A Creative Writing Commentary

Author: ABIGAIL MITCHELL

"They ate hot cereal made out of whole wheat that was literally whole and slightly boiled ... Ivan's crew once had to wash their excrement in salt water and sift it with a sieve. What remained was cooked again."

-From April Fool's Day, by Josip Novakovich



Last Thursday, Chateau Grand Salon opened its doors to Croatian-born writer Josip Novakovich. Having immigrated to the U.S. at the age of twenty, Novakovich has published a novel, three short story collections, two narrative essay collections, as well as three textbooks on the art of fiction writing. Among many other prestigious awards, Novakovich received a Guggenheim Fellowship and two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. Currently, he teaches in the MFA program at Penn State University.

Novakovich proved to be no exception to the often-observed phenomenon of writers doubling as stand-up comedians. The small crowd of literary enthusiasts gathered in the salon could not help laughing as Novakovich sarcastically hailed America "a great country where you can wear a tee-shirt all year long." Of course, he was poking fun at America's unceasing quest for climate control. Back in Croatia, he told us, one wore layers in the winter and went naked in the summer. Much to our amusement, Novakovich then removed his sweater and unbuttoned his collared shirt.

To begin Novakovich read from April Fool's Day, his epic novel tracing Yugoslav history through the life of protagonist Ivan Dolinar. Novakovich then read from his latest work, a collection of short fiction entitled "Infidelities." The excerpt he chose to read featured the sordid sexual affair of a female Bosnian immigrant. Two paragraphs into the story, Novakovich stopped suddenly and asked our permission to leave the room in order to blow his nose.

Novakovich's unique perspective as an immigrant and ex-patriot give him that perceptiveness of American culture that only non-natives posess - Nabokov and Hemon are other examples. The fluidity, wit and art of Novakovich's prose make it hard to believe that English is his second language. When asked why he chose to write in English, Novakovich said, "It just seemed natural after having studied for five years at American schools."

Novakovich's prose is largely influenced by the absurdism of Kafka and Gogol. Citing Dead Souls, Novakovich explained that he wanted to "make fun of Yugoslavia the way Gogol made fun of Russia."

"My approach was fairly satirical," Novakovich admitted. When asked why his writing is so scorchingly caustic, Novakovich laughed and jokingly said, "Meanness definitely works better."