist world, while fending off the lavaricious intentions of her boss, and getting caught up in a love triangle with Emil's class teacher and the much-admired PE teacher. Emil's aunt nags her sister to have Emil put in a home, while her husband, Emil's uncle, would happily adopt the boy himself, and the local busybody calls the social services as the slightest issue. And to cap it all, Emil is exploited as an unaware mule by a small-time drug dealer.
It makes for an interesting, and affectionately written story, although one that for me felt well-trodden ground - post Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time this has become a genre in its own right - and not terribly interesting in a purely literary sense.
2.5 stars although a book I would recommend to fans of the genre.
Special Needs has been translated from Specijalna potreba, the debut novel of Croatian author Lada Vukić, by Christina Pribićević-Zorić, best known to me as the translator of the incredible Dictionary of the Khazars.
The novel is narrated by Emil, a 10-year-old boy with the special needs of the title. Mentally he suffers from selective mutism and, to the reader, also it appears autistic spectrum condition. Physically he needs special braced shoes, and as a result craves one day owning a pair of trainers like the other boys, resulting in his unusual hobby, of collecting used shoe boxes:
Stamps and picture cards don't have that smell of leather and rubber that lingers in cardboard boxes for a long time, and they don't have the picture of the shoes on the outside of the box. When I see the picture, I know right away what's inside. I know where you can go with them. That day, I took the professor's box straight home and put it at the back of my wardrobe with the others. Later, when I went back down again, I forgot all about his rubbish.
The hallway is quiet as I walk to the lift. Too quiet. There's only the sound of my shoes, the ones I don't like. Not because it's hard to tie the shoelaces, but...
You can't buy my shoes in a shop. They're not displayed in the shop window like other shoes. And they don't have the logo of a famous brand. I get them from Uncle Mario. So, no Nikes, no Adidas, just - Uncle Mario. And who wants shoes called Uncle Mario? I mean, nobody normal. And I'm normal, though sometimes they say I'm not. First, he makes imprints of my feet, which are then used to make the shoes. I've seen that he does the same with others, so I'm not the only one. There are others like me, with special feet. But that doesn't mean anything to me because I don't like being special, I want to be ordinary. I wish my feet were ordinary, and that I could choose the shoes I want from were the shop window. I've got nothing against Uncle Mario, but be already knows that he mustn't ever touch my feet to make a clearer imprint. Mum does that. The last time she said right in front of him that I was childish and too big to be so silly.
But Emil also has special abilities, an artistic gift unrecognised by his teacher, who is too busy trying to deal with the difficulties of fitting a child with his demands into a conventional class, and super-human hearing (he detects the early signs of his teacher's pregnancy, without realising what it is, as he can hear two heartbeats coming from her).
Meanwhile Emil's loving but long-suffering mum has to cope with Emil, as well as trying to make ends meet in the new post-Communist world, while fending off the lavaricious intentions of her boss, and getting caught up in a love triangle with Emil's class teacher and the much-admired PE teacher. Emil's aunt nags her sister to have Emil put in a home, while her husband, Emil's uncle, would happily adopt the boy himself, and the local busybody calls the social services as the slightest issue. And to cap it all, Emil is exploited as an unaware mule by a small-time drug dealer.
It makes for an interesting, and affectionately written story, although one that for me felt well-trodden ground - post Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time this has become a genre in its own right - and not terribly interesting in a purely literary sense.
2.5 stars although a book I would recommend to fans of the genre.
October 26, 2017
3.5
Dugo sam ju razvlačila iako je stilski lijepo, tečno i jednostavno pisana. Od jučer si razmišljam što reći o ovoj knjizi. Koji dojam je ostavila na mene? I nikako ništa pametnoga izmozgati. :-(
Emil kao lik mi se svidio, dječak od deset godina, iskren, znatiželjan... Mogla sam zamisliti njegov svijet kroz koji prolazi uz dijagnozu selektivnog mutizma, kao i njegovu mamu koja je uz njega na svakom koraku. Svi likovi su lijepo okarakterizirani, cijela priča je lijepo tekla, ali meni je izostala poanta. Osim ako je to pokušaj predodžbe djeteta sa specijalnim potrebama. No tada mi onda dosta događaja nisu bitni za cijelu priču. :-/
Definitivno nisam na čistu s ovom knjigom!
