Social circumstances write novels

The debut novel of a journalist and editor Srdana Kosovic "Gods Die a Stupid Death" was promoted on Sunday evening in his hometown of Bar, in the packed reading room of the "Ivo Vučković" National Library, and on that occasion he also announced that he was working on a new work that draws inspiration from the "coup d'état" affair of 2016.

Kosović's first step into the world of literature attracted great attention, and critics characterized his work as a combination of realistic, dramatic, and fantastic elements. Through the fate of the main character, Kosović analyzes complex issues of Balkan identity, history, and religion, and in a symbolic way deals with the socio-political events that have unfolded in Montenegro over the past few years.

Kosović is also known to the public as the editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper and portal "Vijesti" from 2018 to 2023. The topics raised in the book were discussed with the author by the graduate philosopher and essayist Stefan Djukic, and they discussed the book's title, the motives and time frame of the plot, the relationship between literature and politics, but also the author's plans for a new literary work.

On this occasion, Kosović also announced a new novel, which is in the works and for which, as he stated, he has drafts that he has begun working on. Just as the first relies on the 2020 protests and the coronavirus pandemic as a direct experience of Montenegrin society, the new novel draws, among other things, inspiration from the events of 2016, related to the case known to the public as the "coup d'état".

The promotion began with Đukić's question about the novel's unusual title, and he assessed that, in relation to the book's motif, the title could also be "Sleeping", so he asked about the creation of the title "Gods Die a Stupid Death". Kosović said that this was one of the most frequently asked questions after the novel met with the audience and said that "in the meantime the answer had disappeared".

"It probably came from my journalistic experience, I was looking for something that would have a strong noun, so that the novel could be abbreviated, so that we could talk about the gods. The main fascination of the novel is the stupid ways in which people can die, or how life can be ended," said Kosović.

The title was not a direct reference to a specific scene from the novel, he added, but rather took shape naturally during the writing process and subsequent discussions about it. He emphasized that the editor and publisher had certain suggestions for the title, but for him, it was not an option – he got attached to it and did not want to give it up.

Speaking about readers' impressions and expectations set by the title, Kosović emphasized that some expected a more abstract work or more explicit philosophical and ideological messages.

"I didn't write a novel with a predetermined message. I almost put this character on a train and said, 'Let's see how far he goes.' All the layers came along the way. I didn't want to start from a predetermined art form or impose conclusions," he said.

One of the focuses of the discussion about the novel was Kosović's decision to set the plot during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and the lithium - in February and March 2020. Đukić said that readers, knowing Kosović's professional work and previous analyses of socio-political circumstances, could have expected a predominantly political novel, which, however, did not happen.

The author said that the specific social circumstances of the time were a strong inspiration.

"I have actively tried to avoid putting too much emphasis on political events, primarily because we have all experienced it. I do not feel particularly called upon to further explain why something happened in a particular way, especially since I have already done so through my professional work and comments," he stated.

Asked whether public perception and recognition through journalistic work were an aggravating circumstance for him, bearing in mind that part of the audience might expect confirmation of his views, while others might reject the novel due to its thematization of the period of the uprising and the pandemic, Kosović replied that he tried to separate literary expression from the columnist and analytical approach.

"I didn't feel the need to give a final judgment or final positions. I didn't burden myself with having to convey some key message," he said.

The promotion of Kosović's novel ended with questions from fellow citizens, who have long been familiar with his work, but they also had the opportunity to receive a signed book with a personal dedication from the author.

Kosović emphasized that the promotion of his novel in Bar was very significant and emotional for him, so that he felt like a child playing football in front of the Bar Pivnica 30 years ago.

"It's like seeing the 'dangerous' team from Solidarnosti (a settlement in Bar) again, which in the wider center could only be rivaled by the buildings of Lamela and Makedonsko Naselje. It's like seeing Kongrap for the first time, which seems like someone dropped a piece of another city and realized that it was supposed to be here all along. It's like seeing Spuška and Zlatiborska, where for me the main gamers and alternative people were. It's like walking down Maršala Tito Street for the first time, unaware that it is the most beautiful street in Montenegro and at its end is the most beautiful building," said Baranin, who currently lives in Podgorica.

It's as if he sees, he added, the still-tucked Bjeliše that stand like a hedge and offer a soft embrace, the industrial sadness of Sokolana, where he lived until he was five, and the almost forgotten elegance of Prvoborac.

The view of both Šušanj and Šušanj, getting lost in the expanses of Polje and Čeluga, he mentioned, the aristocracy of Bartula and Old Bar, that intricate and impeccably beautiful labyrinth that deserved its adjective – all of this was on his mind before he presented his novel to his fellow citizens, a year after the first promotion.