Suzana Abspoel Djodjo was born in 1968 in Bjelovar (Croatia); at present she lives in the Netherlands. Though a relatively new face on her native country's literary scene, her first book already signals a direction different from the rest of the Croatian authors, offering fresh insight into a country in transition. Unexpected twists and turns, estrangement, parody, irony, the grotesque, strange word play and coinages are key devices in Djodjo’s novel. Snajperist ('A Sniper')  won the 2004 Best First Croatian Novel award.

Tomislav Kuzmanovic lives in Iowa City, where he is pursuing an MFA in Literary Translation at the University of Iowa. Together with Russell Valentino he has recently translated A Castle in Romagna by the Croatian novelist Igor Štiks (Autumn Hill Books, 2004). The translation has been nominated for 2006 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

Suzana Abspoel Djodjo
Translated by Tomislav Kuzmanovic

The Day They Lit Up the Darkness in Štefa’s Neighborhood
—An Introduction to the Psychology of a Sniper

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