April Fool's Day

by Josip Novakovich

Ivan Dolinar is born in Tito's Yugoslavia on April Fool's Day, 1948 -- the auspicious beginning of a life that will be derailed by backfiring good intentions in a world of propaganda and paranoia. At age nineteen, an innocent prank cuts the young Croatian's budding medical career short and lands him in a notorious labor camp. Released on the eve of civil war, Ivan is drafted into the wrong army, becoming a pawn in an absurd conflict in which the rules and loyalties shift abruptly and without warning. But even in a world gone mad, one course of action remains eminently sane: survival. Told with bitingly dark humor and a deep tenderness, April Fool's Day is both a devastating political satire and a razor-sharp parody of war.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, War, Humor, Novels, Canada, Literature

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

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

[Polly Roth]

Yeah not my thing. Sorry Croatia

[Doriana Bisegna · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is nothing funny about Ivan Dolinar's life and yet I chuckled all the way through. This book about life in the former Yugoslavia and all its hardships was brilliant, well written and a page turner. The author brilliantly created this character and his life and the reader is left dumbfounded. Very imaginative, quirky, sad and great fun to read because you just never knew what was going to happen to Ivan next. The last 50pgs had my finger poised at the top of the page and I was not going to let go until the end. Ivan Dolinar...it was a pleasure to meet you!

[Vasil Kolev · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of this book is too much like the life in Bulgaria before 1989 (the student dorms were almost the same, for example). The book itself has an interesting perspective of life and death and is a good window into the thinking of the people in the former Yugoslavia (at least some of them). Makes for a good reading :)

[Alfonso D'agostino · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://capitolo23.com/2018/03/18/la-v...

“Sei fuori tempo” avrebbero cantato i Rats, prima del Liga ma su testo del cantautore emiliano

…il cuore che bruciava
e poi correvo come un matto
tutti gli altri eran davanti,
cos’è che non va?
Brutta storia dico corro corro
e resto sempre in fondo
sono fuori allenamento
oppure è allenato il mondo?
Certa gente…
riesce solo a dire…
Sei fuoritempo…

E adesso che state canticchiando, vi segnalo il meraviglioso fuoritempismo di Ivan Dolinar, protagonista del romanzo di Josip Novakovich che ho scelto per la tappa croata del mio giro del mondo letterario.

Ivan Dolinar, protagonista del romanzo del croato Josip Novakovich, è un individuo che guarda in faccia gli eventi che lo sorprendono… alle spalle. Non è banalmente “in ritardo”: è “fuori tempo” – appunto – che è un concetto del tutto differente. Sbaglia sponda, è trascinando dallo scorrere della Storia, guarda e non capisce, si concretizza nel riuscire ad essere sempre dal lato sbagliato della strada, contromano in tangenziale, con un SUV su una pista ciclabile. Ivan attraversa tutta la tragica storia dei Balcani essendone inconsapevolmente protagonista: dalle macerie della seconda guerra mondiale alla costituzione della federazione titina, dal crollo dell’ideologia comunista (descritta nella sua onnipotente violazione di ogni libertà umana) al conflitto che ha insanguinato l’area e che tutti ricordiamo con orrore.

Pur non essendo indimenticabile dal punto di vista letterario, La vita fuori tempo di Ivan Dolinar ha qualcosa di Kusturica e qualcosa di Moni Ovadia, in una satira autoironica di alcuni caratteri tipicamente slavi, fino a un finale che non soddisferà tanti lettori ma che è in linea assoluta con lo sfondo candidiano (e non candido) del romanzo.

Nota finale editoriale: i volumi stampati da ISBN sono bellissimi. Adoro le copertine, l’idea del barcode, la costa colorata, la carta e il font un po’ retrò. Adorabile tutto, salvo quel sottotitolo (“Le incredibili avventure di un Forrest Gump croato”) di cui non ho trovato traccia nelle edizioni in altre lingue e che è francamente… uhm… sfortunato.

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quirky story. As I read, there were times I wondered "What is it about?" "What is Novakovich trying to say?" which sometimes made me question why I was reading it. But then I'd read on because it is a compelling mix of pathos and absurdity. By the end it had come together for me, after a twist I wasn't expecting (because I didn't read or remember the blurbs). Ultimately it has left me with a few things to ponder when I'm in a philosophical mood.

