BOOKS FROM SERBIAWhen Pumpkins Blossomed
Tags:
Set in Serbia
Male author
Description:
Ljuba comes of age after World War II, in a Belgrade suburb where the workingman's diversions are minimal. (“The greatest thing in Dusanovac at that time was beating up somebody for no special reason, just for fun.”) He runs with a gang of young thugs whose idea of outdoor sport is rape, then graduates from hoodlumism to boxing and a respectable job. Of the several kinds of misfortune that eventually befall Ljuba and his family some are primeval tragedy and some are a part of the system.