New Novel Published by The Digital Press, North Dakota Quarterly

(Photo from UND Today)

(UND Today) – The school yards, neighborhoods, apartment blocks and abandoned lots of 1990s Serbia are the backdrop to a novel about how young people survive in an exploding country.

North Dakota Quarterly and The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota are pleased to announce the publication of Miloš K. Ilić’s debut novel, “The Children of Neverville.” Ilić presents an original, gripping and heartbreaking allegory for our fragmenting world.

“The Children of Neverville” is a serious and tragic novel about young people in an exploding country. The 1990s in Serbia were defined by the authoritarian rule of Slobodan Milošević, crippling international sanctions, extreme economic hyperinflation, a massive refugee crisis and active involvement in the violent breakup of Yugoslavia. That’s the backdrop against which we see Rambo, a teenager in a medium-sized city, wrestling with the pressures of school, the generation gap, sexuality, life under sanctions and, above all, his role as leader of a gang called the Centrals.

The author, Miloš K. Ilić, deftly captures the big personalities of Rambo’s fellow students and fellow gang members as they challenge authority, balance the demands of friendship with their own fear and desire, and engage in an ominous arms race with other nearby “teams” or “crews” of young people.