[HomeInMyShoes · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of those three and a half star books. This book had a little bit of a lot of stuff. It might even be a book on philosophy.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect blend of dark and disturbing with laugh out loud moments.

[Jan Koch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't remember the last time I picked up a novel and, quite literally, couldn't put it down. With the dark humor of Vonnegut or Joseph Heller, and an excellent ability to weave a tale of the random absurdity of life, Novakovich, drew me into this tale of Croatia - from the days of Tito to the days of the Republic. I found myself re-reading passages and pondering them. It was a fascinating look into a country where children "dig with branches into the soil for small Roman, Byzantine, Turkish, Hapsburg, Hungarian, Croatian and Yugoslavian coins" -- a place that has been conquered, independent, re-conquered, and independent, again -- a place where men like to play and women are strong. Novakovich touches on history, politics, theology, love, and life with the same depth of thought.

"That's all he's made, a point. Points can't be big. Don't you know the geometric definition of a point? Points can't add up to substance."

"That's why we grow older-- to learn, to become good, to do good at least for a few hours before the end."

[Ian · Rating 1 out of 5]

The satire in this just didn't hit the mark with me. I think it tries to cover too much ground in a short novel, from his birth in 1941 through the years of Tito's leadership, the civil war and beyond. It is at it's most effective during the civil war when the humour/satire takes a back seat and the basic narrative tells its own horrific story. During the course of the war, Ivan witnesses, commits and suffers acts of atrocity as he is forced as a Croat to fight in the Serbian army against his own people. That is absurd in and of itself. Enough said.

[Silvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the crazy story of a Croatian-born man whose life adventures will make you laugh but also describe a certain time period in all its cruelty. When trying to describe it to a friend, books by Solzhenitsyn, Vladimov and even Bulgakov came to my mind, so I can probably only describe it as Soviet humour (?); it's a book full of silly, ridiculous but cruel and so very real events.

[Zygmunt]

A ghost story so torturous it borders on being a new permutation of "Orange you glad I didn't say, 'banana?'"

[Bryan Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky story that's something of a cross between a more twee version of Kundera (a central plot point in this book revolves around something very close to that of Kundera's "The Joke") and a less breathless Bohumil Hrabal's "I Served the King of England" in its frenetic pacing and satire mixed with sincerity.

There are some genuinely funny observations, and Novakovich packs an almost counterproductive amount of events into what is a fairly short book, but I found that by the end, I was somewhat put off by what sure felt like an inconsistent level of fictionality. What starts out as a novel that hews pretty closely to a realistic story set in a real Croatia gets flipped on its head by the fact that the protagonist dies 60 pages from the end of the story and continues - living? - and visiting the people in his life as a - ghost with a tangible body? - it's not entirely clear or coherent, really.

Still, it serves as a decent primer for what happened in Yugoslavia (and, more specifically, Croatia), in the second half of the 20th Century. If that's something you're looking for.

[John Benschoter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book before a trip to Croatia then finished it during my travels. It's a darkly funny take on a terrible time in that country's history. Ivan Dolinar is born on April Fools Day during Tito's rule of Yugoslavia, and it, of course, is portentous. He is a loyal follower in love with Yugoslavia's "heroic" leader imprisoned because of something a friend does. He meets Tito while in prison--a richly comic scene with Indira Ghandi as the straight person. When released, he is pulled into the war following Tito's death, first on one side, then the other. He meets the woman who will become his wife in a scene that will eventually cause her to despise him. He is stricken with an illness that paralyzes him in such a way that everyone believes he has died. The novel plays out with Ivan trying to convince everyone he is not dead, but realizing that perhaps it is not so bad. Novakovich is a talented writer, and this may be his best work.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of a Croatian guy whose life derails more and more through one misfortune after another. Except that it starts out hilarious and then turns the main character into an absolutely despicable man who is at fault for each misfortune that happens to him.

Sure, it's all an allegory for Yugoslavia. Like pretty much every novel written by ex-Yugoslav authors, at least those that I have read. But after an entertaining first half, the second one was almost a torture to read at times and neither the plot nor the humour worked particularly well for me then. It felt like there was a lack of artistic direction - an anthology of chronologically ordered slices of life that often fail to connect to one another, both in terms of the plot and in terms of style.

It's definitely not bad, and I liked the many witty metaphors sprinkled across the novel. But the later parts just really weren't my thing and didn't keep up what the early chapters promised to me.

