In the world inhabited by Ida, Marta, Tone and Lojze, tomatoes rot in the garden, stuffed rabbits are perched on bedside tables, and cows sooner or later need to be shot between the eyes. Not surprising then, if someone has a fateful slip on the muddy soil or their head gets crushed by a tree – after all, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, and above all He forgives.
In the novel Heavy Water, a unique anatomy of guilt that breaks with the tradition of Slovene storytelling, fragments of the life of the older protagonist Ida, amidst the consequences of a concealed past and an unlived future, gradually assemble into a chipped whole. Through its expressive, perfected style, it reveals especially the bitter truth about how in a small village community everyone’s lives are entangled. Where everything appears to be clear cut, one secret brings about new secrets.