Infidelities: Stories of War and Lust

by Josip Novakovich

Tragicomedy of the highest order, this stellar collection is Croatian writer Novakovich's best ever. Hailed as one of the best short story writers of the 1990s, Josip Novakovich was praised by the New York Times for writing fiction that has "the crackle of authenticity, like the bite of breaking glass." In his new collection, he explores a war–torn Balkan world in which a schoolchild's innocence evaporates in a puff of cannon smoke, lust replaces love, and the joy of survival overrides all other pleasures. As Serb, Croat, and Bosnian Muslim armies clash in the cities and countryside of the former Yugoslavia, it's hard to tell the front lines from the home front. The characters in Infidelities––soldiers and civilians alike––are caught in the ridiculous, often cruelly whimsical contradictions of war and the paranoia and folly of those who conduct it. In "Ribs," a Croatian woman whose husband has already been taken by the war will go to any length to keep her son out of the army, including sleeping with the draft officer, a tryst that leads to an unexpected, and disturbing, spiritual vision. A Buddhist soldier in the Bosnian Muslim military isly accused of being an informer to the enemy Serbs after his detachment ambushes itself in "Hail." A draft dodger is in the hospital for a transplant, in "A Purple Heart," when a high–ranking Croatian general steals the heart for himself (and dies) while the dodger suddenly discovers a new thirst for life. In "Spleen," a Bosnian émigré in America learns that even in the throes of passion she cannot find release from the haunting memories of her homeland. These stories cover a broad sweep of time, reaching back to the first shots of World War I in Sarajevo and forward to the plight of Balkan immigrants in contemporary America. Throughout, acts of compassion, gallows humour, even desire arise from a landscape devastated by tragedy.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, War, Literature

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Josip Novakovich (Croatian: Novaković) is a Croatian-American writer. His grandparents had immigrated from the Croatia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to Cleveland, Ohio, and, after the First World War, his grandfather returned to what had become Yugoslavia. Josip Novakovich was born (in 1956) and grew up in the Central Croatian town of Daruvar, studied medicine in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad. At the age of 20 he left Yugoslavia, continuing his education at Vassar College (B.A.), Yale University (M.Div.), and the University of Texas, Austin (M.A.).

He has published a novel (April Fool's Day), three short story collections (Yolk, Salvation and Other Disasters, Infidelities: Stories of War and Lust), two collections of narrative essays (Apricots from Chernobyl, Plum Brandy: Croatian Journey) and a textbook (Fiction Writer's Workshop).

Novakovich has taught at Nebraska Indian Community College, Bard College, Moorhead State University, Antioch University in Los Angeles, the University of Cincinnati, and is now a professor at Pennsylvania State University.

Mr. Novakovich is the recipient of the Whiting Writer's Award, a Guggenheim fellowship, two fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, an award from the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. He was anthologized in Best American Poetry, Pushcart Prize, and O.Henry Prize Stories.

He taught in the Master's of Fine Arts program at Pennsylvania State University, where he lived under the iron rule of Reed Moyer's Halfmoon Township autocracy. He is currently in Montreal, Quebec teaching at Concordia University.

Reviews

[Temz · Rating 5 out of 5]

И все пак, Йосип Новакович не преде нишката на една лека сюжетна линия. Той нюансира, нагнетява, натъжава. И изпраща отвъд копнежа за отмъщение, отвъд мечтата за прошка.
Историите в „Предателства“ се носят из въздуха като снежнобели „пера на гугутка“. Галят погледа, преди да одерат безмилостно окото.
http://knijno.blogspot.bg/2016/09/blo...

[Ива Попова · Rating 3 out of 5]

.. не помнеше образи, само идеята за образи ...

Продължавам да си повтарям тези думи и след затварянето на последната страница от сборника "Предателства" на Йосип Новакович.
Това малко и изключително красиво издание на ICU, оформено от Дамян Дамянов, е посветено на разпада на Югославия - на войната, водила се толкова близо до нас, но и образите, спомените и белезите, останали след нея.
Йосип Новакович е роден в Югославия, но от двайсетгодишен отива да живее в САЩ. На Балканите се връща често в ролята на журналист, което му дава един "стерео поглед" върху войната - хем отвътре, хем отвън, както самият той казва. И това личи и в този сборник.
Чрез на пръв поглед самостоятелните истории, събрани тук, Новакович търси човешкото (както един от неговите герои търси сърце) - в тъжните, но и комични ситуации. А по този начин той успява да заличи териториалните и времеви граници. Защото войната не се води просто на една територия с ясни граници, не се води само между датите на обявяването и прекратяването на военните действия, а се води между хората, а и в самите тях през цялото време.
Всеки разказ е "отделен свят, надзъртане към света, нещо, за което да говорим", както пише и Новакович в предговора към българското издание.

