When the population of Montenegro voted by a narrow margin in 2006 to cede from the last manifestation of Yugoslavia (“Serbia and Montenegro”), there was an air of euphoria in the pro-independence camp and in many Western countries. Europe’s newest state was born, renewing the Montenegrin sovereignty of 1878-1918, gained after fighting against the Ottoman Empire.

Soon after seceding from the joint state with Serbia, Montenegro applied for membership in the EU and joined NATO in 2017. These moves were controversial with many of the country’s ethnic Serbs — 28 per cent of the population — who objected to NATO membership. Serbia considers Montenegro part of its sphere of influence, as does Russia, a longtime Serbian ally. An attempted Russia-orchestrated coup took place in Montenegro in 2016. Meanwhile, a new law adopted in late 2019 to regulate the status of churches and other religious property riled the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church, leading to protests and a diplomatic cold war between Belgrade and Podgorica.

Authors living in the country certainly have a lot to write about, leading to a new wave of socially-critical fiction. The Calvert Journal has picked three pioneering novels at the vanguard of this new trend, dealing with the capital-P political system: parliament, parties, and the web of forces behind the scenes.

Paranoia in Podgorica by Balša Brković

Born in Podgorica in 1966, Balša Brković is a journalist, author, poet, and political activist. His 2010 novel Paranoia in Podgorica, subtitled “Noir from the Noughties”, was an immediate success and sold over 10,000 copies in its first few months alone. Noir is an appropriate epithet for this very readable novel, which is a blend of dark political thriller, literary humour, and full-on social critique.

The story is told by the protagonist, Maks, a one-time teacher and now librarian, who likes a slow start to the day, browsing the newspaper and drinking a few espressos after a joint. He lives with his devoted girlfriend Vilma, a culinary journalist and de-luxe caterer. But Maks is unwittingly drawn into a vortex of intrigue, with the mysterious murder of an opposition-minded professor and its unravelling making up the storyline.