Godina noževa

Year of Knives is the only novel by Croatian writer Vojislav Kuzmanović. The plot is set in contemporary Zagreb in the 1970s, and centers on a middle-aged intellectual going through a deep personal and existential crisis. The novel is designed as a kind of inner journey during which the main character questions his own decisions, relationships, and the meaning of life.

The story begins with his return from abroad, after a stay and lecture in Vienna. Returning home does not bring the expected sense of security, but confronts him with the disintegration of his private life. His relationship with his wife is burdened with mistrust and infidelity, and everyday life seems empty and devoid of deeper meaning. While he tries to establish control over his own life, he sinks more and more into a feeling of alienation and loneliness.

Through a series of memories, encounters, and inner monologues, the author depicts a man who fails to find a firm foothold in his family, his work, or the society that surrounds him. The title knives symbolize wounds that arise in interpersonal relationships, but also internal conflicts that destroy the individual. The novel explores themes of transience, sexuality, fear of illness, loss of identity, and the search for an authentic life.

Kuzmanović's style is marked by introspection and psychological analysis. Instead of external action, the emphasis is on the mental states of the protagonist and his attempt to understand his own existence. Year of Knives is considered a significant example of the Croatian urban and existentialist novel and a powerful literary testimony to man's loneliness in the modern world.