Outside of Croatia, Robert Perišic is best known for his novels, but short stories are what first garnered him recognition, and eventually led him to be considered one of Croatia's most important contemporary voices. Horror and Huge Expenses is a career-spanning collection of stories that demonstrate why Perišic's wryly incisive prose, able to hit so many registers, resonates with readers everywhere. From the frontlines of tragic ethnic conflicts to capturing the hilariously absurd realiti...

"A must-read book by Croatian authors available in English. A collection of crime stories set across Zagreb, each one by a different Croatian writer."--Time Out (Croatia)"Zagreb, Croatia--its culture and its touchstones--will be terra incognita for many U.S. readers...Notable is Nora Verde's 'She-Warrior,' in which a young woman's carefully planned anarchist activities are smacked down by a triple helping of reality."--Publishers ...

A local journalist sends a distant relative to report on the war in Iraq, while he stays at home to sort out his love life and his professional career - all to varying degrees of success. As time goes on, things begin to unravel and he ends up having to fake his missing cousin's reports while struggling to hold on to his actress girlfriend. Our Man in Iraq is a take on the Iraqi conflict from the other side of Europe, where politics and nepotism collide and the confusing aftereffe...

Oleg and Nikola—hustlers, entrepreneurs, ambassadors of capitalism—have come to the town of N to build an obsolete turbine, never mind why. Enlisting the help of former engineer Sobotka, they reopen the old turbine factory, preaching the gospel of “self-organization” and bringing new life to the depressed post-communist town. But as the project spins out of control, Oleg and Nikola find themselves increasingly entangled with the locals, for whom this return to past prosperity brings bitter...

The first of Robert Perisic’s novels to be translated into English, Our Man in Iraq gets to the heart of life made and remade by war and serves as an unforgettable introduction to a vibrant voice from Croatia that's filled with characteristic humor and insight.2003: As Croatia lurches from socialism into globalized capitalism, Toni, a cocky journalist in Zagreb, struggles to balance his fragile career, pushy family, and hotheaded girlfriend. But in a momen...

Witty and ambitious, No-Signal Area is a sprawling novel, smart and just cynical enough to frame and give an edge to the abiding nostalgia that is its real subject. A group of entrepreneurs brings roaring back to life a defunct turbine factory and the town around it, promising a return to the days of dignity, jobs and the good life and bright future that a manufacturing centre can dispense to a small town. But is a return to the days of plenty possible? And what of the changed relationship...

Witty and ambitious, No-Signal Area is a sprawling novel, smart and just cynical enough to frame and give an edge to the abiding nostalgia that is its real subject. A group of entrepreneurs brings roaring back to life a defunct turbine factory and the town around it, promising a return to the days of dignity, jobs and the good life and bright future that a manufacturing center can dispense to a small town. But is a return to the days of plenty possible? And what of the changed rel...

O-H-Oh-No! Fourteen storytellers reveal a gritty side to C-Bus in this collection of crime tales.Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city.With stories by: Lee Martin, Robin Yocum, Kristen Lepionka, Craig McDonald, Chris Bournea, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Tom Barlow, ...

Crime fiction set in Iran—including a finalist for the Shamus Award for Best PI Short Story." Tehran Noir is not only a solid crime collection, but an illuminating look into day-to-day life in the Middle East, with religious and political implications galore, as well as racial tensions bubbling just beneath the surface. . . . The stories in Tehran Noir aren't always easy to read, but they are engaging in the extreme." — San Francisco Book Revi...

"St. Louis gets a turn to show its dark side . . . [A] spirited, black-hearted collection" including a story from New York Times–bestselling author John Lutz ( Kirkus Reviews).A vibrant Midwest metropolis, St. Louis has a rich, multicultural history of art and literature—both high and low. That duality is embraced here in an anthology that spans the reaches of noir, from violent criminality to bad luck and bad attitudes.St. Louis Noir

The dark side of The Lion City is explored in a thrilling anthology that gives "plenty of new and unfamiliar voices a chance to shine" ( San Francisco Book Review).The island city-state of Singapore harbors unique customs and traditions largely unknown to the West. A booming economy and embrace of conformity overshadow its gambling dens, red-light districts, and a collective passion for ghostly and gory tales.Now, in Singapore Noir, some o...

"These 15 new stories celebrate the differences between us and our northern neighbor. As in any good noir, poverty, drugs, and despair cloud many of the characters' lives. But even the stories about druggies have a certain je ne sais quoi...Whether it's the quirkiness of the characters, the ingenuity of the puzzles, or the big hearts inside some of the darkest villains, noir's different north of the border."--Kirkus Reviews"American crime f...