The novel Along the sharp knife a bird flies by Tanja Stupar Trifunović, winner of the Vital Award and the European Union Prize for Literature, was promoted at the National Library in East Sarajevo.
This poignant and poetically powerful work takes readers through the 1990s — through the wartime everyday life seen through the eyes of two young girls. The novel is not only about war, but also about violence in all its forms: personal, familial, and societal. Through the lens of childhood, which knows no sides or borders, Tanja Stupar Trifunović tells a story of growing up in a time when safety ceased to exist and truths became blurred.
– This is my third novel and it deals with a topic I avoided for a long time because it is partly unpleasant — as it draws on personal memories of the war, a kind of personal trauma and wartime experience. It’s a subject I long avoided in my writing, but ultimately, what we try to run from always catches up with us – Trifunović said to Glas.
She pointed out that the reactions from readers have been interesting, that many reach out to her with their own stories, and that the novel resonates deeply due to shared personal memories.
As the author herself stated, this is a book she long avoided writing — because it confronts both personal and collective trauma. Precisely because of that, the novel strongly communicates with readers, opening a space for facing the unspoken. Along the sharp knife a bird flies is a novel that disturbs, awakens awareness, and evokes empathy.
Trifunović revealed that she is currently working on a new novel and a book of poetry simultaneously.
– Which one will be published first, I don’t know. We’ll see – said Trifunović, who made her first public appearance in East Sarajevo at this book promotion.
Tanja Stupar Trifunović has so far published six books of poetry, a collection of short stories, two novels, and the graphic novel The Sea Was Calm in collaboration with illustrator Tatjana Vidojević. Her books have been translated into English, Spanish, Bulgarian, Hungarian, German, Polish, Slovenian, Macedonian, Russian, Czech, Danish, Italian, and French.
She is the recipient of numerous awards for both poetry and prose, including the 2016 European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL) for the novel The Clocks in My Mother’s Room, the “Risto Ratković” award for the best poetry book in the region, and the “Milica Stojadinović Srpkinja” award for the best poetry book by a female author in the Serbian language for The Reproduction of Domestic Animals. Her novel Since I Bought a Swan received the Vital Award “Golden Sunflower” for the best book published in 2019. The poetry collection Snake’s Nest was awarded the “Vasko Popa” Prize for the best poetry book published in 2022.
She added that while writing her second novel, this topic emerged and she felt the story had to be told.
– When a story calls you, you can’t resist it. I accepted the challenge of the story and the theme, and that’s how this novel Along the sharp knife a bird flies was created — a book that touches on the war, but at its core, it’s not just a war novel. It’s also a coming-of-age novel, a novel about violence, about the maturation of two girls during wartime. Growing up is always challenging — even more so in times of war – Trifunović explained.
She emphasized that it is also a novel about displacement, about families coping with war in their own ways, about how to survive and maintain some semblance of normalcy in those conditions.
Trifunović concluded that she is pleased with the reception the novel has received from readers.
– So far, it is my most read novel. Laguna, the publisher, printed a second edition, and the book made it to the shortlist for the “Belgrade Victor” and the “NIN Award” – Trifunović revealed, adding that the novel has received many positive reviews and literary coverage in various journals and daily newspapers.
Source: Glas Srpske
