Published by Graphic and Photo Studio Kaligram, 2019, 103 pages.

A physician has a heart attack; a man remembers his parent’s relationship while composing a foreword to his father’s unpublished manuscript; and a couple in a foreign country find a way to throw a birthday party for their child although they have very little money.

This is a collection of short stories by Serbian writer Slavko Milekić, many of which seem to be autobiographical. The narrator in these stories, like the author, was born in Belgrade in what was then Yugoslavia. He trained as a doctor, and now teaches in a university in Philadelphia.

The stories are vignettes from the narrator’s life, covering a few days and sometimes even just a few hours. A young woman visits an older man, who teaches her how to dance to the gypsy music he grew up with. The story captures that evening. It does not tell us how the relationship develops, and somehow it does not seem to matter.

When the narrator and his wife move to the United States, they have very little money and live in a cabin lent to them. Their children have no idea that they are poor and attend the local school. All goes well until the narrator’s son has a birthday. In Serbia, birthday parties usually involve only families. But the narrator is informed by the teacher that he is expected to invite all the children in his son’s class. How are they going to be able to afford a big party?

In “Broken heart”, a doctor worries about the recurring pains in his arm. Although he smokes and drinks, he is in good shape, well enough to beat his young opponent in racquetball. It does turn out to be his heart, and he gives us a wryly humorous account of the operation to put stents in his arteries.

There are some science fiction stories too, including one on the future of writing, when, thanks to AI, every person can produce a book. The biggest challenge is to find an original title, which is almost impossible, given the staggering number of books available on the market.

Word Beads has been published in Serbian and English, and is illustrated by the author. The English is sometimes a little clumsy, and there are a few typos. (Note: The author responded to my comment by saying that the “clumsy English” is there on purpose. He wrote half the stories in English and then translated them into Serbian and vice versa, creating something like “Slavenglish”. Hence, he went with a lot of simple present tense to maintain a certain dynamic and immediacy of style.)  

The stories are simply written and unpretentious. Most of them are fairly short. The longest story—which has several sections—is an enjoyable read about the narrator’s conscription into military service. I enjoyed the simplicity of the stories.

Read the Talking About Books interview with Slavko Milekić.