Red Water
ABOUT
THE BOOK
The investigation into a young woman’s disappearance in 1989 falters as Yugoslavia unravels in war. Beautiful Silva doesn’t come home. Young cop Gorki Sain discovers that she isn’t what she seemed–she dabbled in drugs and dealt in heroin. But Gorki soon finds himself out of a job as Yugoslavia plunges into a fratricidal war. Yet her brother stubbornly continues the search, amid the upheavals of Croatian society, from the fall of communism, through the 1991-1995 war, to the explosion of tourism with its toxic land speculation and corruption.
Original title in Croatian Crvena voda published by Profil (Knjiga, Zagreb)
ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Matt
Robinson
Matt Robinson, born in the UK in 1978, lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Formerly a foreign correspondent with Reuters, he now works as a freelance editor and literary translator. Red Water is the second novel he has translated.
Matt Robinson, born in the UK in 1978, lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Formerly a foreign correspondent with Reuters, he now works as a freelance editor and literary translator. Red Water is the second novel he has translated.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
Red Water by Jurica Pavičić is a masterfully crafted novel centred on the 1989 disappearance of seventeen-year-old girl in a small Dalmatian town. The investigation is abruptly interrupted by the outbreak of war, yet her family’s unwavering search spans nearly three decades. Set against the profound social and political transformations in Croatia—from the collapse of Yugoslavia and the Homeland War to the turbulent transition to democracy and capitalism—the novel offers a nuanced exploration of memory, trauma, and societal change. Pavičić’s precise characterisation and atmospheric storytelling elevate Red Water beyond a crime novel into a compelling literary work that resonates with universal themes of loss and resilience. It stands out as an exceptional example of contemporary Croatian literature and is a favourite among patrons of the Rijeka City Library. (Rijeka City Library)