{"title":"Istros Books","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbig\u003eIf imagining parts of Eastern Europe conjures up images of grey tower blocks and pickled cabbage, Istros Books is here to change that. Their mission is to shine a light on that ‘other’ Europe and reveal its glories through the works of its greatest writers, both old and new. Istros endeavours to find the best from a wealth of local prose and poetry and to offer it to a new audience of English speakers.\u003c\/big\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIstros believe that high-quality literature can transcend national interests and speak to us with the common voice of human experience. Discovering contemporary voices and rediscovering forgotten ones, Istros Books works hard to bring you the best that European literature can offer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"float: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"The Istros Team\" src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/files\/Untitled-1_medium.jpg?v=1532015752\" style=\"float: left;\" width=\"269\" height=\"192\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWho is who on your team? \u003c\/strong\u003eOn the team there is Susan Curtis who is the Founder, Director and Editor in Chief. Then there's our designer and type-setter Davor Pukljak and we also have some occasional interns from Kingston University Publishing MA. A happy bunch!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eHave you got any office dogs\/cats\/animals? \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWell in a way we have, since we do share the office and are sometimes privileged to have the company of Ogden, a gorgeous fawn-coloured whippet\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eWhat’s your nearest bookshop? \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWell, since we are based in the historical heartland of publishing - Bloomsbury - our nearest bookstore is probably Waterstones Gower Street (formerly the biggest bookstore in the UK, before the Piccadilly branch opened!). We also have a small branch of Blackwells on the LSE campus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eIf you could meet one author or poet, dead or alive, who would you choose and why? \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have just published the two first novels of the great Romanian thinker, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mircea_Eliade\"\u003eMircea Eliade\u003c\/a\u003e. Both \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/istrosbooks.com\/products\/books\/diary-short-sighted-adolescent-66\/\"\u003eDiary of a Short-Sighted Adolescent\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/istrosbooks.com\/products\/books\/gaudeamus-87\/\"\u003eGaudeamus\u003c\/a\u003e lay forgotten in a Bucharest attic for over fifty years, and were not published until after his death. Istros published them for the very first time in English in 2016 and 2018, respectively. I would like to meet the great man in person, and hear about how he went from an ambitious central European schoolboy to studying Sanskrit and Yoga in India in the 1920s, then went on to become Romanian Consul in Portugal during WWII and ended up as Chair of Religion at Chicago University, and best friends with Saul Bellow!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eAre you on social media? If so which one are you most active on?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes - both Twitter and Facebook. Personally, I prefer Twitter, since it is short and demands some sort of creativity and thought into composing your message in only 140 characters (although I have heard that the company announced that this is being doubled!). I have made very good contacts on Twitter, reached out to journalists and reviewers, etc. I like the fact that it is very flat, democratic forum and that people who might not normally answer your email or letter are willing to engage in conversation on Twitter. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"special-needs","title":"Special Needs","description":"\u003cp\u003eTen-year-old Emil lives with his mother in a rented flat in an unnamed city.     Although she works hard, as a single mother she can barely making ends meet. Emil has a condition affecting the growth of his legs and his mother is desperately trying to give him all the love and acceptance he needs. Emil also displays selective mutism: he boy talks to some people normally while with others is fully or partially mute. His uncle Jakov thinks that everything to do with Emil is about intimacy and trust and searches for a way to get close to him.       The drama of this special boy is based precisely on the relationship that each character has towards Emil’s special needs – and those relationships are polarizing and motivated by varying social, psychological, religious and personal beliefs.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"istros books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39436540018766,"sku":"9781912545919","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/original_3568c1b0-4ce5-47d5-a6d2-383831c01f81.jpg?v=1752237954"},{"product_id":"the-false-apocalypse-from-stalinism-to-capitalism","title":"The False Apocalypse: From Stalinism to Capitalism","description":"\u003cp class=\"BasicParagraph\"\u003eThis unique and disturbing work concerns the events of 1997, a tragic year in the history of post-communist Albania.  