Bruna is a young woman who seems to have everything she wants- job and sentimental luck. She falls in love with a sailor Frane. They get merried. They move into a second floor of his family house, just above his widowed mother.
Two years later, Bruna would end up in prison for murder of her mother-in-law. She 'll spend next twelve years in prison. She gets out as middle-aged and notorious woman. After coming back in Split, she reflects what happened, when and why things went wrong.
If The Crime and Punishment is a crime novel, then this novel is, too. But, there is no detection here, and we perfectly know who is the murderer. Importat thing is not who, but: why? …Pavičić writes about the world he knows deeply and thoroughly.
Teofil Pančić, Globus
Most interesting and most impressive Pavičić's novel…
Božidar Alajbegović, Lupiga
Compexity of this novel, atmosphere and meticolous psychologization of the main female, and all the other characters, make Woman From the Second Floor a truely outstanding novel. It's a novel written by a writer in his most mature phase, writer who found a formula how to write a novel which is intriguing, deep, and full of suspense at the same time.
Jagna Pogačnik, Jutarnji list
Pavičić dosen't rise a moral index, does not distribute bigger or smaller quantities of guilt... he paints it's figures while leting them to develop and grow... Pavičić had found a proper tone for a novel which leaves a long-lasting impression.
Petra Lohrmann (Gute Literatur)
If there is such a thing as justified murder, this is closest to that... Read "Woman From the Second Floor". Excellent book!
Dušan Nedeljković (Nedeljnik, Serbia)
The brief summary of the contents may suggest that it is hard-to-digest reading material. That is not the case. Croatian author Jurica Pavicic tells Bruna's story in an entertaining, exciting and unsentimental way. His language is straightforward, precise and powerful, and in places poetic.
Christiane Rudolph (Dieschiffreise)
An unusual and outstanding crime novel, which also proved to be a brilliant character study.
Joerg Kijanski (booknerds)
Jurica Pavičić manages to convey something that not many can do: understanding. With reluctance, but it's there. "Woman From the Second Floor" touches.
Annika Gruetzner (readost)
An exciting novel ... touching and humane..
Carolin Toennis (Text in Progress)
To hell with restraint: this novel is not a success; it is a pure marvel.
Catherine Do Duc (Le Blog du Polar)
Jurica Pavičić has a voice ... a novel so beautiful that you cry.
The Killer Inside Me- litterature noire
Formidable portrait full of nuances and psychological thriller full of tension....Qualities of the author are already here, his sharpness of view, his art of melancoly, his unique poetics
Radio France
A metaphysical tension traverses through this novel.. This is a crime novel in a counter-clockwise direction, psychological analysis of the familiar hate, novel that transcends the genre.
Clementine Godszal (Elle, France)
The last part of the book deciphers the loneliness in a new and just way. While closing the "Woman on the Second Floor", we still wonder about the way in which the novelist manages to captivate us. Frankly, we do not know - and it is undoubtedly the characteristic of the good literature.
Christine Ferniot (Telerama, France)
In a writing tense end to end, the author conducts his investigation while describing the way his characters struggle in a society where patriarchy remains prevalent. A gripping psychological thriller.
Sylvia Zappi (Le Monde, France)
In a "Woman From the Second Floor" Pavičić confirmed his talent as a chronicler of political and social shocks of his generation.
Lisbeth Koutchumoff Arman (Le Temps Suisse, Switzerland)
"The Woman of the Second Floor" confirms the art of the Croatian author's portrait of a woman, in all clarity....The writing, limpid, factual, keeps pathos at bay, which does not prevent poignant or chilling scenes. And the last part is a great achievement.
Sabrina Champenois (Liberation, Francuska)
A noir novel of an extreme delicacy which deconstructs the mechanisms of an almost "ordinary" crime.
Phillippe Blanchet (Le Figaro, France)
Madame Bovary of our time...
Alain Leauthier (Marianne, France)
Everything is modest here, yet everything brilliant.
Jean Luc Manet (Livres Hebdo, France, 23. 9. 2022)
Magistral!
Phillippe Manche (Le Vif Belgique, Belgium, 22. 9. 2022.)
Is it the sun of the Dalmatian coast that illuminates this novel of such a singular charm? Is it the secret genius of the author that pushes female psychology into mysterious entrenchments? In any case, we will not forget the signature of Jurica Pavicic, which honors Croatia of Letters.
Didier Ters (Boojum, France)
Jurica Pavičić instills doubt in us brilliantly...
Aurelie Barlet (Aires Libres, France)
A noir that brushes a magnificent portrait of a woman... domestic tragedy full of finesse and subtlety.
Gregoire Courtois (Initiales, France)
Intricate description of the consciousness of a single character and its explanation of what led her to violence, has something in common with David E. Kelley’s masterful Love and Death
Dennis Broe (Crimetime)
