In Slanting Towards the Sea, Croatian author Lidija Hilje presents us with Ivona, a woman caught between the ruins of her past and the uncertain promise of her future. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, this debut novel spans two decades of a country’s growing pains alongside one woman’s journey through devastating loss toward tentative hope.
The novel opens with Ivona divorced, disillusioned, and caring for her stroke-afflicted father while watching the man she still loves, Vlaho, build a family with another woman. What could have been a simple story of romantic regret transforms into something far more complex and rewarding. Hilje demonstrates remarkable restraint in revealing the central secret that drove Ivona and Vlaho apart—her infertility diagnosis and the cruel manipulation by his mother that convinced her to “set him free.”
The author’s choice to structure the narrative around this devastating revelation creates a slow-burn tension that perfectly mirrors Ivona’s emotional state. We feel her isolation not just from Vlaho, but from the very possibility of the future she had imagined for herself.
The Triangle That Becomes a Square
One of the novel’s most intriguing dynamics is the unlikely friendship between Ivona, Vlaho, and his new wife Marina. Rather than falling into predictable jealousy narratives, Hilje crafts a genuinely touching relationship between the three adults who navigate their complex emotions with surprising maturity—most of the time.
Marina emerges as perhaps the most fascinating character, a woman who has never experienced romantic love but chooses to build a practical partnership with Vlaho while maintaining genuine affection for his ex-wife. Her matter-of-fact approach to their unconventional arrangement provides both comic relief and profound insight into different ways of constructing family and meaning.
The introduction of Asier, the Spanish investor who wants to buy Ivona’s family property, completes what Marina playfully calls “The Square.” His relationship with Ivona offers a glimpse of what love might look like when it’s not weighted down by the ghosts of unfulfilled dreams.
A Country Coming of Age
Hilje skillfully weaves Croatia’s recent history into the personal narrative without ever making it feel forced or didactic. The characters came of age during Croatia’s independence, and their adult struggles mirror their country’s own growing pains. The author captures the particular melancholy of living in a nation younger than oneself, where democratic hopes have given way to economic realities and emigration.
The Dalmatian setting becomes almost a character itself, with its ancient stones bearing witness to both personal and national transformations. Hilje’s descriptions of the Croatian coastline are luminous without being overly poetic:
“Back home, all things slant towards the sea.”
This simple line, spoken early in the novel, becomes a metaphor for how all the characters’ lives inevitably flow toward their essential truths, just as the Croatian landscape naturally orients itself toward the Adriatic.
Strengths That Shine Like Mediterranean Light
Hilje’s greatest achievement is her nuanced portrayal of infertility and its ripple effects. Rather than treating it as merely a plot device, she explores how this diagnosis reshapes Ivona’s entire sense of self and place in the world. The scenes depicting Ivona’s medical consultations and her growing isolation are rendered with devastating authenticity.
The dialogue throughout the novel feels naturalistic and culturally specific without ever seeming forced. Characters speak in ways that reveal their relationships, their social positions, and their emotional states. Marina’s use of Italian phrases, Vlaho’s careful consideration of every word, and Ivona’s increasing directness as she begins to reclaim her agency—all feel perfectly calibrated.
The author also handles the complex logistics of modern divorce and co-parenting with remarkable sensitivity. The scenes where Ivona attends children’s birthday parties and family gatherings could have been exercises in awkwardness, but instead become opportunities to explore how love persists and transforms even when relationships end.
Areas Where the Current Weakens
The novel’s middle section, particularly during Ivona’s extended period of caring for her father, occasionally feels static. While these scenes serve important thematic purposes—exploring duty, sacrifice, and the slow revelation of family secrets—the pacing sometimes lags. Some readers may find themselves yearning for more forward momentum during these reflective passages.
Additionally, while the reveal of Vlaho’s mother’s manipulation is emotionally powerful, the timing feels somewhat convenient. The confrontation between Ivona and Frana, coming as it does during Ivona’s mother’s funeral, verges on melodramatic in a novel that otherwise handles emotion with remarkable subtlety.
The financial subplot involving the family hotel and olive grove, while thematically relevant to questions of inheritance and legacy, sometimes feels mechanically inserted rather than organically integrated into the emotional storyline.
Literary Craft in Translation
Writing in her second language, Hilje demonstrates impressive command of English prose rhythms while maintaining a distinctly Croatian sensibility. Her sentences have a measured quality that reflects the careful way her characters approach their emotional truths. The novel never feels rushed, instead moving with the deliberate pace of someone who has learned that life’s most important revelations require time to unfold.
The author’s background in law brings precision to her exploration of relationships—she understands that love, like legal contracts, requires clear terms and mutual consent to function properly. This perspective adds depth to her examination of how past agreements (marriage vows, family loyalties, social expectations) must sometimes be renegotiated as circumstances change.
Themes That Resonate Beyond the Adriatic
While deeply rooted in Croatian culture and landscape, the novel’s central themes will resonate with readers worldwide. The question of how we rebuild our lives after devastating loss, the courage required to pursue happiness even when it might hurt others, and the recognition that love takes many forms—these are universal concerns rendered with particular beauty in this specific setting.
Slanting Towards the Sea also offers thoughtful commentary on medical trauma and the ways healthcare systems can fail to adequately support patients through life-altering diagnoses. Ivona’s journey from victim to advocate for her own needs will speak to anyone who has navigated serious illness or disability.
A Debut That Promises Great Things
Slanting Towards the Sea announces the arrival of a writer with real gifts for psychological nuance and cultural observation. While it has minor structural weaknesses, the novel succeeds brilliantly at its primary goal: creating complex, believable characters whose choices matter and whose growth feels earned.
Hilje joins a distinguished tradition of Eastern European writers who find universal truths in the specific details of post-communist experience. Her voice is distinctly her own—less cynical than some of her contemporaries, more willing to believe in the possibility of second chances and new forms of happiness.
Final Recommendation
For readers who appreciate character-driven literary fiction with strong sense of place, Slanting Towards the Sea offers rich rewards. The novel would appeal particularly to fans of:
- Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels – for their exploration of female friendship and rivalry
- Colm TóibÃn’s Brooklyn – for its sensitive treatment of displacement and belonging
- Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life – for its unflinching examination of how past trauma shapes present relationships
- Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale – for its blend of historical context with intimate family drama
- Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth – for its nuanced portrayal of unconventional family structures
Slanting Towards the Sea is a novel that rewards patient readers who appreciate emotional complexity over plot pyrotechnics. While it may not satisfy those seeking fast-paced entertainment, it offers the deeper satisfaction of spending time with fully realized characters whose struggles and triumphs feel genuinely meaningful.
Slanting Towards the Sea establishes Lidija Hilje as a writer to watch, someone capable of finding profound beauty in life’s most difficult passages. Like the Croatian coastline she describes so lovingly, this novel has hidden depths that reveal themselves only to those willing to look carefully and stay awhile.