[Angelina · Rating 2 out of 5]

B/n 2 and 3 stars. A somewhat uneven collection that left me mostly underwhelmed and glad when it was finally over. The stories that I liked more were about the war conflicts in former Yugoslavia and the absurdities/atrocities of war that turn people's life upside down and bring the worst in human nature. Yet, there was something in the way they were written that wasn't enough for me and even they left me mostly indifferent. Some of the others stories I found quite boring, to be honest.
As the author says himself in 59th Parallel:
"What do you write about?" she asked.
"Half of my writing is about the wars in the former Yugoslavia, and the other half is... well I don't know what it's about and I don't really care."

Well, I didn’t care much either.
Also, while reading the stories in this collection I couldn't help comparing them to Miljenko Jergovic's stories, which in my opinion are much, much better.

[Христо Блажев · Rating 4 out of 5]

Предателства и спасения: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/p...

А тя, третата, има достойнството да не разказва страховити истории и дори далеч не е само за войната в Югославия, но я засяга в най-хубавите разкази. Новакович е избрал по-трудното – да опише реалността на войната през по-обикновени, но не по-малко въздействащи истории, но и да излезе хронологически от военните години, да опише какво се случва сетне. Не е избрал трагично-драматичен тон, позволява на естествения човешки хумор да избуява дори там, където привидно не би трябвало да има почва за него. Допадна ми и че не се е центрирал само върху последната война, а хвърля поглед и назад, например в разказа “Марката”, разказващ за един от съратниците на Гаврило Принцип и неговата съдба.

ICU - publishing, translation, scouting
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/p...

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always difficult to rate short story collections because the stories and characters are so different. Some stories, like "Spleen" was a five-star for me, others not really my favorite. Yet what's unique about this collection is the binding theme, the different, yet similar characters and their similar motives. Novakocih was voted one of the best short story writers of the 90s, his prose is simple and elegant. One of the things he does best with his characters is inner dialogue, where you really get to visit the mind of the character as the story progresses.

This collection is about the weird nature of war, the grotesque and comical, and the choices that people have to make during war. Using his Croatian background, Novakovich revisits the war and the atmospheric tensions Croatian Serbs experienced.

A woman in "Ribs" has to have sex with an army officer in exchange for his protection of her son who she doesn't want to go to war. While in bed, she learns that her husband was killed while serving with this man and she has a mental lapse. Even in the middle of all that, is comedy as the woman undresses and thinks about her shaved legs, "she hadn't yielded to the American pressure to shave her legs. Coco-Cola could have us by the throat, NATO could blast the hell out of the region if it wanted, but Gillette and Sharon Stone would not get to her, would not possess her hairs and scrape her skin with blades."

"Spleen" was a sensual story about a Bosnian woman in exile. I was captivated by each word.

"59th Parallel" in the wake of 911, two people meet again on a subway train: a writer and a real estate agent he has a crush on.

11 stories, all somewhat sexual in tone, all dealing with the immigrant and exile experience, all with "choices" as an underlying theme.

[Nadya Trifonova-Dimova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Интелигентен автор с доста конкретни идеи и пъстри, убедителни и интересни персонажи, оцеляващи и оцелели на фона на войната от близкото минало. Кошмар на една ръка разстояние. Благодаря на ICU за издаването й :)

[Vanya Prodanova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Обожавам къси разкази. Не съм сигурна защо, но незавършеността им страшно много ме привлича. А и в 90% от случаите късите разкази не завършват добре. Та, вероятно песимистично настроената ми душа е много щастлива и затова така харесва разкази. :)

Досега не бях попадала на нищо, което да представя събитията от военния период на Балканите. Имам някакви бегли спомени от новините за някои моменти, но нищо конкретно. Истината е, че и никога не съм се интересувала и не ми е било любопитно, а и животът ми да зависи от това, няма да мога да подредя нито едно събитие в правилния му ред. Така, че ясно колко ми е интересна темата.

