The Distortions

by Christopher Linforth

In The Distortions we glimpse a pageant of characters struggling to understand their lives after the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Scarred by the last major war fought on European soil, the women and men of these stories question what such a violent past can mean in comfortable, capitalistic modern Europe. From London and Brooklyn and Norway, to the Blue Grotto of Biševo and the war-torn fields of Slavonia, this collection blends Yugoslavian and American stories of great emotional and geographical amplitude.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Historical Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2022

Reviews

[Denton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Distortions is a beautiful collection of stories, thematically linked by the Croatian-Serbian War, particularly its aftermath. In each story, the weight of the past continues to press against the present. For many of these characters, historical events have had generations effects. These are not war stories although the war is a villainous character, always looming in the background. More than war stories, these stories are often about love--all kinds of love including the kinds that are sadly insufficient as well as the kinds that keep trying. Linforth is a gifted writer. His own experience living in Zagreb was surely useful in writing these stories, but each story is subtly elevated by detailed knowledge that must have required significant research. In the same way that these are not war stories, this is also not a book about Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, etc. as much as it's a book about displacement and identity and the universal ways we humans struggle to put the past behind us.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

10 for 12. fewer stars for 2.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was excited and curious about reading this collection of short stores, but it was so bad that I only finished 1/2 the book. Not going to waste my time in writing anymore about this.

AVOID!