“How many deaths are necessary for us to live?”
Gregor Zorc and Matej Recer, two exceptional storytellers, playfully draw us into a whirlwind of different time periods, personal histories, and the stories of their parents, acquaintances, and strangers. Their intimate narration leans on the horrors of World War II, juxtaposed against the calm domesticity of the countryside, survival strategies in Yugoslavia with the cosmopolitanism of global capitalism, village solidarity versus urban distrust, and the interplay of life and death. How many disappointments do we need to find true love; how much fear must we overcome to gather the courage to face the unknown; how much hatred do we need to conquer to begin reconciliation; how many failures must we endure to discover our potential; how much loss must we withstand to feel happiness; how many times must we leave to arrive; and how many deaths are necessary for us to truly live?
These modern bards uncompromisingly confront us with cultural differences, different times, yet the same spaces. By inverting social contexts through individual stories, they create insight into the essence of humanity. Thus, rather than speaking solely of themselves, the authors talk about us. Their question, “How did we come to be here?” already provides an answer: “We can only move forward together!”

