This odd little novel is like a homage to The Master and Margarita, except there are two cats and they are in Kosovo and in Finland. The author, who emigrated from the war zone with his family as a small boy, reveals an unhappy life in a renowned social democracy where he is teased and tortured at school and finds little welcome anywhere in his adopted country. The narrative shifts forwards and back between Bekim and his mother Emine and between her life and marriage and his as a gay man living with a talking cat and a silent snake. It's written/translated in flowing language, but the alternating chapter format is not consistent, and dates on some chapter headings are barely helpful. What worked well was the author's interpretation of the conflicts between all the ethnic groups in Eastern Europe (lest we forgot) and the descriptions of Ermine's wedding and early married life, pre-emigration. Would this work be considered "experimental"? If so, it's not as threatening as I thought.

Quote: "He gave up dreaming and began hoping instead."

"I was so lonely that I sometimes spoke to myself in the apartment. It never ceased to amaze me how people could find a shared rhythm." ( )

Yugoslavia, años ochenta: Mientras el matrimonio concertado de Emine se desmorona, el país se desangra en una cruenta guerra. Décadas más tarde, su hijo Bekim es doblemente marginado en Finlandia, como inmigrante, y como homosexual. Su única compañía es una boa constríctor a la que deja deambular libremente por su apartamento, a pesar de su fobia a las serpientes. Una noche, en un bar gay, Bekim conoce a un gato que habla. Esta criatura ocurrente, veleidosa y manipuladora llevará a Bekim de vuelta a Kosovo para hacer frente a sus demonios y comprender su historia familiar -e, incluso, encontrar el amor. Pajtim Statovci, doctorando en Literatura Comparada en la Universidad de Helsinki, es un joven novelista finés de origen kosovar que ha sido galardonado con los premios literarios más prestigiosos de su país: el Finlandia, el Toisinkoinen y el Helsingin Sanomat. Su primera novela, "Mi gato Yugoslavia", ha sido publicada en diecisiete países.

Ajassa ja kertojissa vuorotteleva romaani elämästä aviomiehen ja isän varjossa. Jugoslavian tilanne toi perheen Suomeen, mutta parempi elintaso ja turvallinen ympäristö ei välttämättä tuokaan onnea. Surullinen ja koskettava, hieno esikoinen. ( )

Stavoci is remarkably confident. The writing zings. The novel begins with a gay hookup that was very well written, just a stunning use of a scene to create the inner life, very quickly, of an alienated gay man--who happens too to be a literal alien--from Yugoslavia to Finland. The smells in this book are brilliantly rendered. A snake and a cat figure prominently in the story and the relationship that the protagonist has with each is weird, unsettling, and perfect. I'm respectful of this author and look forward to the next novel. ( )

Tässä kirjassa seurataan kahden henkiöön vaiheita: Eminen ja hänen poikansa Bekimin. Emine kasvatetaan Kosovossa huomaavaiseksi ja ahkeraksi vaimoksi ja miehensä mukana hän päätyy Pristinaan ja albaanien kaltoinkohtelun seurauksena hakemaan turvaa Suomesta, jossa elämä on hyvin erilaista. Bekim, lapsena Suomeen tullut, kasvaa kahden kulttuurin rajalla, eikä oikein tunnu saavan elämässään mitään aikaiseksi. Vaikka kirjaa luki sujuvasti, en missään vaiheessa oikein ymmärtänyt mitä kissajutut siinä tarkoittivat. ( )