Честно казано, представят си доста по-различни тези разкази, но Новакович пише много красиво, на моменти приятно цинично и саркастично, та ми беше лесно да простя тази малка подробност и да се радвам на разказите за това, което са. :)

[Елвира · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Градушка“, „Пурпурно сърце“, „Снежен прах“ и „Ребра“ ми харесаха много, но всичко останало (други седем разказа) не е моят тип. Като цяло очаквах повече „югославскост“ (от времето на войната), но някак тези разкази са писани за чужденци, по-специално американци. Което винаги ми се е струвало като един вид грабителство... а в „обичайните“ истории не намерих абсолютно нищо интересно.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/4 stars

[Yoana Dacheva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Разказите му определено доказват, че усещането за разказа и неговите нюанси се добиват в същината му. Финалът е просто елемент от разказа, но не е носителят на същината. Смело мога да нарека сборника дори нещо "свежо" предвид тежките теми, от които са заимствани идеите. Чувството за хумор гали окото. Разказът е гъвкав и заинтригува, грабна интереса ми от първия до последния.

[Stamen Stoev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Човек не трябва да забравя, че човешките съдби са уникални, а често са и тъжни.

[Elena Petrova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Много нежни ми се видяха разказите, макар декорът най-често да бе ужасяваш. Странно колко естествено може да изглежда животът дори на толкова неестествен фон.

[Totochelamouche · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I went back to the kitchen and prepared some cappuccino, letting it hiss and spit like an angry cat, although it would be hard to imagine a cat being that angry with milk."

"He thought it strange that what meditation hadn't managed to accomplish, the concussion combined with torture and threat of shooting did: perfect equanimity, ataraxia of the mind."

"But as they walked away, even the police taunted them. "How can you go to Clinton's church?" That's what the locals now called the Baptist church."

"Would not the world be beautiful without electricity?"

"If the mountain belonged to hawks, wolves, boar, and foxes, and he were the only human being around, he'd be free to roam, to drink from clean brooks, never to speak again, never to exchange lies and friendly fire of one kind or another; then he could indeed be spiritual."

"Who knows, Mira thought as she sipped more of her muddy espresso, what he lived for."

"Remember in the sixties there were books all over Sarajevo about herb healing, meditation, Buddhism, astral projection, and so on. All that stuff came from Belgrade."

"He concluded that the two sections hadn't attacked the Serbs but each other."

"Delighting in the shushing sound of the downpour, Haris remembered one of the early Buddhist suttas: "I am free from anger, free from stubbornness; I am living for a night on the banks of the Mahi; my house is roofless, the fire is extinguished. Rain on now, O cloud, if you will!""

"Life unavoidably ends in the worst-case scenario - disease and death. So how's one to be optimistic?"

"Maybe there would be a trap in Branko's place - maybe a couple of thugs would knock him down. Sure, they were friends, but this was a new world; what was more important, friendship or patriotism? How could you trust anybody anymore?"

"He nearly backed into his neighbor, a retired math teacher, who had limped from the blind spot, obviously fully expecting the advantages accorded to pedestrians by law and order, as though any law and order had remained."

"I still hoped to die, but could not die. I was too weak to die."

"No matter what they did to me, they could not take away my heroic deed. I didn't need to accomplish anything anymore. This was it. This was better than getting a doctorate or an Olympic medal."

"I like this Anglo-Saxon personal space, but naturally, a fresh arrival from Bosnia wouldn't understand the space and would find it cold and standoffish."

"Actually, since we didn't use to have refrigerators in the Balkans, we customarily overgrilled meat, to make sure to kill all the bacteria."

[Diana Pavlova · Rating 5 out of 5]

На война като на война в тази книга, проникновена, изключителна, с целия пръснат мозък и чакана любов в нея. Истински разказвач е Новакович и е написал смели и силни разкази. Докато ги четем, сме добри и зли, по силата на простата човешка неизбежност, която ще ни кара винаги да воюваме, да обичаме и да споделяме всичко - и злостта, и болката, и нуждата. Така чувстваме войната, дори и да не сме я живели. Сюжетите на Снежен прах, Градушка и Ребра ме впечатлиха най-много, необикновени са по своему - хем стягащи гърдите, хем притегателни.

"Случваше се да се молят дори с думите: "Господи, нека не е вярно, че синовете ни са загинали в Приедор миналия септември", сякаш Бог можеше да се върне назад във времето, и в случай че синовете им действително са загинали, да ги възкреси още преди Второто пришествие и да им позволи, в тази прекроена версия на миналото и настоящето, да дойдат в Нови Сад и да приемат Словото Божие. В тази космология всичко можеше да се случи и в бъдещето, и в миналото, двете бяха от един и същ вид етер, който можеше да се лее и назад, и напред, както водата в океаните тече в различни течения, на север и на юг, едновременно в зависимост от дълбочината у температурата, и част от водата дори се издига в небето, а друга пада надолу и потъва под земята, за да бликне наново на повърхността и да се изпари, та може би по същия начин кръвта на убитите синове можеше да се надигне от праха, да увие костите и да се превърне в жива плът. В евангелските видения е по-бързо и по-лесно да пътуваш във времето, отколкото в теорията на относителността, а смърт и живот се превръщат взаимозаменяеми концепции. Никой не е мъртъв задълго и никой не е жив задълго".

