On the Bank of Somesul Mic and Other Stories (2022)

Zaher Alajlani's stories beautifully counterbalance realist prose writing with the darkness and violence of fantasy outbursts. Present-day places and events (Romanian everyday life the COVID pandemic) become a background for social and moral debates but mostly the receptacle where difference irregularity and monstrosity activate. On the Bank of Someșul Mic and Other Stories includes tales that are very often ignited by a main character watching things from a safe and rational distance only to plunge headfirst into a parallel reality: dream hallucination nightmares or possible time loops. Tradition routine customs and habits are thoroughly interrogated in a skeptical light which makes a most unlikely and surprising pair with magic and the irrational in these noir narratives. Alajlani's stories are not to be missed. (Professor Mihaela Ursa)