The Judgment of Richard Richter

(Paperback)

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In this gripping, war-torn epic novel, author Igor Stiks, a nominee for the IMPAC Dublin Award, tells the story of a celebrated writer who travels to Sarajevo to unearth devastating family secrets and the lies that have defined his life. Author Richard Richter's mother and father were always phantoms, both parents having died by the time he was four. His life, now at a crossroads, has been a jumble of invention, elusive memories, and handed-down stories. But when Richard finds his mother's hidden notebook, written by her during World War II, he discovers a confession that was never meant to be read by anyone-least of all, her son. ,p>Richard's quest for the truth about his life leads him to an embattled Sarajevo. In the chaos of the besieged city, he discovers something more: a transformative romance and unexpected new friendships that will change the course of his search. But fate has been playing with all of them. And just as fate determines the lives of the characters in his novel, a betrayal reaching back half a century has yet to loosen its grip-on Richard, on everyone he has come to love, and on those he has no choice but to try to forgive.

Reviews

Sarajevo, mon amour. Fast-paced with lot of adventure and well-developed characters. [The Judgment of Richard Richter] is a reminder of how this martyr country has been abandoned by the West and continues to be so. Anne Dastakian, MARIANNE, France [This] personal and geopolitical tragedy, [set] in besieged 1992 Sarajevo, follows the footsteps of Richard Richter, hero and Oedipal detective Vronique Rossignol, Livres Hebdo, France The idea that happiness and love are simply masking a truth that is revealed too late, after irreparable damage had been committed, is certainly a very psychoanalytic inspiration, but in the words of Igor tiks, it is detailed in a poignant and terribly convincing text. Yves Le Gall, Le Matricule des Anges, France tiks, who juggles literary allusions as masterfully as he does time periods and narrative perspectives, has succeeded in producing a mature and impressive novel. Hendrik Werner, Die Welt, Germany [The Judgment of Richard Richter] is an adventurous, daring, and powerful march through our eraa bridge between the European catastrophes of the past century. [tiks] has succeeded in nothing less than an all-European historical romance. Thomas Hummitzsch, Die Berliner Literaturkritik, Germany

Author Bio

Igor Stiks was born in Sarajevo in 1977 and has lived in Zagreb, Paris, Chicago, Edinburgh, and Belgrade. His first novel, A Castle in Romagna, won the Slavic prize for best first novel in Croatia and was nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for 2006. Earning his PhD at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and Northwestern University, Stiks later published a monograph, Nations and Citizens in Yugoslavia and the Post-Yugoslav States: One Hundred Years of Citizenship. His novel The Judgment of Richard Richter, originally published as Elijah's Chair, won the Gjalski and Kiklop Awards for the best novel in Croatia and has been translated into fifteen languages. In addition to winning the Grand Prix of the 2011 Belgrade International Theatre Festival for his stage adaptation of Elijah's Chair, Stiks was honored with the prestigious Chevalier des arts et des lettres for his literary and intellectual achievements.