Singer in the Night, Paperback

Famous soap opera scriptwriter Naranca is slowly losing her memory and decides to embark on a road trip down memory lane (in a golden convertible) in search of her greatest love and ex-husband, an artist whose uncompromising artistic integrity is opposed to Naranca's fickle life in the world of TV drama. It is a series of letters by Slavuj, written over several weeks and hand-delivered to the inhabitants of the street where they lived, that cracks open the novel. The letters, triggered by a mysterious couple who make love loudly in the middle of the night, keeping the neighborhood awake, touch upon the nature of love, war, lust, capitalism, and childhood, highlighting the paradox of the human condition through playful humor. Singer in the Night is a rich, sensual novel which comments on perception, on how life is really lived--never objectively, never encompassing the whole truth, and yet no less real to us. In its final message, the novel gives a playful warning about the consequences of choosing banality--whether it be nationalism, vanity or fame--over true human connection.

Olja Savičevic is one of the best Croatian contemporary authors and a representative of the so called lost generation. Politically and socially engaged, Olja's work has been translated into more than 15 languages. Her short story collection To Make a Dog Laugh won the prize for best author under 35 from Vijenac magazine. Her other books include Mamasafari and Other Things and Adios, Cowboy. Celia Hawkesworth has published numerous articles and several books on Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian literature. Among her many translations are two works by Dubravka Ugresic. She also translated Olja Savicevic's Adios, Cowboy.