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Kristian Novak is arguably the most exciting Croatian fiction writer at the present time. It is a little puzzling that his latest and best book “Ciganin, ali najljepši...” has not been translated first since it embraces globally relevant themes. But Dark Mother Earth is an excellent piece of work: poetic, disturbing, challinging and ultimately optimistic. It plumbs the darkest and deepest corners of a haunted soul struggling with the pain of loss and grasping for answers. Matija was a small boy when he was confronted with life’s hardest blows and had no one to help him deal with his fears. Unable to understand the tragedies that befal him, Matija’s confused mind conjures up frightful images where folk horror fiction intertwines with reality. The boy’s ill-concieved attempts to rectify the evil he believes he himself has caused exacerbate his misery and oblivion becomes his only salvation.The novel is much more than just a story about a young man struggling with the demons of his past.Set against political turmoil surrounding the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, it reflects the isolation of a rural community confined by two rivers, where some people are too absorbed with their mundane needs, such as keeping a job, to pay attention to the emotional needs and even physical safety of their children. The mysterious suicides remain mysterious because it is easier to blame some supernatural influence than look into the hidden societal diseases behind them.Though excellent, the book is not for everyone. The translation is superb in the sense that it feels as if the novel was originally written in English.