Safe Return Doubtful

Translated from the Serbian (Montenegro) by Lovett Edwards

This is a long out of print book with a simple premise that is a delight to read. It has a fable-like quality to it and a particularly strong sense of place, that place being a spectacular area of mountains in the Durmitor National Park in Montenegro, a place I know well. Specifically it takes place in the shadow of the peak of Prekornica, also called Kula, at 1927 metres.

A man comes home to Montenegro to die, having just found out that he has a fatal disease. On impulse, he gets off his train at a remote station in the mountains. Close by two hunters are camping. The man walks out of the station and on seeing the two men, turns around and walks in the opposite direction. The hunters decide to follow him. What starts out as curiosity turns into a chase, and then into a hunt. Over time, the number of pursuers grows.

The book is narrated by one of the hunters while the perspective of the man from the train is interspersed in the third person.

Published in 1974, with its English translation six years later, Šćepanović addresses some fascinating issues.. such hostility to a complete stranger, the stories we invented justify anger, the nature of existence, what drives us, and ultimately, death.

It’s a forgotten gem; a novella, just 85 pages, with so much packed in that, in looking back, it could have been three times as long.

A benefit from it being out of print is that it is in the public domain, and available as an ebook for free on the Internet achive.

My GoodReads score 5 / 5