Skinswaps (Writings From An Unbound Europe) - Softcover

Blatnik, Andrej

Softcover

ISBN 10: 081011657X ISBN 13: 9780810116573

Publisher: Northwestern University Press, 1998

Synopsis

The first collection of stories by Slovenian writer Andrej Blatnik to appear in English, Skinswaps represents a new ethos in the literature of post-Communist Eastern Europe. Blatnik's vision of the isolation, self-deception, violence, and emotional deterioration of human experience is powerfully rendered, yet tempered by a light touch and humane sense of irony.

About this title

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)

From Publishers Weekly:

An epigraph to this collection--"the world's getting smaller with every/ second we breathe"--aptly describes the sensibility of this Slovenian writer. Not only does he specialize in miniatures himself (the majority of these stories are under two pages), but he often puts life under a microscope. "The Drummer's Strike," the opening story, captures a moment in slow motion as a band makes a Herculean effort to come together on the beat. In the final story, a man getting off a bus imagines himself cleaning a kitchen under the watchful eyes of an aggrieved lover, even imagining that his Walkman batteries will die as he cleans. The other 14 tales are finely honed, often comic pieces ranging from aphorisms to spare dialogues and explorations of cultural differences. The recognizably Central European characters mix philosophy, eroticism and everyday grit, returning repeatedly to themes of music, death, betrayal and the fragility of the individual's hold on reality. Blatnik's craftsmanship and modern flair direct our attention repeatedly to what is small, strange and essential in the world around us. (Nov.) FYI: Skinswaps is the latest installment in Northwestern's Writings from an Unbound Europe series.

Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 081011657X
• ISBN 13: 9780810116573
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 109