Atlas of Fantastical Realism

Description

Atlas of Fantastical Realism is a collection of short stories that explore Kosovo’s journey as a country through a lens of the fantastical, surreal, mythical, absurd, and, occasionally, humor and playfulness. State- and nation-building in the Balkans often fall into the realm of legends and myths rather than history and facts, and so, these kinds of stories attempt to make sense of the many disparaging narratives and realities one may encounter.

Each one of the stories is a separate literary experiment in what it means to be a young country, and through their playful nature, they not only explore utopias and dystopias but also try to find novel ways to ask the important questions about issues that face Kosovo.

Here you can read stories where hustlers are transformed into new heroes, a dust cloud gains consciousness, a broken mirror tries to put itself together through narration, a gambler plays poker with Santa Claus, a paranormal detective investigates a heist, an ethically dubious travel agent tries to upsell an already-expensive travel package, a squad of kids plays war games to make sense of the changing world, four characters journey through the apocalypse, a quirky professor escapes the war, a medieval priest investigates a suspected scandal, an emigrant meets a dead end, a group of backgammon-playing shopkeepers jousts in threats, and much more.

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