A new book, and the first novel, "Sampas", by a Montenegrin author Ilija Đurović, was shortlisted for this year's NIN award for the novel of the year, which is awarded by the Belgrade weekly.
The jury for awarding the NIN award for 2021 selected 17 novels, out of the original 43. It was also announced that the new issue of the weekly, which will be published tomorrow, will also publish short reviews of the selected works, and in the next one, interviews with the finalists. Who will be the 68th recipient of an important domestic literary award will be announced on January 24. The decision will be made by a jury consisting of: Marija Nenezić, Ivan Milenković, Marjan Čakarević, Branko Kukić and president Teofil Pančić.
Ilija Đurović's novel was published in the edition of "Treće trg" from Belgrade, in a review Bojan Krivokapića it is stated that it is a "poem of the road".
"'Sampas' is a novel. 'Sampas' is music. From the first to the last page of this book, from Ada Bojana, through the Bay of Kotor and to Podgorica, Ilija Đurović uses a refined literary style to present before us the images and situations of a whole life, life as a search for the better, of life as a tangle of favorable and unfavorable circumstances and events - what could really be called: life, literature," he noted.
Krivokapić adds that the milieu through which the characters of this book seek their "sampas. Or salvation?" contemporary Montenegrin, i.e. fragmented-Yugoslav, i.e. Balkan context.
"Ilija Đurović skilfully puts together a literary puzzle that sometimes makes our hearts rise, and sometimes our love. The impeccable style in which this novel is written makes us not wish it was the end. But the end of what? The end of the road? The end of the search? Sampas does not allow us to put an end to it. "Sampas is a book about love for life, despite everything," concludes Krivokapić.
In addition to Đurović, the shortlist for NIN's award includes: the author's novel "The Fatal Consequences of Athletic Injuries" Milice Vuckovic in the "Booka" edition, "The landscape through which I make my way" Bosko Tomašević in the edition of "Pressing", "That which cannot be spoken", Elvedin Nezirović published by "Laguna", which is also the publisher of the works Nenad Racković "Mucus and Bile" and the novel "The Spanish Boot" Vladimir Kopicl, "Children" Milena Marković Publisher "Lom", "Symptoms" Milice Sniva published by "Partizanska knjiga", which is also the publisher of the work "How to eat a pomegranate" Bojan Babić, then and Nebojsa Milenkovic and the novel "The perfect anti-talent for happiness" published by "Academic Book", "Mokrina Chronicle" Srdjana V. Tešina published by Archipelago, which is also the publisher of the novel Nina Savcic "In chains" and Lasla Blašković "Carinska Street in Novi Sad", work Branko Ćurčić "From the Dark" published by "Literary Workshop Rašić", "Afterword" David Albahari in the "Magic Book" edition, "Who Killed Gogol?" Aleksandar Novačić and the publisher "Logos" and Sinisa Tucić's novel "Popino prase" published by "Zenit books".
Ilija Đurović was born in Podgorica in 1990. Since 2013, he lives and works in Berlin, writes poetry, prose, plays and film scripts. He published the following books of stories "They do it so wonderfully in great romance novels" in 2014 and "Black fish" in 2016 and in 2018 the book of poetry "Brid", all published by "Yellow Turtles".
Bonus video:
