Mladenka kostonoga

Gila, the main character, is a herbalist and wound healer, living in the Dalmatian region in the 19th century. Gila is a strong and independent woman with a lot of knowledge about medicine and herbs. She is also a fortune teller. Her birth is supposed to be angelic, but, as people also have dark forces in themselves, and, above all, a lot of fear, Gila is soon proclaimed a witch. From here on Gila is destined to suffer many blows of cruel fate and the hardest life. By Gila the author has created a character of an independent and free woman. As a mother Gila is ready to fight to the last drop of blood. With her son Carević she flees to Silba. But the voice about her does in no way silence. Her miraculous hands, her independent thoughts and moral life, which the little people are not capable of, bring her to Pazin, where she is tried for her witchcraft. The novel is composed of individual chapters, which are in the first part of the book gentle, because Gila at that time is also still a young girl. Later on, as Gila’s journey becomes stronger and harder, so does the text. And when Gila is captured, the reading becomes eerie and fast as we rush to find out what will happen to Gila. The story is enriched with many historical facts and events. Mladenka kostonoga is by far the best novel in contemporary Croatin literature. (SS)