The novel is by one of Slovenia's leading contemporary writers and is one of a small number of Jancar's works that can be read in English. It differs from much of his previous writing by including autobiographical material - the author was a Fulbright scholar in New Orleans. Although the events occur in New Orleans, the story is really about the author's understanding of his place in the world and his relationship to his native land. His final assessment is penetrating and captures the sense of estrangement of living in two worlds, an assessment that is both personal and universal. The masterful translation reads as though it were first written in English, yet it is completely faithful to the Slovene original.

I picked this up on a whim, I felt like reading something from Europe, I don't know why. I am, however, very glad I bought this. The book is descriptive, slightly experiemental, and a lot of fun to read. Mocking Desire chronicles the life of Gregor Gradnik, a Slovene student getting his masters in New Orleans. It tells us of his friends, coleagues, and the people he meets, each of which has some different quirkyness that sets them apart from everyone else. The book is humourus at parts, and very serious at others. It is really a good way to read about how foreign students view Americans, and is a real eye opener both literarily and realistically speaking.

Drago Jancar is the most well-known living Slovenian author. His books are translated in more than 20 languages but not in English (yet)! You have to read Lela B. Njatin's weird scenes from the warzone and Central European minimalism by Andrej Blatnik. THE DAY TITO DIED is the only anthology of Slovenian short stories available in English. Grab a copy while the stock lasts

Kadar srednje-evropski sentiment trci ob amerisko stvarnost, prihaja do pretresov duse in radosti telesa: karnevalsko vzdusje razbrzdanega New Orleansa predstavlja Jancarju ozadje, na katerega nanasa razkosno slikarijo bizarnih prizorov, v katerih fantastika izpodriva stvarnost, eroticna blaznost pa se preliva v vsakdanjo rutino. V hitremu ritmu, ki bralcu ne pusti do sape, spremljamo junaka na njegovih strastnih in neverjetnih blodnjah skoz labirint ameriske dekadence, v kateri resnicnost prehiteva sen.