Dugo sam ju razvlačila iako je stilski lijepo, tečno i jednostavno pisana. Od jučer si razmišljam što reći o ovoj knjizi. Koji dojam je ostavila na mene? I nikako ništa pametnoga izmozgati. :-(
Emil kao lik mi se svidio, dječak od deset godina, iskren, znatiželjan... Mogla sam zamisliti njegov svijet kroz koji prolazi uz dijagnozu selektivnog mutizma, kao i njegovu mamu koja je uz njega na svakom koraku. Svi likovi su lijepo okarakterizirani, cijela priča je lijepo tekla, ali meni je izostala poanta. Osim ako je to pokušaj predodžbe djeteta sa specijalnim potrebama. No tada mi onda dosta događaja nisu bitni za cijelu priču. :-/
Definitivno nisam na čistu s ovom knjigom!
November 13, 2017
po prirodi sam emotivna i inace ne placem na knjige, mozda na koju su se znale "zastaklit" oci; ali ovo....prolom emocija...
July 1, 2017
Specijalna potreba by Lada Vukić
Dođe, valjda, i to vrijeme kada čovjek naleti na knjigu koju, istovremeno, želi zafitiljiti u zid, ali i čitati dalje!
Ona nepravda i ljudsko nerazumijevanje na početku romana, toliko me iziritiralo da sam se pitala : "Što me još očekuje?"
Ne volim nepravdu u bilo kojem obliku pa sam se pitala hoću li je, uopće, pročitati do kraja. Međutim, spisateljica je očito znala kada treba prestati da čitatelju ne bude previše, stoga je prešla na "bolju" stranu ljudske naravi što je mene zadržalo da knjigu, ipak, pročitam.
A kada je kraj došao... Ne, nisam se željela vratiti na početak, nego sam poželjela još! I još!
Knjigu, koja govori o nerazumijevanju, iskorištavanju, nepravdi, a s druge strane o toplim ljudskim osjećajima, svatko bi trebao pročitati. Jer, doista, ovo je :
"Hrabar i potresan tekst koji je tako napisan da čitajući ga, postajemo bolji ljudi."
Nemam više što nadodati, samo vam je želim preporučiti! Čitajte jer u vašem okruženju, možda se nalazi "netko" koga ne razumijete, a ova knjiga bi vam mogla pomoći u tome.
Osvrt by Gordana Goga Malančuk
Dođe, valjda, i to vrijeme kada čovjek naleti na knjigu koju, istovremeno, želi zafitiljiti u zid, ali i čitati dalje!
Ona nepravda i ljudsko nerazumijevanje na početku romana, toliko me iziritiralo da sam se pitala : "Što me još očekuje?"
Ne volim nepravdu u bilo kojem obliku pa sam se pitala hoću li je, uopće, pročitati do kraja. Međutim, spisateljica je očito znala kada treba prestati da čitatelju ne bude previše, stoga je prešla na "bolju" stranu ljudske naravi što je mene zadržalo da knjigu, ipak, pročitam.
A kada je kraj došao... Ne, nisam se željela vratiti na početak, nego sam poželjela još! I još!
Knjigu, koja govori o nerazumijevanju, iskorištavanju, nepravdi, a s druge strane o toplim ljudskim osjećajima, svatko bi trebao pročitati. Jer, doista, ovo je :
"Hrabar i potresan tekst koji je tako napisan da čitajući ga, postajemo bolji ljudi."
Nemam više što nadodati, samo vam je želim preporučiti! Čitajte jer u vašem okruženju, možda se nalazi "netko" koga ne razumijete, a ova knjiga bi vam mogla pomoći u tome.
Osvrt by Gordana Goga Malančuk
December 6, 2021
3.5 – 4.0 stars
I am always skeptical about child narrators, likewise narrators with some undefined emotional/cognitive impairment (which often is imagined somewhere on the autism spectrum—which is a very wide range). Put both together and the results can be a voice that is overly naive or unrealistically charmed. As the parent of two children with learning disabilities, one of whom also has mental health concerns, who has worked extensively with disabled populations from extreme physical and developmental disabilities to mental illness to a great variety of adult acquired brain injuries I entered Special Needs with caution. And was immediately drawn to the narrative voice.
