Vladimir Stojsavljević’s novel Summer War Journal (Ljetni dnevnik rata) is the first prose about the war in Croatia. It was written during the air raids, when everything was so dramatic; when Vukovar was about to fall, when TV and journals newsflashed about the occupation and growing number of victims, and when harsh reality invaded the life of every single person. Yet it has preserved its exceptionally fresh, intriguing, bursting, life-like quality for over twenty years since the first edition. Looking at the world through the eyes of an adolescent, Vladimir Stojsavljević perfectly depicts the atmosphere of the 1991 Zagreb, when friends and lovers were falling apart and everyone showed what they were really made of.
Summer War Journal clearly shows that what is crucial for a powerful portrayal of the contemporary world is not time, but another sort of detachment - the artistic one. His journal, written on the spot, in one breath, swiftly exchanging strong images and characters, still brings exceptionally impressive pages about the war and its consequences for the lives of all people. This is a novel about the year of no return.