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Readers of Europe 2022 – Croatian recommendation
- 13 July 2022
- Reading suggestion
- gsclibrary
Recommendation by the Permanent Representation of Croatia to the EU
Book selected: Gitara od palisandra by Kristina Gavran
Music is a universal thing. It can connect people across continents, break language, class and cultural barriers, and resonate down through the ages.
Music can link lives generations apart, bound together inexplicably by their love of singers or songs.
This cosmic pull is perpetuated by Kristina Gavran in her elegant novel Gitara od palisandra.
This is a novel about female power. A novel about five women centuries apart linked by an invisible thread. Five women whose destinies were shifted by the smallest of things. Five women who experience pain, love and desire.
It is the story of a protector, a lover, a wife, a mother, a warrior. An orphan who makes guitars, a free spirit unbound by restrictions, a musician whose future is suddenly altered.
Gavran’s arrangement is subtle and precise. Her composition explores the significance of chance and fate, and the notions of sacrifice and love.
The motif of the guitar binds the five stories together. As the text strums along, story after story, note after note, it pulls the reader into a glorious crescendo in which all the lives meet.
Kristina Gavran (1987) has had two books published by the Croatian publishing company Disput: in 2016, Rain in India, Summer in Berlin, a collection of short stories connected with the theme of travelling, and in 2018 the novel Gitara od palisandra.
For those looking to unearth Croatian literary gems, discover more via Eureka, the online catalogue of the Council libraries.
About the Readers of Europe campaign
2022 has been designated the European Year of Youth. As such, the Council Library has chosen to devote its annual Readers of Europe initiative to youth, putting the focus squarely on new and emerging European literary talent.
The permanent representations to the EU have once again been invited to recommend books from their countries to read over the summer, with the third edition of our ‘Readers of Europe’ campaign. The theme for this year’s campaign is ‘Discover something new’, the idea being that every permanent representation selects a book from their country by an author who has published their first work within the last five years. We would then promote these selections over the summer on the Council Library blog.
Europe is awash with exciting young authors. Dive into this selection and discover stories that hum with fresh ideas and luminous prose. Novels that ask piercing questions about humanity. Stories that are edgy and beautiful, gripping and unsettling. Stories worthy of a place in any library.
So find a comfy place to sit back and relax as we showcase some of Europe’s promising literary talent. Join us as we once again encounter the Readers of Europe.
This post does not necessarily represent the positions, policies, or opinions of the Council of the European Union or the European Council.
The Council Library reading room is open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12.00 to 15.00. The Info Desk remains open online from Monday to Friday.
