Slanting Towards the Sea
A Novel
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
National Bestseller * Dazed Best Book of the Year
Spanning twenty years and one life-altering summer in Croatia, Slanting Towards the Sea is at once an unforgettable love story and a powerful exploration of what it means to come of age in a country younger than oneself.
Ivona divorced the love of her life, Vlaho, a decade ago. They met as students at the turn of the millennium, when newly democratic Croatia was alive with hope and promise. But the challenges of living in a burgeoning country extinguished Ivona’s dreams one after another—and a devastating secret forced her to set him free.
Now Vlaho is remarried and a proud father of two, while Ivona’s life has taken a downward turn. In her thirties, she has returned to her childhood home to care for her ailing father. Bewildered by life’s disappointments, she finds solace in reconnecting with Vlaho and is welcomed into his family by his spirited wife, Marina. But when a new man enters Ivona’s life, the carefully cultivated dynamic between the three is disrupted, forcing a reckoning for all involved.
Set against the mesmerizing Croatian coastline, Slanting Towards the Sea is a cinematic, emotionally searing debut about the fragile nature of potential and the transcendence of love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Hilje's captivating debut, a Croatian woman winds up in a complex triangle with her ex-husband and his new wife. The opening line from narrator Ivona ("Sometimes I stalk my ex-husband") sets the tone for her nonlinear depiction of her involvement with Vlaho and his new partner, Marina. Ivona met Vlaho when they were 19 and studying biology and economics in Zagreb. After graduation, they move back to Ivona's hometown, Zadar, where resentment festers when Vlaho easily finds a banking job while Ivona's career flounders. Their marriage crumbles after Ivona discovers she's infertile and Vlaho's mother asks her to leave him so he can start a family. Two years after their divorce, Ivona meets and befriends Marina in an Italian language class, and she soon becomes Vlaho's wife and the mother of his children. Ivona remains friendly with them and even becomes the godmother of their son, which scandalizes everyone in their families. Meanwhile, Ivona wonders if she will ever love someone else after Vlaho. The author beautifully portrays Ivona's grief, heartache, and determination to reinvent her life. Fans of Rachel Cusk will love this.