Ten year-old Emil is a selectively mute child with some deformation or inflexibility in his hands and feet. His reasoning is logical to the point that he appears to others far less intelligent and intuitive than he is. He believes he has problems with abstract thinking but rather he seems to lack a certain flexibility. He also has an almost magical ability to hear which only his mother knows about. At school he is overlooked or worse. At home his mother struggles to support him on her own. A nosy neighbour, self-righteous sister, and local drug dealer add to the cast with whom Emil interacts in his own idiosyncratic way. What makes it all work is the controlled narrative, the authenticity and appeal of Emil and his unique worldview. The author, Lada Vukić, never loses the voice, and turns the story in an unexpected direction. This novel, her first, which won an award as an unpublished work, is steady, strong, and perhaps of particular interest to those who have spent time with the extraordinary ordinary people who see the world in a way that exposes truths we pretend to ignore.
An extended review can be found here: https://roughghosts.com/2021/12/06/i-...
I am always skeptical about child narrators, likewise narrators with some undefined emotional/cognitive impairment (which often is imagined somewhere on the autism spectrum—which is a very wide range). Put both together and the results can be a voice that is overly naive or unrealistically charmed. As the parent of two children with learning disabilities, one of whom also has mental health concerns, who has worked extensively with disabled populations from extreme physical and developmental disabilities to mental illness to a great variety of adult acquired brain injuries I entered Special Needs with caution. And was immediately drawn to the narrative voice.
Ten year-old Emil is a selectively mute child with some deformation or inflexibility in his hands and feet. His reasoning is logical to the point that he appears to others far less intelligent and intuitive than he is. He believes he has problems with abstract thinking but rather he seems to lack a certain flexibility. He also has an almost magical ability to hear which only his mother knows about. At school he is overlooked or worse. At home his mother struggles to support him on her own. A nosy neighbour, self-righteous sister, and local drug dealer add to the cast with whom Emil interacts in his own idiosyncratic way. What makes it all work is the controlled narrative, the authenticity and appeal of Emil and his unique worldview. The author, Lada Vukić, never loses the voice, and turns the story in an unexpected direction. This novel, her first, which won an award as an unpublished work, is steady, strong, and perhaps of particular interest to those who have spent time with the extraordinary ordinary people who see the world in a way that exposes truths we pretend to ignore.
An extended review can be found here: https://roughghosts.com/2021/12/06/i-...
November 30, 2018
Prekrasna i iznimno tužna priča. Već dugo se nisam tako isplakala čitajući nešto.
September 13, 2021
El protagonista de esta historia es Emil, un niño de 10 años que vive con su madre en un apartamento de alquiler. Mientras su madre trabaja largas horas en un empleo con un bajo sueldo, Emil tiene problemas para entender sus tareas en la escuela, donde su maestra no encuentra el tiempo ni la manera de ayudarle a integrarse con el resto de los niños.
Emil es un niño con necesidades especiales, a día de hoy diríamos que está dentro del espectro autista, además, sufre de mudismo selectivo: sólo habla con aquellos que realmente lo ven. Físicamente tiene problemas para andar, por lo que siempre lleva unos zapatos horrorosos y sueña con tener algún día un par de zapatillas deportivas blancas.
Emil interactúa con su madre, con su tía y el esposo de ella, Jakov, que estaría dispuesto a adoptar a Emil y darle la atención que necesita, y también con su vecino, el anciano y ciego profesor Antun, que le fascina el oído tan fino que tiene Emil (llega hasta darse cuenta que su maestra está embarazada, oyendo dos latidos de corazón diferentes). Ah, y también interactúa con el vendedor de drogas local, que se aprovecha de su inocencia.
Este libro, que fue donado por @istros_books para que lo leyese y comentase, me ha parecido una lectura muy tierna. Está escrito de una manera muy fluida y casi que puedo ver a Emil hablando (hablando en su interior), observando y no entendiendo el mundo que le rodea. Ojalá lo traduzcan al español, pues al menos para mí, me ha servido como bálsamo para tratar los efectos de otras lecturas menos amables.
Emil es un niño con necesidades especiales, a día de hoy diríamos que está dentro del espectro autista, además, sufre de mudismo selectivo: sólo habla con aquellos que realmente lo ven. Físicamente tiene problemas para andar, por lo que siempre lleva unos zapatos horrorosos y sueña con tener algún día un par de zapatillas deportivas blancas.
