By Sven Popović
Translated by Vinko Zgaga
ISBN: 9781628975000
Publication Date: 11/26/2024
Candid and unfettered, Sven Popović's Last Night is a playfully existential meditation on youth and the search for the self.
Acclaimed in his native Croatia, Popović’s unique blend of intimacy and contemplation has garnered him a following in the alternative literary scene of Zagreb—and beyond. With an intellectualism that never takes itself too seriously, an unaffected fluidity of form, and a keen eye for the smallest, strangest moments that color our lives, his stories weave an offbeat tapestry of urban life.
Last Night is the first short story collection from Sven Popović, whose writing was previously featured in Dalkey Archive Press’s Best European Fiction 2017, and his first full work to be released in English. Slickly translated by Vinko Zgaga, Popović's sometimes-dreamlike, sometimes-conversational vignettes offer a shrewd, original outlook on life’s absurdities.
Praise for Sven Popović
“Like all great writers, Sven Popovic is not only a master storyteller but also a conjurer of atmospheres. Reading this book is like hanging out with friends during one of those long and dreamy European summer days, where night and day eventually merge into each other and you are taken in by the subtle surrealism of youth. A book, yes, but more importantly a powerful experience.” —Carlos Fonesca, author of Natural History and Austral
“Sven’s stories are not burdened by reality, as much as reality isn’t burdened with our generation. It’s hard to talk about generations, but if there is a cohesive thread that binds these forever-post-forever-inbetween people (who, instead of Proust’s Madeleines have toilet seats of rundown bars), Popović found it. These stories are permeated with melancholy and irony, they wear a tired sneer that never goes into cynicism, and they ask the following question: who is that ‘we’ that we talk about? This is literature that dares to do what a lot of contemporary fiction shrinks away from—dream.” —Lana Bastašić, author of Catch the Rabbit
Biographical Information
Sven Popović was born on September 19, 1989 in Zagreb, in the part of Yugoslavia now known as Croatia. His short stories were published in the anthology of young Croatian writers (Bez vrata, bez kucanja, Sandorf 2012), in a collection of short stories Record Stories (Aquarius Records, 2011) and various magazines and webzines like Quorum, Zarez, and Arteist. As a freelance journalistm he has contriubuted to several magazines such as Zarez, Aktual, and the Austrian leftist magazine Wespennest, as well as writing literary and album reviews for various webzines. His collection of short stories, Last Night (Meandarmedia) came out in 2015 and received excellent reviews. Several of his stories were included in Best European Fiction 2017 (Dalkey Archive Press). His first novel, Uvjerljivo drugi, was published in 2018, and his second, Mali i Levijatan, in 2024.
Vinko Zgaga has translated several plays for stage production, including Tennessee Williams's Orpheus Descending (2008), Christopher Durang's The Marriage of Bette and Boo (2009), and Simon Stephens's Light Falls (2022). He has a long-standing working relationship with the Croatian Centre of the International Theatre Institute, having translated many plays for their Croatian Theatre Showcase event and the texts of several Croatian authors into English, including Dino Pešut’s play Static, Mate Matišić’s trilogy Wax People, and Sven Popović's short-story collection Last Night.
Excerpt
I realized early on that I stood on the wrong side. Those on the other side would look at me, point fingers and whisper. At first it was unpleasant, but in time you get used to being observed, like an animal in a zoo. Sooner or later you stop reading their lips because you realize that they never say anything smart anyway.