After the world’s most isolated country emerged from Stalinist dictatorship and opened to capitalism, many people fell prey to fraudsters who invited them to invest in so-called ‘pyramid schemes’.  At the start of 1997, these pyramids crumbled one after another causing wide-spead demonstrations and protests.  The conflict became increasingly violent, leading to the collapse of the state and of the country’s institutions.  Prisons were opened, crowds stormed arms depots, and the country was abandoned to anarchy and gang rule.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLubonja has chosen to tell this incredible story through a narrative technique that operates on two levels: a third-person narrator, who describes the large-scale events that made international headlines, and the narrative of Fatos Qorri, the author’s alter ego, who describes his own dramatic experiences in a personal diary.  The book begins with the synopsis of a novel entitled “The Sugar Boat” that Fatos Qorri intends to write about the spread of a small pyramid scheme luring people to invest supposedly in a sugar business.  However, as the major pyramids collapse, real events overtake anything he has imagined and Fatos Qorri finds himself in the midst of a real-life tragedy. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFatos Lubonja\u003c\/strong\u003e is a writer and editor of the quarterly journal Përpjekja [Endeavor], representative of the Forum for Democracy, and a leading figure in Albania's political life. At twenty-three, Lubonja was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for \"agitation and propaganda\" after police found his diaries, which contained criticisms of Hoxha. He was re-sentenced without trail and spent a total of 17 years in prison, much of it in solitary confinement, and was released in 1991.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Hodgson\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in England and studied English at Cambridge and Newcastle. He has taught at the universities of Prishtina and Tirana and is the translator of Ismail Kadare's \u003cem\u003eThree-Arched Bridge\u003c\/em\u003e. He has written about Albania, Kosova, the British Balkan traveller Edith Durham, and the novelist John Cowper Powys. He now works as an Albanian-English translator and interpreter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis book is also available as a eBook. Buy it from Amazon \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/False-Apocalypse-Stalinism-Capitalism-ebook\/dp\/B00QKQ5ID2\/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text\u0026amp;ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1426598270\u0026amp;sr=1-1\u0026amp;keywords=istros+The+False+Apocalypse\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909797658702,"sku":"9781908236197","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/falseapocalypse.jpeg?v=1752240421"},{"product_id":"the-aziz-bey-incident","title":"The Aziz Bey Incident","description":"\u003cp\u003e‘’A few hours after the incident, Aziz Bey went home. He sat for a while in the light of a blinking bulb that settled over the room like a grave illness, and with eyes brimming with tears that just could not fall, he looked at a shattered moonlight that was reflected in the dirty waters of the Golden Horn..’’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe writing of \u003cstrong\u003eAyfer Tunç\u003c\/strong\u003e is in essence urban, and yet she manages to imbue her characters with a fragile humanity and an old-fashioned sense of the melancholy of modern life. Aziz Bey is at once the most genuine and the saddest of all her heroes. Here we see the life of an ordinary Turkish man, a master tambour player of local fame, whose life stretches from Istanbul to Beirut because of his obsessive love for Maryam. We witness the fading of this love with the passage of time and changing of circumstances, bringing us closer to this man than to many other modern protagonists. With the soft touch of an accomplished writer, the life of this singular musician is laid bare in all its sweetness and mediocrity, until we are almost sure that we might catch a glimpse of him next time we visit the vibrant, all-night bars of Istanbul.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis book is also available as a eBook. Buy it from Amazon \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Aziz-Bey-Incident-Ayfer-Tunc-ebook\/dp\/B00QFIAN44\/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text\u0026amp;ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1426596863\u0026amp;sr=1-1\u0026amp;keywords=istros+The+Aziz+Bey+Incident\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909781143630,"sku":"9781908236111","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/azizbey.jpeg?v=1752239760"},{"product_id":"fairground-magician","title":"Fairground Magician","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe collection\u003cem\u003e Fairground Magician \u003c\/em\u003ebrings together stories about love fulfilled and unfulfilled, about things that are visible in the everyday world and values that are perceptible only at exceptional moments. The narration moves from apparent realism to other genres; from crime fiction or thriller to erotic prose. Memories, intimations and premonitions are infused in these stories with a tranquillity that accepts what fate brings, even when efforts are made to change it, as in the stories \u003cem\u003ePockets Full of Stones\u003c\/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003eNosedive\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLengold