Istria Black

James Joyce lived in Pula, but this master of the pen did not dedicate a single literary work to the beautiful Croatian peninsula of Istria. His compatriot Mike Downey corrects this injustice with his trilogy “Three Colours Istria,” in which family mysteries and secrets from the past are unraveled against the backdrop of significant world events.

In Istria Black, three timelines intertwine, revealing the fate of a Croatian family during three turbulent historical periods. The scholar Pepi and his beloved Lidia try to find their way to each other during World War II, when the fascist Independent State of Croatia was created. A path that takes them to Argentina. Pepi’s nephew, the partisan Nino, and his wife Fida, faithful to their ideals, which will later be covered with oblivion, work to build a new Yugoslavia during Tito’s time. And in modern Croatia, Nino’s grandson Marco and his friends encounter resurgent fascist movements and realize that the wounds of the past can easily bleed again.

Istria Black tells a story of hatred that sprouts generously in wounded hearts, and of its eternal rival—forgiveness.

It is a novel about the different incarnations of a beautiful country tormented by human mistakes and about people’s desire to believe in something greater than themselves.