Psi na jezeru
The novel explores how stories save from oblivion, but also how they hide the truth about human vulnerability. Short but layered, it combines reality with fantasy, reminding us that every encounter is a possible love or ruin.
In a Belgrade hotel, a Canadian guest suffers a stroke and falls into a deep coma. As he is being carried out, the receptionist, a young man from the provinces, enters his name into a search engine and becomes obsessed: who is this unknown stranger? The novel develops in two narrative streams – in the first person, we follow the thoughts of a man in a coma, where a life full of exile, loss and unfulfilled dreams is revealed through fragments of memories; in the third person, the receptionist becomes attached to the guest, exploring his past through documents, stories and chance encounters. As if in mirrors that reflect each other, stories multiply: the heroes tell each other stories, and in these stories new ones are born, where every life is reduced to a single sentence – simple but profound.
Jergović, a master of melancholy, creates a fairy tale about loneliness in a globalized world: identity is lost in migration, exile and digital traces, and dogs on the lake – symbols of loyalty and sadness – wander through memories.
One copy is available
