"Catch the Rabbit" book Lane Bastašić it was published for the first time in 2018, and after that it received various awards and recognitions, as well as translations into as many as 19 languages and publication all over the world, so that now, after four years, the book was also published in Montenegro, by the publishing house " New book”.
This was also the occasion for Bastašić to visit Montenegro, so the promotion of this edition took place the night before last in Podgorica, at the Nova knjiga bookstore on Independence Square.
The domestic public got to know the young writer even earlier, through her poetry and short stories, and as a turning point that aroused the special interest of both readers and critics was the publication of her first novel, after which Bastašić again wrote short stories, as well as diaries, Even after several years since the first edition, "Catch the Rabbit" continues to attract attention and attract new readers.
"None of us writes books to be forgotten after a year, but we all hope that they will live even longer", said Bastašić at the beginning, commenting on the constant interest in her work.
A Montenegrin writer of the younger generation, her colleague and friend, spoke with her in Podgorica Nikola Nikolic. Surrounded by various editions in the bookshop, which became remarkably small during the promotion to accommodate all those interested, Nikolić presented the plot of the novel to a large audience, many of whom stood tolerantly listening to perhaps their favorite writer. First of all, Nikolić pointed out why I like that book so much, which is the fact that Bastašić "reconciled two literary principles - how to write and what to write about".
"She handled a very interesting topic that is still very current in a very successful literary and artistic way. It is a topic generated by the war and the relationship between two friends whose friendship was formed before the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and which experienced an interruption when many other interpersonal relationships experienced an interruption, only to be redefined later through a reunion after more than ten years. In question are Sara, who lives in Dublin, with a stranger with whom she is in a relationship, and her childhood friend who used to be Leila, but was forced to become Lela due to identity engineering, because of the inhospitality of the environment and many bad and secondary things that war brings, and actually these are bad main things because they determine one's life completely. An unusual quest happens there after a long time. "Lejla sends a message, or rather a letter, to Sara to come and help her find Armin, Lejla's brother, whom Sara was secretly in love with in a teenage way, and then she starts an uncertain path," said Nikolić.
Bastašić also added that each reader forms his own focus while reading the novel, and thus interprets the work differently, which she is particularly pleased about, because, she believes, that is the richness of literature.
Nikolić also noted that the novel should be a lesson for everyone, including us today and here.
"And especially to people who invoke some conflicts, nationalism and the like, because a war that lasts a year or two is prolonged and continued by other means and decades later determines and destroys lives and relationships. Lana wrote about a topic that can be said to be war, because war is the common denominator of all those events in the novel. Nevertheless, in a way, this is also an anti-war novel because it also shows the consequences that war can cause, which are not only the balance of victims, but such abysses that people can never complete with some new positive things", said Nikolić and added that the structure of the novel is also quite interesting:
"The book can be seen as an interweaving of what is happening in the current time and some reminiscences of what happened many years ago, even before the war, in the period when Sara and Lejla matured intellectually as people, and the passages complement each other and that the entirety of their relationship is rounded off by providing us with answers to the questions 'why is the relationship between them like that today', because the root and trajectory of their relationship is observed".
Choosing a topic that is still difficult to accept in the area of the former Yugoslavia, Bastašić also said that she encountered different comments about what, how, why and what she should write. Also, it is concluded that in the beginning she did not have the support of the media, which should definitely pay more attention to culture, which suddenly changed at the moment when they could take advantage of her, added Nikolić. The popularity of the novel was also contributed by a photo on Instagram that was published on the official profile of the production of the film "Sex and the City", in which Sarah Jessica Parker he is holding the English edition of the book "Catch the rabbit" which (the famous) Carrie Bradshaw is reading at that moment.
Since that episode, Nikolić stated, all the regional media have been talking about it, appropriating Lana Bastašić as their writer - Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian... Bastašić further explained how she views this "syndrome" of (non)acceptance.
"First I went through situations when no one will accept you: in Croatia I am not good because I am a Serb, in Banja Luka I have a Croatian accent, which is not good, and in Belgrade I am Bosnian and I felt this discrimination at the university. So no one will want you. And then, some actress posts a story on Instagram, not even her, but the profile of the series/film and suddenly all the media reports it and depending on which country they are from - they describe me as of that nationality. It was all funny to me and it's a funny situation because I really have three citizenships and I'm like a hole in the system, but I really have the right to all three citizenships, which bothers many people," said Bastašić.
After the novel "Catch the Rabbit" was published, including the first translation and edition in the Catalan language, Bastašić also cooperated with an agent, which helped her a lot, although it is not a common practice in the Balkans.
"It's very difficult in literature if you don't have an agent, and that's not very common in the Balkans, although some publishers won't respond to your email any other way... Now I have an agent, I also have a publisher, a contract for the next book and time to write, but and incredible pressure, and I have a deadline. Everything has changed a lot, but I have the possibility to overcome myself, to search for myself, so even if I write a bad book, it's okay, because the world generally doesn't care. In any case, you build and create something of your own," said Bastašić.
After the novel "Catch the Rabbit", Bastašić also published the collection of stories "Milječni zubi", and then diaries - jointly with five other young regional authors, including Nikola Nikolić "2020" and another, independent "Red Suitcase". However, she still gets questions about whether there will be a sequel to the novel, which she revealed at the promotion:
"First of all, I decided that I will not repeat myself in the following works, and as far as the sequel is concerned - I do not plan to write a sequel, although many people ask me about it, but for me the story is complete. Of course, 'never say never', but for now, that's how it is," she concluded.
Shared Diary and "Red Suitcase"
The idea that six young writers from six countries of the region start writing a joint diary in which each of them will record their experiences during two separate months was born at the end of 2019. Lana Bastašić started writing a daily diary in January 2020, which turned out to be quite stormy, even for literature. Authors Luiza Bouharaoua, Dijana Matković, Rumena Bužarovska, Danilo Lučić and Nikola Nikolić continued to write during a year that will be remembered on a planetary level.
This is followed by "The Red Suitcase", a diary in which Lana Bastašić describes several months spent in Zurich during 2021. Although the plot of the diary spans four months, almost an entire life with all the questions and questions has been between the covers.
"Milječni zubi" - quite a dark story
During the promotion, Bastašić also spoke about the collection of stories "Milječni zubi" which was created after the novel "Catch the Rabbit", and for which the idea was born while reading the novel "Physics of Sadness". Georgija Gospodinova, she revealed recommending the novel.
"What was fascinating to me about 'Milk Teeth' was that the reactions were much more violent in the sense that people were completely divided so much that people either liked the book a lot or didn't like it at all. That's exactly what I particularly liked, because it shows that the book achieved something, but also that I didn't repeat myself. I managed to do something different and touch something with the readers", she points out.
"Milječni zubi" talks about childhood and maturation, which is of enormous importance for the formation of each individual, and which may not even exist in the way it should be, given that it takes place in the Balkans, where everyone carries their own burden and generations as if they were poisoned by permanent spasms, violence, behavioral models.
"The stories are quite dark," confirms the author, and Nikolić explains that the focus on the sensitive period of growing up and the formation of personality additionally contributes to this.
"I probably touched on some things such as the matrices of growing up typical of the Balkans, the patriarchy that affects both boys and girls in such a way that they cannot be happy, including those who want to carry it out, violence that is not always necessarily physical but can also be psychological and we don't even recognize him... Basically, everyone is a victim", said Bastašić and revealed that some of those stories are from her life and that of her friends.
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