Safe Return Doubtful

Translated from the Croatian by Mima Simić – Published 2025

An unnamed narrator, lost in thought, stares blankly out his train window as he leaves the coast of Croatia. As an academic, he has been part of a growing movement that are ‘constantly invoking a better tomorrow as the majority zeroed in on the shitty today.’

Times are particularly hard in the Balkan countries in a time of general instability for Europe, and the novel’s characters reflect that. The narrator and his girlfriend, who is a translator, have experienced a serious downturn in the amount of work they get. In addition the narrator has not recovered from the trauma of witnessing police opening fire on unarmed migrants who were suffocating in a train car; he has slumped into a depression as a result.

Sajko’s writing style is in long sentences, each lasting a chapter. I don’t usually like this, but here it has a place as the narrator reflects on his life.

It is a dark novel, and one with little gimmer for hope, but a powerful one, concerning the theme of loss and displacement.

My GoodReads score 4 / 5