Fairycon is a Croatian Oulipo-inspired novel in which Marco Polo and Kublai Khan discuss fairies, cultural heritage and identity. Their two voices join a European travel narrative with the traditions of the Kingdom of Croatia and the Mongol Empire.
The book is organised as a magic square of the number twelve. Its chapters form a carefully designed field in which numerical order, lexicon entries and storytelling can be followed in several directions. This structure makes the form part of the meaning and places Croatian fairies within an unexpected conversation between East and West.
Fairycon also enters a wider literary dialogue with Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities. Maps, journeys, mirrors, networks and intertextual references connect the two works, while Jasna Horvat develops her own combinatorial architecture. The result is a playful yet researched novel about Marco Polo, Kublai Khan, Croatian mythology and the ways stories carry culture across borders.