Paper

The Serbian writer Goran Petrović planned to write a novel “Delta,” consisting of four parts or cycles. Each book in the cycle is a standalone work, but together they form a single novel like a mosaic. Unfortunately, Petrović died in 2024 without completing this large-scale project. The book “Paper” belongs to the first cycle and tells the events of the Middle Ages.

The whole Kingdom of Naples debates its ruler, Joanna II, who is believed to be insatiable and licentious. Women hide their male relatives from the queen to protect them from her passionate looks. But Joanna pays no attention to rumors and falls in love again. To win her beloved’s feelings, she gathers a small army and a dozen writers for a campaign for precious cotton paper. These writers will have to create the perfect love message—if Joanna manages to obtain that most expensive paper in the world. It is known that after the war of rag traders, which lasted twelve years, the paper is not sold to people with a bad reputation and unclean intentions.

If you like works by Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar, Umberto Eco, Theodor Hoffmann, and Milorad Pavić, then Goran Petrović’s book may be to your taste.