writers

Robert Perišić

"Robert Perisic is a light bright with intelligence and twinkling with irony, flashing us the news that postwar Croatia not only endures but matters." - Jonathan Franzen
"How deeply satisfying it is to hear Perisic’s wry voice take a different angle, and tell a different story."—ZYZZYVA

Robert Perišić is an Croatian author, born in Split in 1969. Translations of his works were published in numerous European countries and the US. He is best known for his prose, and also writes poetry, plays and film scripts.

His novel “Naš čovjek na terenu” (“Our Man in Iraq”) won the prestigious "Jutarnji list award" in Croatia. The American edition of the novel was included in US top translation lists in 2013, along with praise from critics (The New Yorker, Publisher’s Weekly, National Public Radio, etc.) and writers, such as Jonathan Franzen. The German edition of the novel (‘Unser Mann vor Ort’) received ‘Literaturpreis der Steiermärkischen Sparkasse 2011’ in Graz, Austria.

The novel “Područje bez signala” (“Area With No Coverage”) published in 2015 was in finalist for the “Meša Selimović” award (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the T-portal award for best Croatian novel, and the American and French edition are currently being prepared.

Published works: poetry collection “Dvorac Amerika” (“Castle America”) of 1995, short story collections “Možeš pljunuti onoga tko bude pitao za nas” (“You may spit on the person who asks about us”) of 1999 and “Užas i veliki troškovi” (“Terror And High Costs”) of 2002, novel “Naš čovjek na terenu” of 2007, essay “Uvod u smiješni ples” (“Introduction To a Funny Dance”) of 2011, poetry collection “Jednom kasnije” (“Once, Later”) of 2012, play “Kultura u predgrađu” (“Culture In the Suburbs”) staged in Gavella, Zagreb, in 2000, film script for the feature film “100 minuta Slave” (“100 Minutes of Glory”) of 2004, and the novel “Područje bez signala” of 2015.

Robert Perisic (Robert Perišić) lives in Zagreb and wokrs as a free-lance writer. 

LITERARY AGENCY / CONTACT : Sandorf (ivan.srsen@sandorf.hr)

PRESS AND PRAISE FOR "OUR MAN IN IRAQ":

"Robert Perisic is a light bright with intelligence and twinkling with irony, flashing us the news that postwar Croatia not only endures but matters."  - Jonathan Franzen 

"Robert Perisic depicts, with acerbic wit, a class of urban elites who are trying to reconcile their nineties rebellion with the reality of present-day Croatia. . . . The characters' snide remarks could easily sound cynical but the novel has a levity informed by the sense of social fluidity that comes with democracy."  —The New Yorker

"This jivey—and I should say x-rated—story stays with us."—Alan Cheuse, "All Things Considered" NPR

" . . . terrifically witty and original. . ."—The Toronto Star

"Perisic’s smoothly told and unfailingly engaging story takes off swiftly and never falters. Toni’s is a tragic-comic tale enriched by layers of meditation on the broad and lasting effects of war, and the peculiarities of contemporary media . . . How deeply satisfying it is to hear Perisic’s wry voice take a different angle, and tell a different story."—ZYZZYVA

"Given the uncountable billions of words they have dedicated to the war in Iraq, it might be easy for Americans to think of it as belonging solely to them. Even its possession by the Iraqis can feel tenuous at times. So it is a refreshing reminder of the new global village to read a novel like Robert Perisic’s “Our Man in Iraq,” which studies the fighting in Baghdad from the distant shores of Croatia." —The Boston Globe  

"What’s most compelling about Perisic’s novel are the relentlessly insightful one-liners, offering poignant commentary on the unsettled day-to-day of a society trying to find its footing after devastating violence and in the throes of nascent capitalism. . . this smart, cutting book powerfully illustrates the horrible hangover of war." — Publisher's Weekly

Extraordinary novels do more than tell a good story; they cross multiple orbits, discussing family, love, politics, money and art. What’s amazing about Robert Perisic’s “Our Man in Iraq” is that it does all of the above — while also being wickedly funny. - The Eastern Iowa Gazette

"Despite the serious themes, the novel is largely comic and in many ways falls into the genre of satirical anti-war novels that includes The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hašek and Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five." - The Times Literary Supplement 

"I am not Croatian, but I am a journalist and I know lots of the people in this book – not literally, of course, but I recognise their characters. All the way through, not only did want to know what happened next, but I kept thinking, 'Yes, exactly!'" - Tim Judah on Our Man in Iraq

See more:

http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/yugo/perisicr.htm  

MAIN WORKS:

BOOKS:

1995 – "Castle America" /Croatian title: Dvorac Amerika/, poetry

1999 - "You Can Spit On The One Who’ll Ask For Us" /Možeš pljunuti onoga tko bude pitao za nas/, short stories

2002 - "Horror and Huge Expenses" /Užas i veliki troškovi/, short stories

2007 – “Our Man in Iraq” /Naš čovjek na terenu/, novel (Jutarnji list Prize, Zagreb 2008; Literaturpreis der Steiermärkischen Sparkasse, Graz 2011)

2011 – “Introduction to Funny Dance” /Uvod u smiješni ples/, autobiographical prose

2012 - "Sometime Later" /Jednom kasnije/, poetry

2015 . "No-Signal Area" (Područje bez signala), novel

PLAYS:

2000 - "Culture in Suburb" /Kultura u predgrađu/, black comedy (2000-2002. in Drama Theatre "Gavella", Zagreb)

FILM:

2004 - Screen-play for feature movie "100 Minutes of Glory" /100 minuta Slave/, director: Dalibor Matanić

ABROAD:

"You Can Spit On The One Who’ll Ask For Us" /Možeš pljunuti onoga tko bude pitao za nas, Croatian issue 1999/, stories

- in Serbia, “Možeš pljunuti onoga tko bude pitao za nas”, 2002, publisher: Samizdat B92, Belgrade

– in Hungaria, “Köpd le, aki rólunk kérdez”, 2004, publisher: Gondolat Kiadó; Budapest

"Horror and Huge Expenses" /Užas i veliki troškovi, Croatian issue 2002/, stories

– in Slovenia, “Vse te smešne zgodbe”, 2002, publisher: Študentska založba, Ljubljana

- in Serbia, “Užas i veliki troškovi”, 2002, publisher: Samizdat B92, Belgrade

- in Czech Republic, “Děs a velký výdaje”, 2009, publisher: Větrné mlýny, Brno

“Our Man in Iraq” /Naš čovjek na terenu, Croatian issue 2007/, novel

- in Serbia, “Naš čovjek na terenu”, 2008, publisher: Profil international, Belgrade

- in Bulgaria, “Наш човек от мястото на събитието”, 2010, publisher: Дамян Яков, Sofia

– in Slovenia, “Naš človek na terenu”, 2010, publisher: Študentska založba, Ljubljana

– in Macedonia, “Нашиот човек на теренот”, 2010, publisher: Makedonska reč, Skopje

-  in Austria, “Unser Mann vor Ort”, 2011, publisher: Leykam Buchverlag, Graz (Literaturpreis der Steiermärkischen Sparkasse 2011)

– in Czech Republic, in translation, publisher: ART LIBRI, Praha, program for 2014

– in Italy, "Il nostro uomo sul campo", publisher: Zandonai, Rovereto (TN), October 2012

– in United Kingdom, “Our Man in Iraq”, publisher: Istros Books, London, June 2012

– in USA, ‘Our Man in Iraq’, publisher: Black Balloon Publishing, New York, April 2013

- rights sold: Turkey, Sweden, Etiopia, Egypt