Emil interactúa con su madre, con su tía y el esposo de ella, Jakov, que estaría dispuesto a adoptar a Emil y darle la atención que necesita, y también con su vecino, el anciano y ciego profesor Antun, que le fascina el oído tan fino que tiene Emil (llega hasta darse cuenta que su maestra está embarazada, oyendo dos latidos de corazón diferentes). Ah, y también interactúa con el vendedor de drogas local, que se aprovecha de su inocencia.
Este libro, que fue donado por @istros_books para que lo leyese y comentase, me ha parecido una lectura muy tierna. Está escrito de una manera muy fluida y casi que puedo ver a Emil hablando (hablando en su interior), observando y no entendiendo el mundo que le rodea. Ojalá lo traduzcan al español, pues al menos para mí, me ha servido como bálsamo para tratar los efectos de otras lecturas menos amables.
July 10, 2017
Slomila mi je srce na tisuću komadića ova knjiga...
August 13, 2019
Iako dijelovi radnje djeluju suvišni, određene misli, njihova jednostavnost, metafore, majka koja je divna, ali i koja grijesi i izbjegavanje klasicnog happy enda zaista daju snagu ovoj knjizi. Ukupno 4,5 i preporuka od mene.
March 27, 2024
Only read first few chapters but love the humour created out of the tension between what the adults in Emil's life says (mostly his single mum) and how he interprets events and people. Classmates, his teacher and even his own mum thinks he's less intelligent, perceptive as 'normal' kids cos he is a selective mute. Sometimes he can answer but mostly he can't; though he responds quietly himself. His special gift is hearing things others can't like someone's heartbeat. An amusing example is when the gorgeous muscled PE teacher comes into the classroom and Emil hears his teacher's heart start racing. He worries that her heart might explode and cautions her aloud. Her face turns bright red from embarrassment; her infatuation is exposed in front of the class and the Adonis. She gets angry with Emil and he doesn't understand why.
Highly recommend you give it a try. It's written by an unknown Croatian writer who went on to be shortlisted for a national literary award. The dry humour which is so spot on makes his isolation and ill-treatment all the more poignant. The irony is he sees things much more sharply than anybody else but people just assume he's talking nonsense or making it up.
Highly recommend you give it a try. It's written by an unknown Croatian writer who went on to be shortlisted for a national literary award. The dry humour which is so spot on makes his isolation and ill-treatment all the more poignant. The irony is he sees things much more sharply than anybody else but people just assume he's talking nonsense or making it up.
January 25, 2018
Priča o životu dečaka koji ima teškoća u fizičkom i mentalnom razvoju i njegove majke. Dečak pati i od selektivnog mutizma, tako da njegove ideje često bivaju ismejane i loše protumačene, ponašanje neprihvatljivo, pri čemu skoro u potpunosti izostaje razumevanje okoline. Jedine osobe koje za njega u potpunosti imaju razumevanja jesu njegova majka i još nekolicina bližnjih. U takvoj situaciji psihički stradava i majka koja se zdušno bori za njihovu egzistenciju i poboljšanje njegovog zdravstvenog stanja, a pre svega socijalizaciju. Roman završava delimično tragično, smrću majke i smeštanjem dečaka u instituciju. Međutim, na samom kraju ipak se otvara tračak nade za njegov potencijalno bolji život.
Roman je lako čitljiv, sadržaj je podeljen u 18 poglavlja, font i prored su normalni, format primeren.
Roman je lako čitljiv, sadržaj je podeljen u 18 poglavlja, font i prored su normalni, format primeren.
June 17, 2020
Lijepa, topla priča pričana iz perspektive desetogodišnjaka s posebnim potrebama. Iako uglavnom šutljiv i povučen, u svojim unutarnjim monolozima i dijalozima otkriva se kao izuzetno perceptivan dječak, intuitivno svjestan mnogih stvari oko sebe. Roman je pisan jednostavno i pitko i, iako je pisan za odrasle, mislim da bi bio zanimljiv i malo osjećajnijim tinejdžerima.
July 14, 2024
Jako mi se svidja kraj knjige... Jednostavno zadnjih 30ak stranica sam progutala. Lagana za citanje i defitivno za pocetak zaljubljivanja u citanje preporucam😀
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews