Horror and Huge Expenses

by Robert Perišić, Will Firth (Translator)

Outside of Croatia, Robert Perišic is best known for his novels, but short stories are what first garnered him recognition, and eventually led him to be considered one of Croatia's most important contemporary voices. Horror and Huge Expenses is a career-spanning collection of stories that demonstrate why Perišic's wryly incisive prose, able to hit so many registers, resonates with readers everywhere. From the frontlines of tragic ethnic conflicts to capturing the hilariously absurd realities of globalism, Perišic unapologetically renders failure and loss, so often finding aching beauty in both, by pulling readers into the stray thoughts and moments upon which all of our lives are built, whether we realize it or not.

224 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2021

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

[Maiju Kaisamatti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yritin kovasti ymmärtää, mutten ymmärtänyt. Liikaa tissejä.

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad

[maantjesenschaapjes · Rating 3 out of 5]

soms beetje een gekke vertaling

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiction writer and journalist Robert Perišić’s stories in Horror and Huge Expenses concern life in contemporary Croatia, including tales of suburban warfare fighting Serbians. Like many real Central Europeans, Perišić’s fictional characters live in a culture steeped in irony and ambivalence, where matters of marriage, religion, and ethnicity can take on potentially mortal consequences, depending on the whims of political (mis)fortunes. In this collection, one woman leaves a romantic get-away gone bad to visit her parents during a blackout in which homes are indiscriminately shelled, and yet finds plenty to laugh about. In another story, a young military man is almost knifed to death by a nurse as he tries to track down a friend who has left his unit, ostensibly to check into a drug rehab facility (where the knifing occurs) but in reality, to take a gig as a mason, instead. There are stories, too, that occur during peace time. In one, two women who meet occasionally over coffee accidentally discover another underlying reason for their friendship via the semi-coherent ramblings of a frequent caller to a crisis hotline. In another story, a hospitalized grandfather manages to get a few moments alone with his adoring grandson who doesn’t realize his grandfather is dying. Grandfather lets the boy know without letting the boy know. These and other tales of domestic life in a country filled with people living lives of quiet desperation are sympathetically and beautifully rendered.

For more of my reviews, please see https://www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/...

[Edin Najetovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peak Yugo short stories, usually quite funny, always bleak and poignant (it's the Balkans after all). Translation feels meh sometimes, otherwise this would be a 4 star. I went through it like a hot knife through butter though.

Stories are about the (90s Yugoslavian) war, and life in the Balkans. From late night drinking with your buddies, to sleazy pick up artists in Dalmatia or dying grandparents that no one wants to talk about they're dying. Some Lynch vibes here and there, but theres not really any horror in here.

Best story: "no God in Susedgrad" had me in stitches.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars