Slanting Towards the Sea

Ivona has returned to her childhood home to care for her father. While there, she reconnects with the man she divorced over ten years ago and finds herself welcomed into his family life by him and his wife. But when a new man enters Ivona's life, the trio's carefully curated dynamic is disrupted, forcing a reckoning for all involved.

Slanting Towards the Sea explores what it means to come of age in a country younger than oneself, as it sets a sensual, decades-long love story against an emerging Croatia. From the cobbled alleyways of Cavtat, a small town near Dubrovnik, to the rugged, glimmering coastline of Zadar, and the bustling streets of Zagreb in the early 2000s, this is a story of longing, buried resentment and claiming a life of your own.


Genre: Literary Fiction

"Oh, what a beautiful book this is - deeply felt, humane, gorgeously written. Hilje's prose is positively hypnotic - I sunk in and didn't want to come up for air." - Claire Lombardo

"A novel of extraordinary heart. One of the most moving and evocative debuts I have had the pleasure of reading." - Madelaine Lucas

"Thoughtful, compelling, and refreshing in its clear-eyed, assured style." - Kimberly King Parsons

"Illuminating prose and gripping storytelling. A love letter to Croatia and to anyone who dares to dream." - Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

"Artful, intensely moving, and unforgettable in every way." - Thao Thai