Our Man in Iraq

by Robert Perišić, Will Firth (Translator)

Naš čovjek na terenu društveni je roman koji superiornom lakoćom, uz puno humora, zahvaća suvremene teme i suptilna ljubavna priča koja, naravno, ne može izmaknuti svijetu što je okružuje. Fascinantno duhovit, ambiciozan i pametan - roman koji će promijeniti sliku suvremene hrvatske književnosti.

Genres: Fiction, European Literature, Novels, Contemporary, Humor, The World, Literature

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Robert Perišić (born. 1969) is a prominent Croatian poet, writer and journalist. He took his BA in Croatian language and literature at Philosophical Faculty in Zagreb. His criticism and essays were published in Feral Tribune and Playboy magazines. Perišić lives in Zagreb and works as a freelance writer.

Reviews

[Vanja Šušnjar Čanković · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kakve mi briljantne pisce imamo u svom okruženju a da toga nismo ni svjesni. Mislim da bi mi Perišić mogao postati jedan od omiljenih. Neočekivano osvježenje!

[Natalia Ree]

Mi smo šampinjoni.

[Marc Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Video review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTSyS...

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our Man in Iraq wasn't quite what I had expected, in that I anticipated more focus on the war in Iraq and less emphasis on the daily life of Toni, the narrator, who remains in Croatia. I didn't really connect with or get into the story until around 3/4 of the way through the novel. It seemed like Toni's situation, as well as Perisic's humor, would be more understandable to those who have first-hand experience with recent Croatian history and contemporary life. The more absurd Toni's troubles got, however, the more I began to see how this could be both a poignant and a funny read. I ended up greatly enjoying the last 50 pages, so perhaps one of these days I should go back to the beginning of the book and read it in that light to see if it's improved.

Disclaimer: I received my copy of this book through the First Look program in exchange for an honest review.

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kriva su očekivanja! Prvo, očekivala sam da će se priča više vrtjeti oko Iraka. To se izajalovilo, baš kao i ostvarenje hrabre izjave u predstavljanju knjige koja kaže da je ovo "roman koji će promijeniti sliku suvremene književnosti". Ne znam koliko je knjiga više prodano na račun ovakvih preporuka, no sve mi se čini da je to debela medvjeđa usluga - visoka očekivanja rezultiraju u razočarenju čitatelja, pa knjige imaju i slabije ocjene.

[Doris Pandžić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nevjerojatno dobra knjiga. Ne znam zašto ovo nisam pročitala prije.

[Alessandro Speciale · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are passages that make you think of a Jugoslav, post-1989 Dovlatov. But - for good or bad - things become much more serious: capitalism, it seems, is much more serious than socialism and irony isn't enough to find your way around it; the same goes for adult life and the choices it requires of all us, former rebels who've never made peace with being too adult for rebellion. As a consequence, for good or bad, the searing lightness of Dovlatov fades away in the second part of the book, making it more urgent and more uneven at the same time. A fascinating, complex read; highly rewarding

[World Literature Today]

"Depicting a generation raised in “strange Eastern European systems” who “placed too much hope in rock ’n’ roll,” this provocative satire explores both modern Croatia and its discontents and also, like Mother Courage, the human lust for power and money that still spawns war and suffering." - Michele Levy, North Carolina A&T University

This book was reviewed in the September 2013 issue of World Literature Today. Read the full review by visiting our website: http://bit.ly/1akotbp

[Bogdan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must say I will need extra patience with this novel and I will restart it at some point in the future. For now, it simply did not worked for me. Most likely, it is my mood which prevents me from providing enough attention to it, thus I need to take a break from it for now.

[Irena Kiki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perišiću, majstore!

[Knjigo.holik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ne mogu da uporedim sa Kristianom Novakom jer nije isto ni po čemu, osim po tome da su obojica brend za sebe. Prosto ovo je Perišić, sav genijalan, originalan, svoj i predobar!

[maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give out five-star ratings sparingly, but I agree with Jonathan Franzen (who provided a cover blurb) that this is a brilliant novel. The novel portrays the hipsters of Zagreb in the newly hatched republic of Croatia, and shows how globalization and other cataclysmic changes affect social relations. Robert Perisic reveals himself to be a witty observer of the zeitgeist.

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting to get a perspective on the aftermath of the Balkan wars, the discombobulating transition from communism to capitalism and the "need" to make Croatia significant in world events. I finally got engaged in about the last 50 pages when the superficial gloss on Toni, the lead character, fell away.

[Tomislav · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the end book was just mediocre. I was expecting more as it started very promisingly with likable plot and characters. The ending lacked any sense for me.

