April Fool's Day By Josip Novakovich; HarperCollins, $23.95; in stores
Novakovich, who emigrated from Croatia to the USA at 20, has written an ironic, meandering novel about an ironic, meandering survivor of the collapse of Yugoslavia. It's both humorous and horrifying as it traces one man's misadventures as he tries to love a dictator and fight on both sides of the war between Croatia and Serbia. A drunken doctor's malpractice allows the protagonist to witness his own wake and funeral.
