We are thrilled to welcome authors Jurica Pavičić and Magdalena Blažević along with translator Christina Pribichevich-Zorić in conversation with Rosie Goldsmith for an evening celebrating Balkan literature by way of three extraordinary new novels:
Jurica Pavičić – Red Water translated by Matt Robinson
The Dalmatian Coast of Croatia, 1989. The investigation into a young woman’s disappearance falters as Yugoslavia plunges into a fratricidal war. Another three decades will pass before the truth is revealed. Inspector Gorki Šain, haunted by his failure to unravel the case the first time, returns to solve the crime in 2017.
Magdalena Blažević – In Late Summer translated by Andelka Raguz
When a picturesque village is caught in the turmoil of war, the entire worlds of girls Ivana and Dunja and their families is blown up and swept away. Based on a personal experience, Magdalena Blazevic's novel is poetic and powerful, full of images of ordinary country life and the brutality of war.
Dragan Velikić – The Investigator translated by Christina Pribichevich-Zorić
The news of his mother's death finds the writer in Budapest and prompts the opening of an old black box of family mementos. While the novel starts as the search for a lost mother, it soon becomes a story about a country and a people who have passed; an elegy for Yugoslavia as well as a family.
Rosie Goldsmith is director of the European Literature Network (ELNet), founded in 2010, and editor-in-chief of The Riveter magazine.
We hope you will be able to join us if you can for what promises to be a fascinating evening of discussion!
