Yolk

Yolk is a reflective and sometimes bizarre collection of stories by Croat writer-in-exile Josip Novakovich. Incorporating themes of unrequited love, obsession, war, faith, displacement, and death rituals, Novakovich's singular style reveals his affection for paradox and absurdity. Set primarily in Eastern Europe, these folktales also display Novakovich's unique social critique and dry wit. But more than the topicality gives the work its weight: the characters in Yolk touch on the universals of human experience-- the sublime as well as the base. The stories carry an odd notion of decay and infirmity, sexual peculiarity, and disturbed characters, all under the guise of a "once upon a time" innocence.

Many readers were recently introduced to Novakovich with Graywolf's publication of Apricots from Chernobyl, a collection of spirited narratives that the Hungry Mind Review called "a terrific achievement ... a celebration of life."