It was actually supposed to be a completely different book, says Martin Kordić, but after the first three sentences the story developed in an unplanned direction.

The sentences remained at the beginning of Years with Martha, the writer's second novel.

Maria Wiesner

Editor in the “Society & Style” department.

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His characters simply took him with them, into the relationship story of Željko, the narrator, whom we meet when he is fifteen, and Martha, a grown woman, a professor.

Her story highlights what it means to grow up in this country as the children of parents who work in construction and as a cleaning lady until they drop, who came to Germany from Herzegovina and who have never quite left their homeland behind , while in the other they couldn't really arrive.

Whose surname, based on its origin, still makes it difficult for the children.

What happens between Željko and Martha is prettier and smarter than anything one could expect or fear.

How the boy works his way out of the limitations of his background and threatens to be caught up again by them is cleverly constructed and told.

What it means to come from a country, to have come many years ago, which was later torn apart by war, hits the novel with such force that not only Martha gets really sick of it.

We spoke to Martin Kordić about "Years with Martha", about the work on the novel, its background and the literary ability to let the characters find their way.

We also present a new literature puzzle, reveal the solution from August and, of course, who won our book prize this time.

"Years with Martha" by Martin Kordić was published by S. Fischer, has 288 pages and costs 24 euros.

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