By Katarina Tepesh

In “The Survival League,” besides the title itself, three out of nine stories are superb. “The First and Last Punker” is a hilarious spoof. In the early 1980s, the punk rock scene was very strong in Croatia. If you asked a kid on the street what he wanted to be when he grew up, he’d answer arrogantly and without hesitation: a rock star!

“How I Transcended Trichinosis” is so well written that the author pulls the reader right into the beauty shop in Zagreb to take part discussing how the spread of trichinosis among the pig population in recent years has had a traumatic effect on many residents, dividing then into the ‘for’ or the ‘against.’ Nuhanovic writes how the hairdresser, “briefly rested her gaze on the crucifix hanging on the wall and the message affixed below it: Peace be to this house. Then, summoning her courage, she sentenced my cowlick to death. At the same time, in her characteristically slow voice, she sighed, “God help us.”

In “The Barefoot Temptation” Nuhanovic writes how “forty-five years of official atheism left scarcely a trace on Croatia; the large population of former atheists has almost completely died out. In 1999, a skinny guy in a white shirt and narrow, old-fashioned black tie suddenly appeared and laid siege to my house. I listened courteously to him as he warned me, in a private session, that the sins of mankind were leading us to a final Judgment Day. He misconstrued my courtesy for a desire to join the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Although he had wasted his time with me, I hadn’t wasted mine with him. Our session resulted in the story ‘The Barefoot Temptation.’”

The talented writer, Gordan Nuhanovic, was born in 1968 in Vinkovci. He worked as a war reporter during the Homeland War and is presently a journalist and literary critic in Croatia. He is the literary commentator for the main weekly television program in Zagreb devoted to book reviews and literary topics. His short story collection in Croatian include “Liga za Opstanak – The Survival League,” published in 2002, and “Bitka Za Svakog Covjeka – Battle for Every Last Man” published in 2003.

Nuhanovic was lead vocalist in one of Croatia’s punk rock bands, Short Circuit. In 1989 he founded the “Young Croatian’s Iggy Pop Preservation Group,” whose purpose was to preserve the popularity of Iggy Pop and attend all his concerts. He continues to serve as the group’s honorary president.

“The Survival League” was translated by Julienne Eden Busic, author of “Lovers and Madmen – a True Story of Passion, Politics and Air Piracy.”

When Croatia’s Homeland War ended, punk and culture were on the rise. Wanting to present a new face to the world, Croatia’s Ministry of Culture approached Ooligan Press with a proposal to publish first out of three pieces of New Croatian literature in English – Ooligan accepted.

Ooligan Press is a general trade press rooted in the rich literary life of Portland and the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 2001, it is also a teaching press in the Department of English at Portland State University. Besides publishing books that honor cultural and natural diversity, it is dedicated to teaching art and craft of publishing. The press is staffed by students pursuing master’s degrees in an apprenticeship program under the guidance of a core faculty of publishing professionals. By publishing real books in real markets, students combine theory with practice; the press and the classroom become one.

Published by Ooligan Press www.publishing.pdx.edu $10.95 or www.amazon.com $7.23

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