The short short. I’ve come to love that form. It takes a talented writer to cram a novel’s journey into a mere page or two. Slovenian writer Andrej Blatnik seems to have the knack for this concentrated form of art. You Do Understand is 112 pages of short shorts that, if you’ve not tried them before, are sure to make you a fan.

As a grouping, Blatnik’s stories have a strong undercurrent of relationships - what makes them tick, what breaks them, what makes them make us lonely within them. One thing’s for sure, you’ll enjoy pausing between each to reflect, laugh, cringe, remember when you did something horribly similar.

Translated by Tamara M. Soban, the stories flow so well in English you’ll forget that’s not their first language. You Do Understand is part of the new Slovenian Literature series from Dalkey Archive Press, a publishing house dedicated to bringing some amazing works to American readers. Blatnik’s collection of short shorts is a prime example of why such an endeavor is worthwhile.