Petar & Liza Hardcover

Petar & Liza HardcoverIn this resplendently painted graphic novel, a poet and a dancer form a beautiful connection in a bleak world. 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 joie de vivre about her, brings a flood of

In this resplendently painted graphic novel, a poet and a dancer form a beautiful connection in a bleak world. 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 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. MIROSLAV SEKULIC-STRUJA (b. 1976, Rijeka, Croatia) 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 Angoul me International Comics Festival.