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Maja Iskra's Uppercut punches through Belgrade's lost grit and defiance

Meet a narrator who throws uppercuts and scorns weakness in a vanished Belgrade. This isn't nostalgia—it's a defiant love letter to a world that fought back. Then came the cafés.

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1 min read
The image shows an old book with a variety of pictures of women's faces on it. The pictures are...
The image shows an old book with a variety of pictures of women's faces on it. The pictures are arranged in a collage-like fashion, with some of them featuring intricate designs and text. The women in the pictures have different facial expressions, ranging from happy to sad, and the colors of the pictures range from bright and vibrant to muted and subtle. The text on the book is written in a classic font, adding to the overall aesthetic of the image.

Maja Iskra's Uppercut punches through Belgrade's lost grit and defiance

Maja Iskra's debut novel, Uppercut, throws readers into the gritty streets of Belgrade's Dorćol district. The story follows a fierce, vodka-drinking narrator who learned to throw an uppercut as a child and lives by her own unapologetic rules.

The book paints a world where fights, theft, and humiliation are part of daily life—long before gentrification reshaped the neighbourhood into a trendy, upscale area.

Iskra's protagonist is a self-assured woman who despises weakness and thinks, 'Fuck the lot of you, you pathetic worms.' Loyalty matters to her, but romance doesn't. Raised in a rough environment, she started smoking at ten, brawling early, and never backs down from a fight.

The characters draw inspiration from Spaghetti Westerns—wild, tough, yet with their own twisted sense of decency. Iskra, a trained landscape architect and avid reader, admires Dostoevsky but writes in a raw, unfiltered style that matches her novel's harsh setting.

Dorćol itself has changed dramatically since the 1990s. Once a rundown, post-war area, it's now filled with expensive cafés, galleries, and expats. Rising property prices have pushed out long-term residents, replacing the old bohemian vibe with a polished, tourist-friendly version.

Iskra, who believes in teaching girls to fight back against harassment, sees no reason to suppress anger or emotion. Her novel reflects that defiance, blending brutality with a stubborn moral code.

Uppercut captures a vanished world, where survival meant throwing punches and refusing to be a victim. The book's unflinching tone mirrors Iskra's own views—women should stand their ground, and gentrification can't erase the past.

Dorćol's transformation may have buried its rough edges, but the novel keeps them alive on the page.

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