Till Kingdom Come
2017 Longlist

Till Kingdom Come

Translated from the original Montenegrin by Will Firth

ABOUT
THE BOOK

A cynical local reporter discovers that the grandmother who brought him up is actually not his blood relative. Suddenly, the past he has called his own turns out to be a complete fabrication; from the stories of his parents’ lives to the photos in the family albums.

Here starts the most important investigation the reporter has ever undertaken, and one in which the main character is the mother he never knew. He must find what links the woman who gave birth to him to the murderous past of the Yugoslav Secret Services and the liquidation of political opponents abroad and embark on a journey will take him to the site of wartime atrocities, on the trail of fake suicides across Europe, and back to the fate of a local Jewish mystic.

Through his own unique and now recognizable style, Nikolaidis takes us into a world of criminal intrigue and a dissection of our humble human existence. Powerful, rich in philosophy, readers will be gripped by this binding narrative and the existential dilemmas it reveals.

 

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Andrej
Nikolaidis

Andrej Nikolaidis was born in 1974 to a mixed Montenegrin-Greek family and raised in Sarajevo, Bosnia. An ardent supporter of Montenegrin independence, anti-war activist and promoter of human rights, especially minority rights, Nikolaidis initially became known for his political views and public feuds, appearing on local television and newspapers.

He has had four novels and also short story collections published. He writes regular columns for the daily newspaper Vijesti, and the weekly news magazine Slobodna Bosna. He is a columnist at Delo (Ljubljana) and E-novine (Belgrade), and has recently written a number of articles for The Guardian.

Andrej Nikolaidis was born in 1974 to a mixed Montenegrin-Greek family and raised in Sarajevo, Bosnia. An ardent supporter of Montenegrin independence, anti-war activist and promoter of human rights, especially minority rights, Nikolaidis initially became known for his political views and public feuds, appearing on local television and newspapers.

He has had four novels and also short story collections published. He writes regular columns for the daily newspaper Vijesti, and the weekly news magazine Slobodna Bosna. He is a columnist at Delo (Ljubljana) and E-novine (Belgrade), and has recently written a number of articles for The Guardian.

NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS

A reporter finds out that his past was fabricated and sets out to find the truth about his family. His investigation leads him to Yugoslav secret services, fake suicides, an occult Scottish clan…. Although the plot seems like a crime story combined with mysticism, what Nikolaidis offers is a complex yet readable novel with philosophical insights and existentialist issues.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Date published
01/08/2015
Publisher
Istros Books
Translator
Will Firth
Translation
Translated from the original Montenegrin by Will Firth

STAY CONNECTED

Stay in touch and sign up to our newsletter to receive all the latest news and updates on the Dublin Literary Award.