If you have a snake phobia, this is not the book for you. Bekim's family fled from Kosovo to Finland because of the war where Bekim acquires a boa constrictor. Kosvans hate snakes and Finns don't expect to find one in an apartment. Also Kosovans despise cats, and Finns rather like them. Especially dressed to the nines in a gay club. If you like bizarre, then this is the book for you. That is all you need to know.
The following morning there came a knock at the front door. My mother beckoned the guests inside, women from the village, extended family, and some of my girlfriends. They paraded through into the living room, where my mother kept them company while I waited in the kitchen. I was sitting in front of the woodstove. I opened one of the hatches and was watching the logs burning inside. First they turned black and began to crackle. After that they snapped in two, then into even smaller pieces until all that was left of them were flying black strips.
