Identity & Belonging

Explorations of self, belonging, and what it means to find your place.

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Newest first Oldest first

Newcomers: Book One

Newcomers: Book One

Lojze Kovačič

The first volume of this three-part autobiographical series begins in 1938 with the expulsion of the Kovačič family from their home in Switzerland, eventually leading to their settlement in the father’s home country of Slovenia. Before leaving their home, the ten-year-old son of the family imagines his father’s country as one of beauty and fairytales, but as they make their way to the land of their exile, the family realizes that any efforts to make this place a home will be in vain. Confronted by misery, hunger, and hostility, the young boy refuses to learn Slovenian and falls silent, his surroundings becoming a social, cultural, and mental abyss. Narrated by the boy with uncanny naiveté, the novel follows his family’s journey in a fragmented mosaic of memories. Some are innocent and tender, while others are miserable and ruthless, resulting in a profound and heart-wrenching description of a period torn apart by conflict, reflected in the author’s powerful and innovative command of language.

Newcomers: Book Three

Newcomers: Book Three

Lojze Kovačič

The war is ending, but for Bubi and his family, peace brings a new set of uncertainties. In Ljubljana, the arrival of communist rule transforms everyday life, leaving people to navigate shifting loyalties, political suspicion, poverty, and the demands of a society being rebuilt from the ground up. Bubi fears that his family’s German-speaking background will make them targets under the new regime. As he witnesses show trials, homelessness, and the upheaval of postwar life, he begins to question the ideals shaping the world around him. At the same time, his interest in art and literature deepens, offering him a way to understand a society caught between collective ambition and individual freedom. In this final volume of his autobiographical masterpiece, Lojze Kovačič captures the contradictions of a country emerging from war, where hope and oppression coexist and the search for belonging remains unresolved.

About this theme

Books: 2
Countries: 72

Countries with this theme

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Congo, Democratic Republic

Dominican Republic

North Macedonia