HELL REVISITED

“Welcome to Hell” comes across as the work of a careless and misinformed author; everything Vollman sees is interpreted with romantic ignorance bordering on maliciousness. Ominous T-shirts that say “God and Croatia,” city facades of bleached chlorine-green, and fervently intolerant young men lead to one conclusion: ancient hatreds brew in the incomprehensible Balkan pot, and all one can do is take surrealistic photographs of tuxedo-clad cellists in muddy cemeteries and write poetic stories for respectable American publications.

Serbian aggression could have been prevented were it not for the ignorant politicians in offices of power. Now articles by ignorant fiction writers are contributing to its success.

SANJA BRIZIC ILIC

Los Angeles