Red Water
Matt Robinson
(Translator)
This title will be released on:
Jun 24, 2025
Description
A woman disappears after a beach party, and the search for her reveals Croatia's complex history well beyond the fall of Communism.
Silva is beautiful and cheeky, she has many admirers; but the police investigation reveals a more complex young woman than her family knew--a high school student who dabbles in drugs and deals in heroin. But Silva's brother loves her and stubbornly continues the search for her amid the upheavals of Croatian society. The following years will see the fall of communism and five long years of war. It will be almost 30 years till Silva's fate is revealed."This finely engineered, haunting novel has been deservedly garlanded with awards." ---Financial Times
"A brilliant cocktail of mystery and recent history, compellingly told."--Kirkus
"The best crime fiction of 2025 so far: In this outstanding novel, Jurica Pavicic uses the unsolved disappearance of a teenage girl, Silva, to document the impact of the Yugoslav civil war." --Times/Sunday Times
Product Details
| Publisher | Bitter Lemon Press |
| Publish Date | June 24, 2025 |
| Pages | 402 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781916725157 |
| Dimensions | 7.7 X 5.1 X 1.1 inches | 0.7 pounds |
About the Author
Reviews
"A brilliant cocktail of mystery and recent history, compellingly told." Kirkus
"A masterpiece!" Libération
"As inspiring as the Swedes Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. Pavičic brilliantly resorts to the noir novel to accompany ordinary lives caught in the collapse of communism, the rise of nationalism and the shock of wars." Le Monde
"The city of Split is more than a setting, almost a character. A tourist mirage in the summer, the Croatian port is confronted, out of season, with the aftermath of war, deindustrialization, and all kinds of depravity. Beyond the family drama and the police investigation, the metamorphosis of Croatia interests Pavičic." Telerama
"Pavičic superimpose a family drama and an outstanding, skilful historical fresco, while never, not even for a second, sacrificing the suspense of a good crime novel... Remarkable book." Le Figaro"Existentialist crime novel? It's an Adriatic blues."--Le Nouvel ObservateurThis finely engineered, haunting novel has been deservedly garlanded with awards." ---Financial Times"The best crime fiction of 2025 so far -- our critics' top new books for May. In 1989, Croatia was part of Yugoslavia, but the villages of the Dalmatian coast, with their spectacular beaches, were about to be drawn into civil war. In this outstanding novel, Jurica Pavicic uses the unsolved disappearance of a teenage girl, Silva, to document the impact of the conflict.--Times/ Sunday Times"Memorable for its psychological insights, moral weight, and Tolstoyian quality (without the length). This is the only one of his nine novels I have read. His work deserves translation." The CriticEarn by promoting books