uses eroticism as a natural ingredient of human life, as an integrated tension consisting of two inseparable aspects – body and soul – energising stories like \u003cem\u003eLove Me Tender, Zugzwang, Wanderings, \u003c\/em\u003eand\u003cem\u003e Aurora Borealis. \u003c\/em\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eFairground Magician\u003c\/em\u003e, Lengold is a lucid observer of minute details and subtle emotional shifts. In stories like \u003cem\u003eIt Could Have Been Me\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eShadow\u003c\/em\u003e, or \u003cem\u003eOphelia, Get Thee to a Nunnery\u003c\/em\u003e, she manages to leap over the wall between the bodily surface and the human interior in a very distinctive way. No matter how common are the situations she depicts - whether it be broken marriages, unfulfilled expectations or the motives of forlorn lovers - Lengold is constantly searching for the authentic, finding it within the sophisticated irony which is a trademark of her fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJelena Lengold \u003c\/strong\u003eis a storyteller, novelist and poet. She has published five books of poetry, one novel (\u003cem\u003eBaltimore\u003c\/em\u003e) and four books of short stories, including \u003cem\u003eRain-soaked Lions, Lift\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eFairground Magician\u003c\/em\u003e, which won her the \u003cstrong\u003eEuropean Prize for Literature \u003c\/strong\u003ein 2011. Lengold works as a journalist and an editor at Radio Belgrade.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis book is also available as a eBook. Buy it from Amazon \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Fairground-Magician-Jelena-Lengold-ebook\/dp\/B00QHC8CRI\/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text\u0026amp;ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1426596903\u0026amp;sr=1-1\u0026amp;keywords=istros+Fairground+Magician\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909754601550,"sku":"9781908236104","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/fairground.jpeg?v=1752239759"},{"product_id":"mission-london","title":"Mission London","description":"\u003cp class=\"Default\"\u003eThe new Bulgarian ambassador to London is determined to satisfy the whims of his bosses at all costs. Putting himself at the mercy of a shady PR-agency, he is promised direct access to the very highest social circles. Meanwhile, on the lower levels of the embassy, things are not as they should be. With criminal gangs operating in the kitchens, police on the trail of missing ducks from Hyde Park and a sexy Princess Diana impersonator employed as the cleaner, how is an ambassador supposed to do his job?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Default\"\u003eCombining the themes of corruption, confusion and outright incompetence, Popov masterly brings together the multiple plot lines in a sumptuous carnival of frenzy and futile vanity, allowing the illusions and delusions of the post-communist society to be reflected in their glorious absurdity!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Default\"\u003e“A big European novel… his humour is the weapon of a merciless social critic, such as we have seen in the works of Jaroslav Hashec and Ilf and Petrov…” Miljenko Jergović\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Default\"\u003e“This is a true European comic novel in the best tradition of P.G. Wodehouse, Roald Dahl and Tom Sharp. An excellent narrative; a great awareness for detail; a fresh sense of humour and most importantly – a sense of moderation. The situations are typically Bulgarian, yet the irony brings a taste of Englishness.\" 24 Hours\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis book is also available as a eBook. Buy it from Amazon \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Mission-London-Alek-Popov-ebook\/dp\/B00QFC88JW\/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text\u0026amp;ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1426596740\u0026amp;sr=1-1\u0026amp;keywords=istros+mission+london\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909780389966,"sku":"9781908236180","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/mission_london.jpeg?v=1752240420"},{"product_id":"odohohol-cally-rascal","title":"Odohohol \u0026 Cally Rascal","description":"\u003cp class=\"Default\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eOdohohol \u003c\/em\u003eis a boy with special powers, living in a future world in which Evil has prevailed. And being a boy with special powers, he represents new hope for all life in the Universe. Through his travels in parallel dimensions, he links up with others from the Secret Resistance and joins forces in the fight for Good.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"Default\"\u003eAlong with his best friend Cally Rascal, Odohohol must travel to the Enchanted Land to fight a decisive battle with Evil. This is the story of how he gets there.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFind out if he will win the battle and return to earth, or if their plans to overthrow Evil from power will come to nothing.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMatko Sršen \u003c\/strong\u003eis a director, playwright and poet from Dubrovnik, Croatia. He has directed more than one hundred productions, both in Croatia and abroad, for stage and radio. He has received numerous awards, prizes, and recognition for a lifetime devoted to the theater, including Best Theatre Director. As an a author, Sršen has had four books of his plays, essays, and poetry published. This is his first children’s book.