Vintage – Knjiga.hr

A Bend in the River

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:57:04 +0000

Set in an unnamed postcolonial African nation, this novel follows Salim, an Indian Muslim merchant who settles in a town at a bend in a great river as the country emerges from colonial rule. Through his observant, often uneasy perspective, the story traces the rise of a new regime, the promises and failures of independence, and the fragile lives of those caught in sweeping political change. Themes of displacement, identity, power, and cultural upheaval run throughout, rendered in spare, incisive prose. Its author, a Nobel Prize–winning writer known for his penetrating explorations of postcolonial societies, offers a stark and thought-provoking portrait of a world in transition that continues to resonate with contemporary readers.

One Step Behind

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:28:57 +0000

A late entry in the acclaimed Kurt Wallander series by the celebrated Swedish crime writer who helped define Nordic noir, this novel finds the Ystad detective confronting a chilling series of murders that strike disturbingly close to home. When three young friends are found dead in period costume and a colleague is later killed, Wallander is drawn into an investigation that exposes hidden connections and simmering resentments beneath the calm surface of southern Sweden. Taut and atmospheric, the story explores loneliness, moral disintegration, and the quiet fractures of modern society. A compelling choice for readers who appreciate psychologically rich, character-driven crime fiction.

Breakfast of Champions

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:54:12 +0000

A darkly comic and deeply satirical novel, this work follows the convergence of two adrift Americans: Kilgore Trout, a struggling science-fiction writer, and Dwayne Hoover, a prosperous car dealer on the verge of mental collapse. As their paths move toward a fateful meeting in Midland City, the narrative skewers consumer culture, corporate America, race relations, and the fragile nature of free will. Blending crude, playful drawings with sharp philosophical asides, the author inserts himself into the story, breaking conventional narrative boundaries and highlighting the artificiality of fiction. The result is both absurd and unsettling, a hallmark of Kurt Vonnegut’s style. Known for classics such as *Slaughterhouse-Five*, Vonnegut combines dark humor with humanist concern, inviting readers to laugh while confronting uncomfortable truths. This novel will appeal to those who enjoy metafiction, biting social satire, and bold experiments in storytelling.

The Question of Bruno

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 11:44:55 +0000

In this stylistically adventurous, brilliantly funny tour de force-the most highly acclaimed debut since Nathan Englander’s-Aleksander Hemon writes of love and war, Sarajevo and America, with a skill and imagination that are breathtaking. A love affair is experienced in the blink of an eye as the Archduke Ferdinand watches his wife succumb to an assassin’s bullet. An exiled writer, working in a sandwich shop in Chicago, adjusts to the absurdities of his life. Love letters from war torn Sarajevo navigate the art of getting from point A to point B without being shot. With a surefooted sense of detail and life-saving humor, Aleksandar Hemon examines the overwhelming events of history and the effect they have on individual lives. These heartrending stories bear the unmistakable mark of an important new international writer.

Paradise

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:02:17 +0000

Set in the all-Black town of Ruby, Oklahoma, this novel opens with an act of violence that reverberates through a tightly controlled community and a nearby convent inhabited by independent women. As the story moves backward and forward in time, it reveals the histories of the town’s founders, their descendants, and the women they come to fear and misunderstand. Through shifting perspectives, the book explores themes of race, gender, power, faith, memory, and the fragile nature of utopian ideals. Written by Nobel Prize–winning author Toni Morrison, it is a rich, layered work that blends lyrical prose with profound social insight. Readers interested in literary fiction that examines community, identity, and the cost of exclusion will find this a challenging and rewarding novel.

The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:14:48 +0000

The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays by Oscar Wilde is a celebrated collection featuring Wilde’s masterful comedic works, with the titular play—a sharp-witted farce from 1895—satirizing Victorian society’s obsession with appearances, marriage, and earnestness through the escapades of Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who invent fictional identities to dodge social duties and pursue love interests fixated on the name Ernest. The anthology often includes kindred society comedies like Lady Windermere’s Fan, which skewers upper-class hypocrisies via a scandalous fan intrigue; A Woman of No Importance, exposing moral double standards through a witty outcast’s revelations; and An Ideal Husband, where political blackmail tests integrity amid glamorous deceit. Together, these plays showcase Wilde’s epigrammatic brilliance, trivializing serious norms to revel in absurdity and delight audiences with their enduring critique of decorum’s hollow core.

The Stories of John Cheever

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 19:12:50 +0000

The Stories of John Cheever is a Pulitzer Prize-winning collection from 1978 that gathers 61 short stories spanning the author’s career, often called the Chekhov of the suburbs for his masterful depictions of upper-middle-class life in places like Shady Hill, Westchester, or Nantucket. Cheever probes the undercurrents of suburban ennui, where affluent WASPs grapple with alcoholism, loveless marriages, hidden infidelities, and existential disillusionment amid martinis, pool parties, and manicured lawns, blending realism with surreal twists as in The Swimmer, where a man’s backyard odyssey reveals personal ruin. Themes of human duality—polished facades masking inner corruption—and nostalgia for lost community resonate throughout, capturing the alienation of modern life with vivid, shocking prose that elevates the ordinary to profound spiritual depths.

Bodily Harm

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 18:03:59 +0000

Rennie Wilford, a young journalist running from her life, takes an assignment to a Caribbean island and tumbles into a world where no one is what they seem. When the burnt-out Yankee Paul (does he smuggle dope or hustle for the CIA?) offers her a no-hooks, no strings affair, she is caught up in a lethal web of corruption.

Pride and Prejudice

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 18:13:04 +0000

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a classic romantic novel set in rural England at the turn of the 19th century. It follows the intelligent and spirited Elizabeth Bennet as she navigates societal expectations, family pressures, and her evolving relationship with the proud Mr. Darcy. The story explores themes of love, class, pride, and prejudice through witty dialogue and memorable characters, with a sharp critique of social norms and a focus on personal growth and self-discovery.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 17:59:33 +0000

An odyssey into life’s challenging philosophical questions during an unforgettable summer motorcycle trip, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance transformed a generation and continues to inspire millions. One of the most influential books written in the past half-century, Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a powerful examination of how we live and a breathtaking meditation on how to live better. Following a father and his young son on a summer motorcycle trip across America’s Northwest, to complete the Chautauqua spiritual journey, it is a story of love, fear, growth, discovery and acceptance. Both personal and philosophical, it is a compelling study of relationships, values, and eventually, enlightenment and meaning – resonant with the confusions and wonders of existence. Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, this modern epic became an instant bestseller upon publication in 1974. ‘The book is inspired, original…the analogies with Moby-Dick are patent’ New Yorker ‘Mr Pirsig has written a work of great, perhaps urgent, importance… Read this book’ Observer