"The man who does not read books has no advantage over the man that can not read them"
- Mark Twain
Croatian literature
Over the coming weeks we will be uploading more book reviews.....
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Title: Destiny's Dowry It would be easy to pigeonhole Rosemary (Babich) Gard’s novel, “Destiny’s Dowry” as merely an entertaining romance novel. But that wouldn’t do the novel justice as it is much more than a love story between several generations of characters hailing from European locations as exciting as Trieste, Turkey and Croatia. The book begins around the turn of the last century in Croatia and follows the hardscrabble life of Katya, who although beautiful, is orphaned and poor. Through intervention of kind neighbours and travelling gypsies, Katya - although young - learns it is a big world out there and she longs to improve her lot in life. Always plagued with the feeling of not belonging in her village, Katya will come to learn the mysterious circumstances of her birth and find “where she belongs” according to an old gypsy queen who gifts Katya with a bracelet to keep her from harm. Being kind and beautiful has its price, the young girl learns. There are those who wish to do her harm, even as far as accusing her of witchcraft. Katya is a herbalist who can cure ailments and diseases using native flora and fauna found in the woods of Croatia. That talent gets her branded by the peasants who are jealous of the young girl with flaming red hair and angelic face. Sold to a Turk, she escapes and with the help of the gypsies, finds where she really belongs.
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 Title: Southerly Thoughts and Other Stories - an anthology of Croatian short stories. Editor: Mladen Urem Authors: Ksaver Šandor Gjalski, Janko Polić Kamov, Miroslav Krleža, Vladan Desnica, Ranko Marinković, Slobodan Novak, Ivan Aralica, Ivan Slamnig, Antun Šoljan, Nedjeljko Fabrio Publisher: Rival Civic Association, Rijeka, 2005, 188pp ISBN: 9536700204 to come... MM |
 Title: A House in Istria Author: Richard Swartz Publisher: New Directions, 2007, 224pp ISBN: 0811216977 ISBN: 978-0811216975 This is a novel about a Swedish man who is intent on buying a house in Istria. Not speaking the language, he must rely on his wife to negotiate the purchase of this house. Covering a period of seven days, he discovers that the ownership of the house is disputed and therefore with the help of his wife he sets forth to try and find out who the owners are. This story is narrated with the voice of his wife and is as much about their relationship as it is about house buying in Croatia. SC |
 Title: Imagining the Balkans Author: Maria Todorova Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA, 1997, 272pp ISBN: 0195087518 ISBN: 978-0195087512 Todorova’s book is a study on the literature about the Balkans written by western authors. Through her analysis of narratives written by a number of diplomats, journalists and travel writers, she argues that the ‘Balkans’ is not only a geographical area but is also a concept often filled with negative inferences and judgements. Put very simply, her main line of argument takes a fairly similar form to that offered by Edward Said in his book “Orientalism”, where she suggests that the effect of presenting the Balkans as an area guided by primitive passions is that Europe is made to look more civilised. Irrespective of whether one accepts her argument or not, by questioning the motives of western authors as to why they are writing about the Balkans as they do, this book compels readers to not take the literature written by western authors as being a ‘true’ representation of the Balkans. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in reading more widely on the break up of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. SC |
 Title: Maro Polo's IsleAuthor: Michael Donley Publisher: Spencer & Glynn, UK, 2005, 172pp ISBN: 0954-989-406 Smith Settle Ltd The author offers an in-depth view of one particular island, but at the same time captures the spirit of Dalmatia as a whole. Although Marco Polo fought on the side of the Venetians, Korčula claims – with a fair amount of evidence – that it, not Venice, was his birth-place. Using this theme as a connecting thread, the author brings to life from the inside the people, traditions, language, history, music and festivals of Marco Polo’s Isle, one of the most beautiful in Dalmatia. Anyone who has visited this lovely island will want a copy of Marco Polos Isle on their bookshelf. It is not just a once-off read but a beautifully written treasure trove of information in which to dip again and again. Those who have not yet visited Korčula will be booking their passage well before the last chapter. korculainfo.com |
Title: Two Lines of Life SC |
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