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":1041367680,"sku":"9781908236159","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/odhohol.jpeg?v=1752239508"},{"product_id":"hansen-s-children","title":"Hansen’s Children","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt’s the end of the 1980s and Europe is about to change forever. In a forgotten corner of Romania, two men await their fate as their reality literally begins to fall apart. This unique and often shocking book allows us to view a world we have surely never encountered before. Unafraid to tell the truth, Spahić takes us on a journey through the revolution which will change not only our way of seeing this chapter of history, but also challenge how we perceive our own identity. As much about the fall of Communism as it is about the continuing disparity between West and East, \u003cem\u003eHansen's Children\u003c\/em\u003e cannot fail to move you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOgnjen Spahić \u003c\/strong\u003ewas born in 1977 in Podgorica, Montenegro. He is the best-known member of the young generation of Montenegrin writers to have emerged since the collapse of former Yugoslavia. Spahić has published two collections of short stories: \u003cem\u003eAll That\u003c\/em\u003e, 2001 and \u003cem\u003eWinter Search\u003c\/em\u003e, 2007. To date, \u003cem\u003eHansen’s Children\u003c\/em\u003e has been published in Slovenian, Romanian, Hungarian and Macedonian editions. There will also be French (Gaia Editions) and Italian (Zandonai Editore) editions published this year. His short story “Raymond is No Longer with Us—Carver is Dead” was included in the anthology Best European Fiction 2011 published by \u003cem\u003eDalkey Archive Press\u003c\/em\u003e in the USA. Spahić was awarded the \u003cstrong\u003eEU Prize for Literature\u003c\/strong\u003e in 2014.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis book is also available as a eBook. Buy it from Amazon \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Hansens-Children-Ognjen-Spahic-ebook\/dp\/B00QFK4G5O\/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text\u0026amp;ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1426597239\u0026amp;sr=1-1\u0026amp;keywords=istros+Hansen%27s+Children\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909729337422,"sku":"9781908236012","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/hansen.jpeg?v=1752239507"},{"product_id":"a-handful-of-sand","title":"A Handful of Sand","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Handful of Sand\u003c\/em\u003e is a love story and an ode to lost opportunity. Now far from his homeland, the novel's protagonist looks back on his life, from his childhood, university days and first working experience to more intimate emotional events, making critical observations on human relationships and human existence. Interchanging with the chapters written in the narrator’s voice are those narrated by a woman. As her story progresses, we realise that she is the love of his life: something that she hopes he will realise before it is too late.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e''Croatia’s foremost literary stylist, Marinko Koščec produces the kind of novels that combine crafted sentences and structural experiments without ever losing their storytelling drive'' TIMEOUT CROATIA\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis book is also available as a eBook. Buy it from Amazon \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Handful-Sand-Marinko-Koscec-ebook\/dp\/B00S9N2MZ6\/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text\u0026amp;ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1426598103\u0026amp;sr=1-1\u0026amp;keywords=istros+A+Handful+of+Sand\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909789892686,"sku":"9781908236050","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/files\/9781908236630.jpg?v=1752240420"},{"product_id":"definitions","title":"Definitions","description":"\u003cp\u003e''The poems carry deep inside Paler’s unique tenderness and reflection – short descriptions of feelings, thoughts or moments of our life. In all these short poems, sometimes only into a verse...I found again the main and constant topics which enriched my mind...I found definitions of tears and cries, of departures, of love, of regret, or of obsession. I found definitions of illusion, of maturity, of dignity, of balance, of silence, of loneliness, of ego....'' Mariana Ganea, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.romania-insider.com\/romania-insider-book-review-definitions-poems-by-octavian-paler\/64091\/\"\u003eRomanian-Insider\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e''The poetry reads as though an individual, the poet, is going through a process of examination, attempting to define his relation to the world and to himself, to define not just how he fits in, but if and why. Therefore making this a very introspective collection of poetry, but one that will have you smiling at that collection of words placed in that “best order” \u0026amp; then the awareness of a deeper thought process will seep into your mind – that this collection of beautiful, clever introspective poetry, is not merely one individual’s exploration of self, but that it relates to you, us, all of us.'' Gary