A Female Perspective on War: Ivana Sajkos Rio Bar

Abstract

In the following text, Ivana Sajko's book Rio Bar is examined as part of a literary review of the Croatian War (1991–1995). The Yugoslav wars were of particular concern to the population, as ethnic cleansing, the terrorization of the population, the destruction of communal facilities, etc. were part of the military objectives. First, the structural peculiarities of the novel are examined, such as its unreliable narrator, language experiments, a scenic composition with an unclear chronology, etc. Subsequently, three central themes of the text are considered: (1) the war-torn conception of man, (2) the peculiarity of a female perspective on war, (3) the consequences of the war for humanity, and also on the society. Finally, Sajko's text is classified as a critique of the official Croatian memory politics. Sajko uses the feminine perspective to contest a heroic staging of war. In her text, there are no honourable heroes, but also no innocent victims. Behind the proclaimed victory lies the still unprocessed traumatic knowledge of what humans are capable of.