Set during the autumn of 1991, at the beginning of the war in the former Yugoslavia, In the Hold tells a brutal, nightmarish, and comical story of a generation taken helplessly unawares by the horrors of war. Three young people, including a young couple expecting their first child, are trapped in Belgrade, as the realities just beyond the border close in on them..
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
The demoralization of a generation of Yugoslav youth is the basis for this novel, among the first to emerge from that war-torn former country. As friends flee, hang themselves, or are drafted into the Yugoslav National army and suffer the effects of war-induced poverty, the unnamed narrator and his new wife, Angela, a drug dealer and user struggle to begin a life together. The couple and their circle of friends teeter on the edge of extinction, yet somehow retain their sense of community--even if only through memories and even in the face of tragedy. As their country falls in upon itself, the two heroically and passionately try to sustain life in each other.
From Publishers Weekly
Generation X meets the war in Yugoslavia in this slim debut novel that fails to illuminate either subject. Set in Belgrade in 1991, the story concerns the unnamed young narrator, his wife, Angela, a former drug dealer and heroin addict who is now in late pregnancy, and their increasingly endangered circle of family and friends. Angela's brother Lazar, a self-punishing disciple of Zen, accepts his call-up papers and is quickly killed in action, while the narrator's friend Dejan, a drummer with an avant-garde rock band, returns from the fighting missing an arm. What Arsenijevic is attempting is not so much a war novel as a tale of the bleakness and cynicism of people who have shut down emotionally in the face of chaos. But the narrator's alienation and detached irony offer little in the way of insight, and make it very hard for a reader to care about the often tragic events he unfolds. One can feel the emotional devastation of a country at war with itself hovering on the periphery of this novel, which makes it all the more frustrating that Arsenijevic has chosen to focus his attention on the cliched lives of self-conscious hipsters.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
On the Brink,
By
This review is from: In the Hold (Hardcover)
As war destroyed Yugoslavia in the early 1990's, a young generation suffered the psychological effects. With dark humor and realistic characters, Vladimir Arsenijevic creates the story of a developing family.The expectant father and narrator of the book seems to be the only sane character. His wife is a pregnant, clean for a little more than a year drug dealer. Her actions are a great source of humor throughout the book. The narrator's Hare Krishna brother in-law Lazar is a pecular story. Although it seems unlikely that there are many Hare Krishnas in Eastern Europe, it seems preposterous that one would volunteer himself for war. These characters, in addition to parents and junkie band members, set interactions as the main conflict develops which the narrator's preparation for fatherhood. While this coming of age story is plagued with drug use, it fairs much better than a William Burroughs book. It has humor and a plot. The plot is too thin to carry the entire book, but it is an entertaining venture.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Characterization is what makes this book strong,
By Patrick Cameron (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: In the Hold (Hardcover)
The thing I noticed most of all about this book is the strength the author has is creating original and interesting characters - from the main character, who is overly honest, wry and sarchastic yet is deeply affected by the war, to the glue-sniffing former friend who is so out of it that he wants to join the Crotian army because he'll be paid more. I don't think this book could have been written in English-it has the feeling of a translation from Serbian (that's a good thing).
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!,
By A Customer
This review is from: In the Hold (Hardcover)
There is something in being able to write about your own misery with such a wit that it virtually infects readers not even remotely introduced to Belgrade and its people! Excellent book, excellent style and a sense of conciousness that is infectious. Now, all I want to do is go there and see for myself...
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