Moon, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/parrishlantern.blogspot.co.uk\/2012\/09\/the-best-words-in-best-order.html\"\u003eThe Parrish Lantern\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOctavian Paler\u003c\/strong\u003e was a poet, novelist, essayist, journalist and former politician. He was born on July 2, 1926, into a peasant family in Lisa, Romania and attended the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy and the Law School of Bucharest (1945-1949). During his long career, he worked as an editor for the cultural section of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company (1949-1964), Agerpres correspondent in Rome (September-December 1964), General Manager of the Romanian Television (1965-1968), Vice-President of the Radio Broadcasting Company and coordinator of the literary and music sections (1968-1970), editor-in-chief with “România liberă\" newspaper (1970-1983) and starting from 1990, honorary director of the newspaper. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":1041368580,"sku":"9781908236005","price":3.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/definitions.jpeg?v=1752238951"},{"product_id":"hedgehog-s-home","title":"Hedgehog’s Home","description":"\u003cp\u003ePlease meet Hedgemond the Hunter - a brave and stubborn little hedgehog. Down in the wild woods he proudly tends his beloved house, but there are some animals who just can’t understand what the fuss is about. Find out just how Hedgemond proves to the grumpy bear and the greedy boar that there is no place like home.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHedgehog’s Home\u003c\/em\u003e is a story about caring for the place you call home. Set in the unspoilt environment of the forest, we find the wild creatures arguing about what home means: is it simply a place we should take for granted or is it something to be cherished and protected? Despite the persuasions of charming Miss Fox and the jeers of the angry wolf, Hedgemond steadfastly proves that his home is his castle, reminding us all to be true to ourselves and safeguard what we care for.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIllustrations by\u003cstrong\u003e Sanja Rescek\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":1041368804,"sku":"9781908236029","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/hedgehog.jpeg?v=1752239506"},{"product_id":"my-father-s-dreams","title":"My Father’s Dreams","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMy Father’s Dreams: A Tale of Innocence Abused\u003c\/em\u003e, is a controversial and shocking novel by Slovenia’s bestselling author\u003cstrong\u003e Evald Flisar\u003c\/strong\u003e, and is regarded by many critics as his best. The book tells the story of fourteen-year-old Adam, the only son of a village doctor and his quiet wife, living in apparent rural harmony. But this is a topsy-turvy world of illusions and hopes, in which the author plays with the function of dreaming and story-telling to present the reader with an eccentric ‘bildungsroman’ in reverse. Spiced with unusual and original overtones of the grotesque, the history of an insidious deception is revealed, in which the unsuspecting son and his mother will be the apparent victims; and yet who can tell whether the gruesome end is reality or just another dream….\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a novel that can be read as an off-beat crime story, a psychological horror tale, a dream-like morality fable, or as a dark and ironic account of one man’s belief that his personality and his actions are two different things. It can also be read as a story about a boy who has been robbed of his childhood in the cruelest way. It is a book which has the force of myth: revealing the fundamentals without drawing any particular attention to them; an investigation into good and evil, and our inclination to be drawn to the latter.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eEvald Flisar is a novelist, playwright, essayist, editor and seasoned traveller. Flisar was  president of the Slovene Writers’ Association from 1995 – 2002, and since 1998 is the editor of the oldest Slovenian literary journal \u003cem\u003eSodobnost\u003c\/em\u003e (Contemporary Review). He is the author of eleven novels, two collections of short stories, three travelogues, two books for children and fifteen stage plays. Winner of the \u003cem\u003ePrešeren Foundation Prize,\u003c\/em\u003e the highest state award for prose and drama, the prestigious \u003cem\u003eŽupančič Award\u003c\/em\u003e for lifetime achievement, three awards for Best Radio Play, and many more. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909830688846,"sku":"9781908236227","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/father.jpeg?v=1752240419"},{"product_id":"exile-1","title":"Exile","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eExile\u003c\/em\u003e is a collection of short stories with the taste of a novel. The over-riding theme is the sense of melancholy of those who have been alienated from their homeland, from their families or from society. By offering the reader short, vivid glimpses into other worlds; be they of real or fictional characters, Ilhan builds a patchwork of stories which highlight the lives of the dispossessed. As a woman writing in modern day Turkey, she is not afraid to take on the themes of honour killings or the American occupation of Iraq. All stories are open to her empathy and understanding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBorn in 1972, \u003cstrong\u003eÇiler İlhan\u003c\/strong\u003e worked as a hotelier, a freelance writer (Boğaziçi, Time Out İstanbul, etc.) and an editor (Chat, Travel+Leisure) at different periods of her life. İlhan, based in İstanbul, now works as the public relations manager of the Çırağan Palace Kempinski hotel. In 1993, she received a prestigious youth award for a short story. The award was a tribute to the memory of Yaşar Nabi, a leading publisher and writer. Ilhan’s stories, essays, book reviews, travel articles and translations into Turkish have been published in a variety of journals and newspaper supplements.