When Gregor Truba, the God of eighties Rock, exchanged his guitar in the nineties for a machine gun, he couldn’t know he was going to be dethroned not only from the centre stage which he dominated for a decade, but from his own soul as he set off on a bloody rampage with his elite troupe of Brothers in Arms.
He loved a young gifted poetess Pia, the great-grandniece of Nikola Tesla, who wasn’t able to return Gregor’s love, for she was dethroned from love after witnessing the most shattering scene possibly staged by her father. Would she ever be able to find love on her mysterious journey from Amsterdam to London, Sydney to Japan?
How many dark secrets did the Catholic Priest, Friar Marag, keep under his tightly-lipped smile, whilst purposely manipulating the faithful, shaping and sculpting their minds and realities as if he were a co-creator working in alliance with the Devil himself to generate chaos and leave his personal stamp on the existence and history of his country? Was he dethroned from humanity for his numerous and well-planned misdeeds?
Was Veronika Truba dethroned from her original self when she changed her name to Nikki Barlow upon her arrival to London, where she formed an unusual friendship with a flamboyant man and the commitment-phobe Dean Bloxham?
“And where do I go to be myself again?” The question no one could answer at that time, a time when everyone lost, everyone was dethroned and everything was meant to be broken.
Posted by Robbie on 14th May 2020
An excellent novel, one of those books that are impossible to categorize - the easiest and simplest way would be to say that “Dethroned” is a well written anti-war novel, a family chronicle, carefully crafted psychological study which tells the story that begins in the eighties and somehow ends in our time.
The human inability to overcome dualism and divisions is a powerful motivator here, the dualism of war and peace, love and hate, grandeur and misery, political differences and national divisions.
The leading characters, three key figures of the book are a young rock star Gregor, his sister Veronica, and her mysterious and sensitive friend Pia – the novel follows their complex interpersonal relationships and various, often very dramatic life situations. There is a number of family episodes in the novel, the family is all present, but most often not the place where the peace can be found: "family is actually a collection of a variety of characters, and when they are forced to sit at the same table, the real comedy begins".
What I particularly like is that, despite the unmistakable political observation that this book offers, it still does not assume a single political option and condemns the other, but without excessive moralization, shows that any conflict of this kind is meaningless and none of the wars have winners - they have only losers - wherever they are, in the Balkans or in any other corner of the world.
There is definitely a lot happening in this exceptional work of storytelling: unrequited love, bizarre characters, unexpected situations, excellent psychological studies, brutal war situations, emigrant episodes, metaphysical experiences and insights…, the reader is skillfully guided through the maturation of the main characters, to the collapse of a dream, the rough awakening of the whole generation.
After the bitter taste, the question remains of whether one can escape their past ? "Nomen est omen” – is the change of one's name alone sufficient to change his destiny?
And, as a conclusion: it makes me a bit sad that this book could be a success everywhere except in the country where the story is actually happening. But that is a whole other topic that I don't want to get into.
Great novel, highly recommended.
Posted by Yana Terzin on 17th Jun 2018
Once more, Branka Cubrilo proves to be a great storyteller. ' Dethroned' is a compelling novel, an immensely rich story of war, peace, hatred, love and so much more in between. Once started, I found it difficult to put the book down.
With some strong characters and several powerful families of different ethnic groups, which was the norm in her country of birth, Branka takes us through events of yet another destructive, sad and manipulative war, which actually did take place in the early nineties and resulted in the break-up of Yugoslavia.
For those of us who were born there, as indeed for so many others on the run from conflicts right across our world, it brings back so many sad memories. As a consequence of similar circumstances in that part of Yugoslavia during WWII, my own family had also moved and already lived in Australia for some decades at the time of this last war. However, disintegration of Yugoslavia proved to be the greatest pain of my life and certainly the greatest loss. Losing one’s country of birth is an undeniable loss of identity and belonging, even though until that time, I thought of myself as an Australian.
Whilst Branka’s story of war is difficult and dark at times, she delivers a strong message of redemption of the human soul. Spirituality, writing, poetry or whatever it takes to achieve this redemption is the only way we can be free to move forward with our life and even find forgiveness for those who hurt us.
Congratulations, Branka! I look forward to your next masterpiece!
Posted by Martin W.M on 14th Jun 2018
The book takes place from 1939 to 2017 dwelling on the two wars that ravaged (Eastern) Europe (WW2 and the civil war in Yugoslavia in the Nineties). The book follows the lives of three powerful families as they live their lives and cope with the ever-changing world around them. This includes characters that went off to war and grapple with the brutal reality of fighting, blinded by hate and national pride and, in the end, the ultimate question of what was the purpose of war. It is not a war novel as characters are on their journey to maturity, a spiritual journey, a quest to become a different human being. A quest that some will accomplished with more effort than others and some will epically fail.
Each chapter of the book is a story within the story yet together they weave a beautiful and cohesive tapestry of incredibly rich prose and interaction of various characters.
This lengthy book may be intimidating to some readers, but it is a very rewarding book to read and ultimately finish, therefore I would recommend this to those looking for a fantastic, sweeping, and interesting story of war, love, friendship, the role of Catholic Church in a war and life in general.
I call the book – ‘War and Peace of our contemporary era’.
Posted by Geoff Petersson on 3rd Mar 2018
Dethroned by Branka Cubrilo, Speaking Volumes 2018
I loved reading Branka's new novel for many different reasons. It is a book that at once grips and makes you question your own reason for being. From the very striking cover and title, one is immediately immersed in an unfamiliar world of love, intrigue and brutal conflict in places that one imagines but cannot understand. What Branka has done brilliantly, is to allow the reader to enter into the minds of those willing and unwilling participants of a brooding and distructive civil war and to bring some understanding of its consequences. It is both bleak and uplifting.
It is perhaps no coincidence that a central character in Dethroned is a woman born in the same year as Branka and one whom has in some ways followed a similar path, most notably one of leaving Croatia, the country of her birth. There can be no doubt that Dethroned operates of many levels and for each reader it will reveal more about themselves than perhaps they would wish. Those who have read Branka's previous works will recognise elements that have been woven into this story but this is a very different offering into her psyche.