Goran Vojnovic

The Fig Tree is a novel composed of the intertwining stories of the family of Jadran, a 30-something who tries to piece together the story of his relatives to better understand himself. Because he cannot understand why Anja walked out of their shared life, he tries to understand the suspicious death of his grandfather and the withdrawal of his grandmother into oblivion and dementia. With all his might, Jadran tries to understand the departure of his father in the first year of the war in the Balkans as he also tries to understand his mother, with her bewildering resentment of his grandfather, and her silent disappointment with his father. The Fig Tree is a multigenerational family saga, a tour de force spanning three generations from the mid-20th century through the Balkans wars of the 90s until present day. Vojnovic is a master storyteller, and while fateful choices made by his characters are often dictated by the historical realities of the times they live in, at its heart this is an intimate story of family, of relationships, of love and freedom and the choices we make.

The Fig Tree

When Vladan Borojevic googles the name of his father Nedelko, a former officer in the Yugoslav People's Army, supposedly killed in the civil war after the decay of Yugoslavia, he unexpectedly discovers a dark family secret. The story which which then unfolds takes him back to the catastrophic events of 1991, when he first heard the military term deployment and his idyllic childhood came to a sudden end. Seventeen years later Vladan's discovery that he is the son of a fugitive war criminal sends him off on a journey round the Balkans to find his elusive father. On the way, he also finds out how the falling apart of his family is closely linked with the disintegration of the world they used to live in. The story of the Borojevic family strings and juxtaposes images of the Balkans past and present, but mainly deals with the tragic fates of people who managed to avoid the bombs, but were unable to escape the war.

Yugoslavia, My Fatherland

When Vladan Borojevic googles the name of his father Nedeljko, a former officer in the Yugoslav People's Army, supposedly killed in the civil war after the decay of Yugoslavia, he unexpectedly discovers a dark family secret which recollects the events of 1991. Seventeen years later, Vladan's discovery that he is the son of a fugitive war criminal sends him off on a journey around the Balkans to find his elusive father. The story of the Borojevic family strings and juxtaposes images of the Balkans past and present, but mainly deals with the tragic fates of people who managed to avoid the bombs, but were unable to escape the war. Al buscar en Google el nombre de su padre, un oficial del Ej�rcito Popular Yugoslavo que supuestamente hab�a muerto durante la guerra de los Balcanes, Vladan Borojevic descubre por sorpresa no solo que est� vivo, sino tambi�n que ha sido acusado de cr�menes contra la humanidad. Este hallazgo le devuelve al inicio de la guerra y a los �ltimos d�as junto a su padre: �Mi ni�ez termin� de golpe una ma�ana cualquiera a principios del verano de 1991�. Diecis�is a�os m�s tarde, emprende un viaje por Croacia, Bosnia y Serbia en busca de su padre; el contraste entre lo que se encuentra y lo que recuerda le ayudar� a entender hasta qu� punto se desintegr� el mundo en el que hab�a vivido con su familia. Yugoslavia, mi tierra nos habla del destino de los Balcanes antes y despu�s de la guerra y, sobre todo, de c�mo esta afect� a todos sus habitantes, incluso a quienes supuestamente consiguieron escapar de ella. Publicada por primera vez en 2012, esta novela se�al� a Vojnovic como uno de los escritores eslovenos m�s importantes de su generaci�n.

Yugoslavia, mi tierra

Anita Peti-Stantić

Jagna Pogačnik

Jugoslavija, moja domovina

In the northern Slovenian city of Murska Sobota stands the renowned Hotel Dobray, once the gathering place of townspeople of all nationalities and social strata who lived in this typical Pannonian panorama on the fringe of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Due to its historical and geographical particularities, the town had always been home to numerous ethnically and culturally mixed communities that gave it the charm and melos of Central-European identity. But now, in the thick of World War II, the town is occupied by the Hungarian army. Franz Schwartz's wife, Ellsie has for the past month been preparing their son Isaac, a gifted violinist, for his first solo concert, which is to take place at Hotel Dobray. Isaac is to perform on his bar mitzvah and his 13th birthday on April 26, 1944. When the German army marches into town and forces all Jews to display yellow stars on their clothes, Ellsie advises her husband that the family should flee the town and escape to Switzerland. Schwartz promises her he will obtain forged documents, but not before Isaac performs his concert at the hotel. A year later, in March 1945, Schwartz returns, on foot, from the concentration camp as one of the few survivors.

Goran Vojnovic

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