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlso available as an eBook \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Exile-Ciler-Ilhan-ebook\/dp\/B00XPMGKXG\/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text\u0026amp;ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1439289626\u0026amp;sr=1-1\u0026amp;keywords=Exile+istros%0A%0A\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909845499982,"sku":"9781908236258","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/Istros_-_Exile_new.jpg?v=1752239755"},{"product_id":"my-father-s-dreams-1","title":"My Father’s Dreams","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMy Father’s Dreams: A Tale of Innocence Abused\u003c\/em\u003e, is a controversial and shocking novel by Slovenia’s bestselling author\u003cstrong\u003e Evald Flisar\u003c\/strong\u003e, and is regarded by many critics as his best. The book tells the story of fourteen-year-old Adam, the only son of a village doctor and his quiet wife, living in apparent rural harmony. But this is a topsy-turvy world of illusions and hopes, in which the author plays with the function of dreaming and story-telling to present the reader with an eccentric ‘bildungsroman’ in reverse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpiced with unusual and original overtones of the grotesque, the history of an insidious deception is revealed, in which the unsuspecting son and his mother will be the apparent victims; and yet who can tell whether the gruesome end is reality or just another dream….\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a novel that can be read as an off-beat crime story, a psychological horror tale, a dream-like morality fable, or as a dark and ironic account of one man’s belief that his personality and his actions are two different things. It can also be read as a story about a boy who has been robbed of his childhood in the cruelest way. It is a book which has the force of myth: revealing the fundamentals without drawing any particular attention to them; an investigation into good and evil, and our inclination to be drawn to the latter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlso available as an eBook \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/My-Fathers-Dreams-Innocence-Abused-ebook\/dp\/B00XPZRAYG\/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text\u0026amp;ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1439290628\u0026amp;sr=1-1\u0026amp;keywords=My+Father%E2%80%99s+Dreams%0A%0A\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":1242306284,"sku":"9781908236227","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/Istros_-_My_Fathers_Dreams.jpg?v=1752240412"},{"product_id":"my-father-s-dreams-2","title":"My Father’s Dreams","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMy Father’s Dreams: A Tale of Innocence Abused\u003c\/em\u003e, is a controversial and shocking novel by Slovenia’s bestselling author \u003cstrong\u003eEvald Flisar\u003c\/strong\u003e, and is regarded by many critics as his best. The book tells the story of fourteen-year-old Adam, the only son of a village doctor and his quiet wife, living in apparent rural harmony. But this is a topsy-turvy world of illusions and hopes, in which the author plays with the function of dreaming and story-telling to present the reader with an eccentric ‘bildungsroman’ in reverse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpiced with unusual and original overtones of the grotesque, the history of an insidious deception is revealed, in which the unsuspecting son and his mother will be the apparent victims; and yet who can tell whether the gruesome end is reality or just another dream….\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a novel that can be read as an off-beat crime story, a psychological horror tale, a dream-like morality fable, or as a dark and ironic account of one man’s belief that his personality and his actions are two different things. It can also be read as a story about a boy who has been robbed of his childhood in the cruelest way. It is a book which has the force of myth: revealing the fundamentals without drawing any particular attention to them; an investigation into good and evil, and our inclination to be drawn to the latter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlso available as an eBook \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/My-Fathers-Dreams-Innocence-Abused-ebook\/dp\/B00XPZRAYG\/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text\u0026amp;ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1439290628\u0026amp;sr=1-1\u0026amp;keywords=My+Father%E2%80%99s+Dreams%0A%0A\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":4275733445,"sku":"9781908236227","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/Istros_-_My_Fathers_Dreams_cdb9b0f0-0ea2-4d68-b3e4-373e3e311920.jpg?v=1752240397"},{"product_id":"yugoslavia-my-fatherland","title":"Yugoslavia, My Fatherland","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen Vladan Borojević googles the name of his father Nedeljko, a former officer in the Yugoslav People’s Army, supposedly killed in the civil war after the decay of Yugoslavia, he unexpectedly discovers a dark family secret which recollects the events of 1991 when he first heard the military term deployment and his idyllic childhood came to a sudden end.