Petar & Liza Hardcover by Miroslav Sekulic-Struja

Product Details

• Publisher: Fantagraphics (2024-06-18)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 176 pages
• ISBN-13: 9781683969648
• Item Weight: 567.0 grams
• Dimensions: 0.0 x 0.0 x 0.0 cm

In this resplendently painted graphic novel, a poet and a dancer form a beautiful connection in a bleak world.

Best Graphic Novels of 2024, The Observer

When Petar returns home to civilian life after his two-year conscription in the ex-Yugoslavian army, he finds himself adrift. Even amidst the most raucous, late-night parties, he feels detached from it all, like a ghost haunting the living. But a serendipitous encounter with Liza, a dancer with a joie de vivre about her, brings a flood of vibrant color into his gray life. Their lyrical romance forms an oasis in a bleak world, until his inner demons start to reveal themselves.

A heartfelt character study, this graphic novel paints the portrait of a complex protagonist often at odds with himself. At times, Petar writes soulful, life-affirming poetry, while at others he falls into spells of depression and self-destruction. Petar & Liza is a work of meticulous expressionism that reflects Miroslav Sekulic-Struja’s vivid artistic vision. In dazzling gouache, Sekulic-Struja conjures an earthy, street-level view of humanity, bringing to life bohemian environs of dive bars, back rooms, and crowded cityscapes. He paints a world in darkness and turmoil, in which rays of sunshine occasionally peek through.

About the Author

Miroslav Sekulic-Struja is a self-taught painter, illustrator, and novelist, whose rich and profound works seek to chronicle the underrepresented struggles of a generation lost to war. He is best known for his Pelote trilogy, which tells the Dickensian story of orphans in wartime. In 2010, his graphic novel The Man Who Bought a Smile received the Young Talent Award from the Angoulême International Comics Festival.

Jenna Allen is a freelance translator based in Colorado.