How The Soldier Repairs The Gramophone

How The Soldier Repairs The Gramophone

by SasaStanisic (Author)

Synopsis

Aleksandar is Comrade-in-Chief of fishing, the best magician in the non-aligned States and painter of unfinished things. He knows the first chapter of Marx's Das Kapital by heart but spends most of his time playing football in the Bosnian town of Visegrad on the banks of the river Drina. When his grandfather, a master storyteller, dies of the fastest heart attack in the world while watching Carl Lewis's record, Aleksandar promises to carry on the tradition. However when the shadow of war spreads to Visegrad, the world as he knows it stops. Suddenly it is not important how heavy a spider's life weighs, or why Marko's horse is related to Superman. Suddenly it is important to have the right name and to pretend that the little Muslim girl Asija is his sister. Then Aleksandar's parents decide to flee to Germany and he must leave his new friend behind.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Publisher: Phoenix
Published: 11 Jun 2009

ISBN 10: 0753826259
ISBN 13: 9780753826256
Book Overview: Shortlisted for the German Book Award Winner of the Chamisso prize, the Bremer Literaturforderpreis and the Ingeborg Bachmann prize Sasa Stanisic has held both the Iowa and Graz writing fellowships He is himself a refugee who left Visgrad when he was a teenager For fans of Jonathan Safran Foer and Marina Lewycka HOW THE SOLDIER REPAIRS THE GRAMOPHONE has received excellent reviews: 'The best sections are exceptionally powerful and moving. As the debut of a young writer, this is a wonderfully inventive and impressive novel' Guardian 'Enchanting from the first word to the final. This sad and magical book captures the impact of war on childhood' Good Housekeeping 'There is some kind of innate divine spark animating this story... the literary talent on show in this book is simply world-class' Irish Examiner 'This is a deeply poignant and yet enchanting portrayal of the Bosnian war' Financial Times 'Stanisic bravely and ambitiously examines ways of perceiving history and identity in a war-torn world' Independent
Prizes: Shortlisted for Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize 2009.

Media Reviews
'Sasa Stanisic's inventive flourishes...inject the novel with a breezy bravado.' INDEPENDENT 'a sad and magical book' SCOTSMAN 'An enchanting tale that captures the impact of war on people's lives' BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH
Author Bio
Sasa Stanisic was born 1978 in Visegrad in Bosnia-Herzegovina and has been living in Germany since 1992. He has published short stories, audio plays and essays, and is also involved in literary performances and theatre. HOW THE SOLDIER REPAIRS THE GRAMOPHONE is his first novel and was shortlisted for the GERMAN BOOK AWARD as well as winning several other major prizes, with translations in 24 languages forthcoming. Stanisic is also the recipient of the prestigious Graz and Iowa writing fellowships.