Bolla

After I liked “My Cat Yugoslavia” so much, I wanted to read more books by Pajtim Statovci, who won the Finlandia Prize in 2019. I have read translations in both English and German, but this novel particularly impressed me. In Albanian mythology, a “Bolla” is a snake-like figure that opens its eyes every year and devours every person in sight. And just like this mythical creature, we slip into the life and thoughts of Arsim, an Albanian writer who meets the Serb Milos. Dark confessions and terrible truths emerge as we follow the affair of two men torn apart by war. This book feels like a car crash that you can't look away from. It deals with the topics of migration and internalized homophobia. Misogyny and feminism at the same time in a beautifully written and captivating story.