Scan barcode
A review by sam_bizar_wilcox
Bolla by Pajtim Statovci
5.0
Pajtim Statovci is a master of writing unseemly, even malicious, characters. Arsim, this novel's hero-turned-antihero, is on one hand romantic and on another deeply callous. I'm perturbed by the people blurbed on the back who sing Statovci praises for the starry-eyed swoon-worthiness of it all; for me, what makes this novel great is how easily it twists the love story into something far more sinister. This sinister undercurrent is what, for me, made Crossing so exciting, and what makes Statovci one of the most interesting writers of his generation.
Queer literature needs dimensionality. True, there ought to be more simple love stories. True, there should be books that extol the virtues of his queer characters. But here, Statovci delivers something more complex and enthralling: a vision of queer love that is messy and complicated and leaves casualties. As the novel develops, so too do these complications, until what seems so romantic -- erotic, even -- becomes something resembling more a classical tragedy. The gays are not saints in this one; they are as vicious and selfish and despicable as any other group. And the novel is much better for it.
Queer literature needs dimensionality. True, there ought to be more simple love stories. True, there should be books that extol the virtues of his queer characters. But here, Statovci delivers something more complex and enthralling: a vision of queer love that is messy and complicated and leaves casualties. As the novel develops, so too do these complications, until what seems so romantic -- erotic, even -- becomes something resembling more a classical tragedy. The gays are not saints in this one; they are as vicious and selfish and despicable as any other group. And the novel is much better for it.