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeventeen years later Vladan’s discovery that he is the son of a fugitive war criminal sends him off on a journey round the Balkans to find his elusive father where he also finds out how the falling apart of his family is closely linked with the disintegration of the world they used to live in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe story of the Borojević family strings and juxtaposes images of the Balkans past and present, but mainly deals with the tragic fates of people who managed to avoid the bombs, but were unable to escape the war.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909859197006,"sku":"9781908236272","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/Istros_-_Yugoslavia_my_fatherland.jpg?v=1752240391"},{"product_id":"quiet-flows-the-una","title":"Quiet Flows the Una","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eQuiet Flows the Una\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of a man trying to overcome the personal trauma caused by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The book covers three time periods, taking in childhood before the war, the battle lines during the war, and the attempt to continue with normal life in a post-conflict society. Through his meditative prose, \u003cstrong\u003eFaruk Šehić\u003c\/strong\u003e attempts to reconstruct the life of the main character being both a veteran and a poet. At times, he manages to pick up the pieces of his life, but at other times it escapes him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis memories of the recent war and the killings are “dirty and disgusting”, while he views his present as humdrum and his identity feels incomplete. With the help of his memories, he uses his mind and strength to look for a way out of the maze in which he is confined, acting as both archivist and a chronicler of the past, roles that allow him the opportunity to rebuild everything again.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909868994638,"sku":"9781908236494","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/Istros_Books_-_Quiet_Flows_the_Una.jpeg?v=1752240380"},{"product_id":"diary-of-a-short-sighted-adolescent","title":"Diary of a Short-Sighted Adolescent","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe short-sighted adolescent is a passionate reader who takes various cultural figures as models, trying to emulate both their lives or their works. The pupil protagonist is a poor student, who likes science and reads a lot of books, sometimes staying up all night to do so. At the age of 15, he decides to write a novel to demonstrate to his teachers that he is not as mediocre as all the other students, and is prepared to give up everything he holds dear for his art! \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDiary of a Short-Sighted Adolescent\u003c\/em\u003e was written by the young \u003cstrong\u003eMircea Eliade\u003c\/strong\u003e, one of Romania’s greatest writers and intellectuals. The book can be viewed as an early 20th century \u003cem\u003eCatcher in the Rye\u003c\/em\u003e, and allows us an intimate view of the developing genius - his teachers, his classmates’ academic and amorous rivalries, his first sexual experiences – and an introduction to the themes of religion, self-knowledge, erotic sensibility, artistic creation and otherness; ideas which would preoccupy him until the end of his life.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909871910990,"sku":"9781908236210","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/Istros_Books_-_Diary_of_a_Short-Sighted_Adolescent_new.jpg?v=1752240376"},{"product_id":"life-begins-on-friday","title":"Life Begins on Friday","description":"\u003cp\u003eA young man is found lying unconscious on the outskirts of Bucharest. No one knows who he is and everyone has a different theory about how he got there. The stories of the various characters unfold, each closely interwoven with the next, and outlining the features of what ultimately turns out to be the most important and most powerful character of all: the city of Bucharest itself. The novel covers the last 13 days of 1897 and culminates in a beautiful tableau of the future as imagined by the different characters. We might, in fact, say that it is we who inhabit their future. And so too does Dan Creţu, alias Dan Kretzu, the present-day journalist hurled back in time by some mysterious process for just long enough to allow us a wonderful glimpse into a remote, almost forgotten world, but one still very much alive in our hearts.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909867749454,"sku":"9781908236296","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/Istros_Books_-_Life_Begins_on_a_Friday.jpg?v=1752240369"},{"product_id":"doppelganger-1","title":"Doppelgänger","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDoppelgänger \u003c\/i\u003econsists of two stories that skillfully revisit the question of “doubles” (famously explored by Stevenson, Dostoyevsky and others), and how an individual is perpetually caught between their own beliefs and those imposed on them by society. ‘Arthur and Isabella’ is a story of the relationship between two elderly people who meet on New Year’s Eve — a romantic encounter which turns into a grotesque portrayal of the loneliness of old age. The second story ‘Pupi’  — a strange mirror of the first — centres on the life of a man who ends up on the streets and associates only with street-sellers the rhinoceroses in the zoo. Together these tales crate the highly original atmosphere that Drndić is famous for in all her works.