Кой кого предава на война? Всеки, най-вече себе си. Прочетете тази книга.

[Гергана · Rating 3 out of 5]

Приключвам към 170та страница.
Честно казано имах големи очаквания - заради издателството.
Очакванията не се оправдаха.
Първо, да четеш книга за югославските войни по време на войната в Украйна е един особен вид мазохизъм, на който от време на време се поддавам.
Обаче всички разкази, които прочетох, ми дойдоха доста плоски и в един и същ модел: трагизма на етническите сърби в Хърватия, които изведнъж вече нямат доверие на околните, нищо че са израснали заедно..
Неправдоподобни ми дойдоха на места.
И накрая "Среднощни посетители" не ми изглежда на място в подборката.
Ако сте напрегнати от политическите и военните новини, не препоръчвам тази книга.

[Edward Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The infidelities in life are not always between between spouses and lovers as this book points out. In Josip's stories told here they are the gaps between neighbors, soldiers and leaders, religion in war torn Yugoslavia mostly between Serbs and Bosnians.

Highly recommend this book.

[Bogdan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novakovich is my favorite author of short stories among modern, contemporary writers.

[Ari Raliegh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Hilarious, raw, fantastic. Must read

[Vanessa Fabiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

A knack for writing violent encounters without sliding into sentimentalism or moral posturing. The low key, almost casual tone of the writing effectively heightens the brutality of events. It generates a sort of cognitive dissonance in the reader. Not dissimilar to what must be going on in the minds of the characters, whether victims or perpetrators or both.

[Charlsie Doan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm appreciating collections of short stories more and more, especially when they all share a theme. These were a little weird--some were heavier on the "war," some were heavier on the "lust" in a weird way, but the writing itself was beautiful.

[Fallen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a writer, Novakovich evokes a sense of time and place; however, he reads a bit disjointed when it comes to characterizations. He puts forth plausible personalities which come off as perfunctory since he rarely delves into them. There are some great setups here and interesting, sometimes invaluable insights via internalizing. The frustration is that these insights are not fruitful. They may be rueful, reminiscent, or infectious; but Novakovich leaves them too open which disables closure. I read these stories in awe of the pacing and prose, but that did not compensate for my longing underlain in each narrative. I wanted to see these characters conclude via comeuppance or conveyance (re: motives).

[Poupeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are each amazing in their own way.
And many lessons there to be learnt for story writing about the balance of action, thoughts, dialogue, imagery, details...
And the interviews at the end of this edition are quite interesting as well.

These dark funny humane stories and the like, such as those by Hemon in The Question of Bruno, and by Jean-Euphèle Milcé in the novella, The Alphabet of the Night, have brought me more understanding and sympathy of nations in war and turmoil than many journalistic work I've read about them.
All my thanks to the authors who go through the pain to create them, because without feeling the pain one can't bring it to the page.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seemed like it took me a long time to read this collection of short stories. In some ways, short stories are more difficult to me than a novel, especially to read continuously. The nature of a collection of stories, make me start and stop. That said, I did like this book and Novakovich's writing. Though sometimes brutal and even crude, these stories are beautiful, meaningful prose.

[David Gallin-Parisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check the subtitle. Croatia, Bosnia, and what's now those lands are explored along with New York CIty and other connected locations. Characters pushed to their limit, yet strangely calm. Recommended if you like R. Crumb's sexually fantasizing comics and war story sobering realizations. And dirty jokes, wrong jokes, or just people drinking a bunch and telling jokes together.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Points for an interesting, personal look into the years (and years) of Croat-Serb-Bosnian conflict, previously mostly foreign to me. Minus points for having just read David Means and the stories couldn’t really compare. So really the minus points are all my fault.

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Difficult read set in Balkans... Very dark side of humanness. Was ready for book to end.

[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. Really hit and miss. I sort of liked the few stories written from the POV of an alienated Yugoslav emigre better than those directly from the war zones.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked some stories better than others, especially The Bridge Under the Danube. The ones set in (former) Yugoslavia were better than the emigre ones, in my opionion.

[Susan]

Meh. I couldn't really get into it. The title is honestly better than the first half of this book...

[Jan Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another incredible book by Novakovich. His short stories, set primarily in Croatia, excellently convey the personal experiences of living in a war zone.