My Cat Yugoslavia

Paperback, 272 pages

Published March 20, 2018 by Vintage.

ISBN:: 978-0-525-43245-6

(1 review)

"Already an international sensation: a debut novel that tells a love story set in two countries in two radically different moments in time, bringing together a young man, his mother, a boa constrictor, and one capricious cat. In 1980s Yugoslavia, a young Muslim girl is married off to a man she hardly knows, but what was meant to be a happy match goes quickly wrong. Soon thereafter her country is torn apart by war and she and her family flee. Years later, her son, Bekim, grows up a social outcast in present day Finland, not just an immigrant in a country suspicious of foreigners, but a gay man in an unaccepting society. Aside from casual hookups, his only friend is a boa constrictor whom, improbably--he is terrified of snakes--he lets roam his apartment. But during a visit to a gay bar, Bekim meets a talking cat who moves in with …

"Already an international sensation: a debut novel that tells a love story set in two countries in two radically different moments in time, bringing together a young man, his mother, a boa constrictor, and one capricious cat. In 1980s Yugoslavia, a young Muslim girl is married off to a man she hardly knows, but what was meant to be a happy match goes quickly wrong. Soon thereafter her country is torn apart by war and she and her family flee. Years later, her son, Bekim, grows up a social outcast in present day Finland, not just an immigrant in a country suspicious of foreigners, but a gay man in an unaccepting society. Aside from casual hookups, his only friend is a boa constrictor whom, improbably--he is terrified of snakes--he lets roam his apartment. But during a visit to a gay bar, Bekim meets a talking cat who moves in with him and his snake. It is this witty, charming, manipulative creature who starts Bekim on a journey back to Kosovo to confront his demons, and make sense of the magical, cruel, incredible history of his family. And it is this that, in turn, enables him finally, to open himself to true love--which he will find in the most unexpected place."--

6 editions

Lavinia reviewed My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci

Review of 'My Cat Yugoslavia' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

My Cat Yugoslavia is about Emine, an Albanian woman from Kosovo who, when her country (ex-Yugoslavia) is torn apart by war in the 1990s, flees, with her abusive husband Bajram and their five children, her country for Finland. Her story is intertwined with the story of her younger son Bekim, a gay, resentful, and lonely man who has a relationship with an anthropomorphic, aggressive and homophobic cat and, despite his phobia, has as a pet a boa constrictor. It is a surreal and extraordinary story.

Symbolism plays an important part in the novel. Pajtim Statovci’ s ingenious attempt to use animals instead of humans for his characters, allows readers to visualise difficult subjects, such as racism, xenophobia and isolation. The snake which Bekim kills it as it tries to kill him, paints Hi the picture of loneliness and isolation that is extremely prevalent among migrants and refugees. The obnoxious, talking …

My Cat Yugoslavia is about Emine, an Albanian woman from Kosovo who, when her country (ex-Yugoslavia) is torn apart by war in the 1990s, flees, with her abusive husband Bajram and their five children, her country for Finland. Her story is intertwined with the story of her younger son Bekim, a gay, resentful, and lonely man who has a relationship with an anthropomorphic, aggressive and homophobic cat and, despite his phobia, has as a pet a boa constrictor. It is a surreal and extraordinary story.

Symbolism plays an important part in the novel. Pajtim Statovci’ s ingenious attempt to use animals instead of humans for his characters, allows readers to visualise difficult subjects, such as racism, xenophobia and isolation. The snake which Bekim kills it as it tries to kill him, paints Hi the picture of loneliness and isolation that is extremely prevalent among migrants and refugees. The obnoxious, talking cat represents the racism and the sharp criticism of the refugee experience in modern-day Finland.

Pajtim Statovci is an original, brilliant writer. In today’s increasingly, politicised and fraught political climate, My Cat Yugoslavia is a fresh and strange novel, an exploration of displacement, belonging and desire.