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909885345870,"sku":"9781912545131","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/original_7e5f5a1c-9858-4d9b-a01e-4a7052920dce.jpg?v=1752240219"},{"product_id":"under-pressure","title":"Under Pressure","description":"\u003cp\u003eWith this collection of brutal and heart-wrenching stories, the Bosnian writer \u003cb\u003eFaruk Šehić\u003c\/b\u003e secured his reputation as one of the greatest writers to emerge from the region. A war veteran and a poet, Faruk Šehić combines beauty and horror to seduce and surprise the reader.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909891965006,"sku":"9781912545025","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/original_db87957b-8a9b-4dc5-989f-a4530055bb37.jpg?v=1752240217"},{"product_id":"dogs-and-others","title":"Dogs and Others","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe protagonist in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eDogs and Others\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is the first openly lesbian character in modern Serbian literature, but she is also so much more than that, as she encapsulates the zeitgeist of her generation. Coming of age in 1970s Belgrade, then the capital city of thriving, socialist Yugoslavia, we follow Lida and the bohemian life she leads, made more complicated by the trials and tribulations of her eccentric family. The whole novel breathes with a raw sensibility so aptly captured in the voice of the heroine — a striking, rebellious, overtly feminist and somewhat neurotic young woman.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909887049806,"sku":"9781912545162","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/original_378bd088-0577-40a3-b630-d7d4664a4351.jpg?v=1752240213"},{"product_id":"singer-in-the-night","title":"Singer in the Night","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFamous soap opera scriptwriter, Naranča, is slowly losing her memory and decides to embark on a road trip down memory lane (in a golden convertible) in search of her greatest love and ex-husband, an artist whose uncompromising artistic integrity is opposed to Naranča’s fickle life in the world of TV drama. 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In its final message, the novel gives a playful warning about the consequences of choosing banality over true human connection.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":39909888983118,"sku":"9781912545971","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/singer.jpg?v=1752240195"},{"product_id":"the-olcinium-trinity","title":"The Olcinium Trinity","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOlcinium, the Latin name for present-day Ulcinj, is one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic coast and ruled in turn by the Illyrians, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans, as well as being an important Venetian port and a centre for the slave trade. 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Like his literary hero, Thomas Bernhard, Nikolaids’ prose is precise and bitingly funny and his protagonists hopeless misanthropes: from the local sleuth who sacrifices truth for the sake of telling his clients the stories they want to hear to the local reporter who discovers that his own past was concocted by Yugoslav secret services and enters a state of time-travelling paranoia.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Istros Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":29403548123214,"sku":"9781912545995","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0441\/7369\/products\/original_3.png?v=1752241009"},{"product_id":"wild-woman","title":"Wild Woman","description":" \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eWild Woman\u003c\/i\u003e is an anti-love story, set against a background of\neconomic hardship. Told through the undiluted language of thought and mania,\nthe twists and turns of internal dialogue are brought alive by a narrator determined\nto find her true voice. It is a warning against letting life slip through one?s\nfingers and a call for personal liberation and authenticity. \n\n \u003ci\u003eWild Woman\u003c\/i\u003e is set in 1970s Croatia, interchanging between the\ncapital, Zagreb, and the seaside towns of Rijeka and Pula on the Adriatic\ncoast. This is a story about an everywoman from a poor family, with a retied\ninvalid father and a mother who always protects the interests of men. The story\nbegins with a love affair between two students of literature, who bond through\nshared experiences and rush into the romantic dream of marriage.  \n\n\n\n However, what at first seems idyllic to a young woman\nin love soon becomes a nightmare as she finds herself the victim of an\nunscrupulous, lazy womanizer whom she must support financially and who often\ndisappears without explanation, leaving her alone in unfamiliar surroundings.\nTo free herself from him, she must free herself from the ?prisons? imposed on\nher by her family, her community and tradition. 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