[Siel Ju · Rating 5 out of 5]

Toni is a cocksure yuppie-hipster type who works at a newspaper in post-socialist Zagreb. He’s trying to get a foothold in the new world order — that is to say, he’s embraced life as a social-climbing capitalist — and to this end, he spends his time getting drinks with his artsy friends, looking for a better apartment with his aspiring actress girlfriend, and scheming for ways to best the competing newspaper in town. Problems begin when Toni hires a reporter and sends him to Iraq — because this reporter happens to be a cousin of Toni’s and suffers from PTSD to boot.

What to do when said cousin starts sending long, unhinged emails from a warzone? Toni starts playing ghostwriter, rewriting the missives into something publishable. Then the cousin disappears and shit really hits the fan. Robert’s plot’s hilarious and his prose full of sexy one-liners, but what really makes this novel is the way it gets into the nitty gritty of how Croatians think, feel, and act at the beginning of the aughts — when the country’s finally coming out of its violent history of war and starting to try to redefine itself to the world. Read it if you like snide satires that capture the strange and fleeting mood of a very specific time and place.

[Chris Hays · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book. On one hand, I wanted to give it the 4 stars positive for its take on the multitude of subjects it tackled. On the other it was a struggle to keep up with the various philosophies. I think the writer did a great job of portraying the cynicism evident when one tries to help other and gets screwed over. There was also a great mantra into the idea of oneself importance in the world. However, on a whole the book left me feeling wrung out for no reason as if there was a lack of a climax or that some of the largest aspects of life were an after thought to the climax which happens 70% of the way through. I think it was deserving of the award on many levels and if I could that related to the protagonist, this would have been 4 stars. All in all it was not really my type of story.

[Jai Lau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty unexpected considering the title and what was promised by the blurb. The actual Iraqi war, correspondence and disappearance of Boris the "journalist" is pretty much background noise to a soap opera-esque array of actor/journalistic characters hanging around trendy places in Zagreb. Seemingly the focus in on the Western-style problems that affect the movers and shakers of Croatia after the shift from socialism to capitalism. The book actually gets quite funny when Boris's mother, Milka, kicks up a media storm over Toni's role in her son's disappearance but it really does take a long time to get to this point. Perišić's writing style in incredibly readable and makes scenes of little consequence interesting to read.

[Chik67 · Rating 3 out of 5]

La sensazione è che questo libro, che cerca ombelicalmente tramite la narrazione di un uomo in caduta libera in una società in cui la arrampicata sociale è lo sport più praticato, sia invecchiato male.
Balcani, guerra in Iraq, arrivismo.
Forse letto dieci anni fa aveva un altro sapore. Oggi mostra i suoi limiti: una certa banalità di scrittura e di soluzioni narrative, una certa piattezza dei temi, uno eccessivo schiacciamento sull'attualità.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zanimljiv prikaz posttranzicijskog društva u Hrvatskoj i načina na koji su se tada morali snalaziti s kapitalizmom i novim načinom funkcioniranja i življenja. A da ne pričam o rodbini, taj dio me najviše zabavljao. Knjiga nije samo zabavna, ostavi i neki gorak okus u ustima, razmišljaš i o tome šta bi ja da je mene snašlo.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

FIRST LINE REVIEW: "Iraky peepl, Iraky peepl." Such a strange, comic novel coming out of Croatia, set at the time of the Iraq War. Just plain quirky, with huge dollops of human insight and pathos. A quick read to one of my favorite countries.

[Goran Jankuloski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Balkanska formula za edgy roman: Teška drama koja te još i zanima, ispresecana prostačkom svakodnevicom glavnog lika, marginalca šmekera koji bi mogao više da samo legne na rudu kapitalizmu......

80/312

[Andre Stern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid beginning with interesting social commentary, intrigue and a humor that works, but the final third of the book is a slog where nothing goes anywhere and the heavy handed tone of nihilism makes the labor of finishing the book itself feel unimportant

[Zrinko Mršo · Rating 4 out of 5]

skoro 5

[Sonja Jakovljev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voljela bih procitat nastavak ove price. Prica je prilicno osobna
Djevojka je iz Hrvaca, auto je u Mravinjce.

[Danijel Janković · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nakon predugog, pomalo dosadnjikavog uvoda, kojem fali dinamike, konačno počinje interesantna priča s čudnim raspletom.

[Maja Secibovic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zabavan roman, lako štivo. Likovi su skoro pa svedeni na karikature.

[Mina · Rating 5 out of 5]

When does a male writer succeed in creating women that are realistic? Its a great zeitgeist novel

[Lucija Muhvić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Umirala sam od smijeha. Definitivno najdraža knjiga ove godine.

[Brian Angle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rambling first-person narrative of a young Croatian dealing with a few crises. A few interesting glimpses of life in Croatia, but had to skim a lot of it.

[Sanja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ma teraj se, Perišiću.