Lidija Hilje’s debut novel Slanting Towards the Sea emerges as a profoundly moving exploration of love’s endurance against the backdrop of a young nation still finding its identity. Set in the mesmerizing coastal town of Zadar, this literary work transcends the boundaries of contemporary romance to deliver a meditation on sacrifice, regret, and the devastating consequences of well-intentioned lies.
The novel follows Ivona, a woman in her thirties who has returned to her childhood home to care for her stroke-afflicted father. A decade earlier, she divorced Vlaho, the love of her life, harboring a secret so devastating that she believed setting him free was the only act of love she could offer. Now, as Croatia itself has matured into something unrecognizable from the hopeful democracy of their youth, Ivona finds herself confronting the ruins of her carefully constructed sacrifices.
The Architecture of Memory and Regret
Hilje demonstrates remarkable skill in constructing a narrative that operates on multiple temporal planes. The novel slants between past and present with the fluidity of tidal movements, revealing how Ivona’s infertility diagnosis became the fault line that fractured not just her marriage, but her entire sense of self-worth. The author’s background as a Croatian writer living through her country’s transformation infuses the work with authentic cultural texture, making Croatia itself a character whose growing pains mirror those of its inhabitants.
The prose carries the weight of melancholy without ever becoming overwrought. Hilje writes with the precision of someone who understands that the most devastating truths often hide in seemingly innocuous moments. When Vlaho unconsciously touches a sleeping child’s ankle with “the way a flower falls into a grave,” Ivona sees in that gesture the father he could become—and the future she believes she has stolen from him. Such moments accumulate like sediment, creating the geological layers of a relationship’s destruction.
Complex Character Dynamics
The novel’s greatest strength lies in its refusal to offer easy villains or heroes. Marina, Vlaho’s spirited new wife, could have been written as a simple obstacle to the central romance. Instead, Hilje crafts her as a complex figure whose own relationship with love defies conventional understanding. The revelation that Marina and Vlaho’s marriage exists without romantic love—a pragmatic arrangement born of mutual need rather than passion—adds sophisticated layers to what could have been a straightforward love triangle.
Vlaho himself emerges as a man shaped by unexamined grief and maternal manipulation. His mother Frana’s interference in his marriage operates with the insidious logic of protective love, making her both sympathetic and deeply troubling. The author’s exploration of how family trauma ripples through generations feels particularly resonant in a post-war society still processing collective wounds.
However, Slanting Towards the Sea occasionally stumbles under the weight of its own emotional intensity. Some readers may find Ivona’s decade-long martyrdom frustrating, particularly when her motivations feel more driven by plot necessity than psychological truth. The pacing occasionally suffers from an overabundance of internal reflection, though Hilje’s lyrical prose generally sustains interest even during these contemplative passages.
Cultural Authenticity and Universal Themes
Hilje’s portrayal of contemporary Croatia feels lived-in and authentic, from the bureaucratic nightmares of elder care to the small-town dynamics where everyone’s business becomes communal knowledge. The author captures the particular melancholy of a generation that came of age during their country’s democratic transition, only to find their personal dreams constrained by economic realities and social expectations.
The novel’s exploration of caregiving resonates with particular power, drawn from Hilje’s own experience caring for her stroke-afflicted father. The daily exhaustion, the financial strain, and the isolation of caregiving are rendered without sentimentality, creating a portrait that feels both specific and universal.
Technical Craftsmanship
Hilje’s command of English as her second language proves remarkably nuanced, with her prose carrying subtle rhythms that suggest the underlying Croatian sensibility without feeling forced or artificial. Her metaphors often draw from the coastal landscape—the title itself suggests the inexorable pull of the sea, the way Ivona’s life has been shaped by forces beyond her control.
The novel’s structure mirrors its thematic concerns with time and memory. Chapters flow into each other like waves, with revelations emerging gradually rather than through dramatic climaxes. This approach suits the material perfectly, though it may test readers expecting more traditional narrative momentum.
Critical Assessment
While Slanting Towards the Sea succeeds brilliantly as an intimate character study and cultural portrait, it occasionally feels constrained by its own literary ambitions. The introduction of Asier as a potential romantic alternative feels somewhat mechanical, serving more as a catalyst for the final confrontation than as a fully realized character in his own right.
The novel’s ending, while emotionally satisfying, arguably relies too heavily on external tragedy to force its characters toward resolution. Yet these structural issues pale beside Hilje’s achievement in creating a work that feels both deeply personal and broadly relevant to contemporary discussions about women’s autonomy, family obligation, and the price of self-sacrifice.
Literary Context and Comparisons
Readers who appreciate the psychological complexity of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels or the cultural specificity of Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life will find much to admire here. The novel shares with contemporary women’s fiction a willingness to examine how societal expectations shape individual choices, particularly around motherhood and marriage.
Slanting Towards the Sea also bears comparison to works of post-socialist literature that explore how political transformation affects personal relationships. Like Rachel Kushner’s Creation Lake or Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies, it demonstrates how individual stories gain resonance when grounded in specific historical and cultural contexts.
Similar Reads for Literary Fiction Enthusiasts
For readers captivated by Hilje’s blend of cultural specificity and emotional depth, consider these complementary works:
- The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka – Another debut that weaves personal trauma with national identity
- The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk – For its exploration of Central European cultural complexity
- Weather by Jenny Offill – A similarly introspective examination of middle-aged female experience
- The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller – Another novel examining the long-term consequences of a single devastating decision
- Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill – For its fragmented approach to marriage and motherhood
Final Verdict
Slanting Towards the Sea announces Lidija Hilje as a significant new voice in contemporary literary fiction. While the novel occasionally struggles with pacing and character development, its emotional honesty and cultural authenticity create a reading experience that lingers long after the final page. This is a work that earns its tears honestly, offering no easy consolations while affirming the enduring power of love to both destroy and redeem.
For readers seeking literary fiction that engages seriously with questions of sacrifice, identity, and the weight of unspoken truths, Hilje’s debut represents a compelling entry point into contemporary Croatian literature and a promising beginning to what one hopes will be a long and fruitful career. The novel may not be flawless, but its flaws feel human in scale—much like its protagonists, who achieve grace not through perfection but through their willingness to finally tell themselves the truth.