The Pelican: A Comedy

by Martin Michael Driessen

Jonathan Reeder (Translator)

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Book cover for The Pelican

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“[A] funny, serious, clever novel.” —The New York Times

From award-winning Dutch author Martin Michael Driessen comes a fearlessly funny tragedy about an improbable friendship, unstable dreams, missed opportunities, and epic coincidence.

In a quiet coastal town in Yugoslavia, two men seeking more than the Communist regime can offer find their lives deceitfully entwined.

Andrej is a postman in complete denial of his existence. He yearns for respect and fame but commits petty crimes for reasons he doesn’t fully comprehend. Josip is an increasingly irrelevant cable car operator and unfaithfully married. Life was so much simpler when neither one knew the other’s secrets. Now that they do—discovered quite by accident—each man has resorted to blackmailing the other. As their anonymous misdeeds escalate, a farce of mutual dependency begins. So does the unlikeliest of friendships when Andrej and Josip finally meet face-to-face.

In a tale set against the impending wars, Martin Michael Driessen ingeniously explores the foibles of two painfully ordinary men boldly staking their claims on life.
  • ISBN10 1542044871
  • ISBN13 9781542044875
  • Publish Date 12 November 2019
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country US
  • Publisher Amazon Publishing
  • Imprint AmazonCrossing
  • Format Hardcover
  • Pages 240
  • Language English