[César Carranza · Rating 3 out of 5]

No sabía que esperar, hay reseñas buenas, otras no tanto, así que lo tomé) al principio me gustó, un poco flojo, pero conforme avanza mejora, aunque luego da una caída de la que ya no se levanta... Por lo menos a mi gusto, se muere el libro, estuve por dejarlo.

La historia va de la vida de un joven croata, es una vida con tantos accidentes, que atrapa la vida de un yugoslavo cualquiera, cualquier persona que haya vivido allá encontrará una situación similar. Pasa por la guerra, la reconstrucción y una clase de situaciones raras, absurdas, supongo que esa es la intención, pero se pierde y en momentos me pareció aburrido.

Creo que hay libros similares mucho mejores, o por lo menos, más de mi gusto, como el escritor Miljenko Jergovic, me parece un poco a tono.

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had its moments. I really liked it at the start. I liked the absurdist humour of growing up in a communist state. The tone reminded me of Mendelssohn is on the Roof. I felt it started to lag a bit later in the book, when Ivan is married. And then when he dies, it just slows to a crawl, and I didn't know how I was going to force myself to the end of the book. Thankfully, it picks up a bit when he returns from the dead, but that middle section is really hard to get through.

I think I'd give it kind of 2.5. Overall, it was enjoyable, but when it dragged, it was deadly.

[Nipun · Rating 3 out of 5]

According to Josip Novakovich, April Fool’s Day was his attempt to write the obituary for Yugoslavia – and Ivan Dolinar, the protagonist, was Yugoslavia personified.

Well, Ivan Dolinar is certainly something. This novel follows his journey through bleak and bleaker times as he grows up with Yugoslavia. Yugoslav history certainly plays instrumental part in Ivan’s life – the Soviet split or the Croatian Spring all mark turning points – with Ivan even crossing paths with another personification of Yugoslavia – the one-man state Josip Broz Tito – also a fellow Croat.

Through grim times – the book remains riotously funny – with its dry Soviet-style humour, marvellously absurd and magic realist – maybe? I am not really sure.

https://theworldincultures.com/391-ap...

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ivan Dolinar is born in Tito's Yugoslavia on April Fool's Day, 1948 -- the auspicious beginning of a life that will be derailed by backfiring good intentions in a world of propaganda and paranoia. At age nineteen, an innocent prank cuts the young Croatian's budding medical career short and lands him in a notorious labor camp. Released on the eve of civil war, Ivan is drafted into the wrong army, becoming a pawn in an absurd conflict in which the rules and loyalties shift abruptly and without warning.

[Giorgia Imbriani · Rating 3 out of 5]

La storia della Croazia vista dagli occhi di Ivan Dolinar, che ne attraversa le vicende sempre un po’ in ritardo sui tempi, facendosi trasportare dalla corrente della Storia e diventandone suo malgrado protagonista.

[Plamena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atypical, witty, intellectual. When the story finished, it felt like the whole point was about the unexpected ending. As if that grand finale had started a life of its own. Or death..Quite enjoyable reading, easy to stir up a Balkan soul.

[Emlikescake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ivan is not likeable at all, and there’s nothing funny at all about this story… in fact, most of it is so very bleak. And yet… and yet the dark humour that ran throughout this book made me laugh again and again.

[Teo García · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una novela desternillante y loca, que nos sumerge en la historia de Yugoslavia de forma amena y divertida. Novakovich usa un lenguaje muy rico y plantea de fondo cuestiones existenciales como qué hay después de la muerte.

[Glen J · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story, a table, a dream?

A journey to life, through life and beyond. Powerful and poignant we travel with our hero as his country struggles.

[Bogdan · Rating 5 out of 5]

That's simply awesome. Reading it, you will get a brilliantly written novel about half of the century in the Balkan's troublesome region of former Yugoslavia with occasionally Kafkanian accents.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Horrible things happening to horrible characters.

[Jarrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few good sentences hidden behind the absurd and scattered plot.

[Spiegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written prose, but I can't say that I was really interested in the protagonist.

[KayG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Croatia.

[Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro positivamente raro, la historia de Ivan desde su nacimiento hasta su muerte surrealista está plasmada de episodios históricos de jugoslavia hasta la independencia de Croazia.

[Elissa]

Still not sure what this book is about.