The Death of the Little Match Girl
by Zoran Feric
translated from the Croatian by Tomislav Kuzmanovic
The Death of the Little Match Girl
Set in a fairytale-like atmosphere on the Adriatic island of Rab, The Death of the Little Match Girl begins with the tragic scene of a little girl's funeral only to transform into an eery investigation of the murder of a prostitute nicknamed "the little match girl." The story's creepy settings, bizarre exchanges, dark humor, and deep sarcasm reflect the absurd grotesqueness of the war raging on the mainland, and the despair of a country that seems to have lost its bearings in space and time.
Words started coming from the woman’s mouth. It wasn’t the high-pitched voice of a child anymore but seemed more like a man’s. Or the hoarse voice of a woman imitating male speech.
“It is I!”
“How old are you?”
“Ninety.”
“Are you a woman or a man?”
The strapped woman began laughing viciously. “Guess!” she said. “Jesus’ milk on you!”
“Have you committed those foul deeds?”
She kept laughing. More blood came from her mouth.
“Have you done what you say you did?”
“Yes!”
“Against God, our Savior, and his mother the Blessed Virgin?”
“Shove God up your ass, you butthole of a butthole!”
“The name! Who are you?”
Words started coming from the woman’s mouth. It wasn’t the high-pitched voice of a child anymore but seemed more like a man’s. Or the hoarse voice of a woman imitating male speech.
“It is I!”
“How old are you?”
“Ninety.”
“Are you a woman or a man?”
The strapped woman began laughing viciously. “Guess!” she said. “Jesus’ milk on you!”
“Have you committed those foul deeds?”
She kept laughing. More blood came from her mouth.
“Have you done what you say you did?”
“Yes!”
“Against God, our Savior, and his mother the Blessed Virgin?”
“Shove God up your ass, you butthole of a butthole!”
“The name! Who are you?”
ISBN: 9780975444450
196 pages • paperback • $16.95US
196 pages • paperback • $16.95US
cover design by Nicole Flores
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