Pavičić draws the reader into the novel "falsely presenting himself" as a classic noir storyteller, but then drags him into all the branches of broken destinies...Definitely one of the best social novels written in Croatia.
Goran Gavranović (Express)
Mater Dolorosa is a novel which would tear you apart. A novel includes everything that Split and Dalmatia - after all- are.
Dragan Markovina (Telegram)
In his third novel Mater Dolorosa, Jurica Pavičić gives an exceptional moral and philosophical dimension to something that looks like a banal detective story.
Pierre Glachant (Le Courrier des Balkans)
A fiery and terrifying novel by Jurica Pavičić, which with Mater Dolorosa manages to interweave an intimate, family tragedy and a social fresco... This is how we recognize Jurica Pavičić: that strong emotion that emerges from his books, that painful melancholy... It is impossible to get out of this novel unfurred.
Natacha Levet (Tasha's Books)
"Mater dolorosa", Jurica Pavičić's new dark novel, is not a book to be swallowed. It is a book that washes over you, word by word, sentence by sentence – often magnificent sentences – a book that leaves you bewildered, a little stunned, as if drenched in a sad inevitability.
Mireille Descombes (Polars, Polis et Cie-blog)
A powerful noir novel, hypnotic by the banality of its characters. Magnified by the grace of the Croatian writer.
Karen Lajon (La vie et noir)
Pavicic masterfully stage the fundamental oppositions that work in Croatian society...great writer of the Mediterranean.
Louis Sellier (Liberation)
The novel is tinged with social criticism, because characters, ordinary people, are confronted with a feeling of helplessness that echoes that, more general, of the people, eternal second role of the story that the author depicts with a beautiful subtlety.. That gives tho book its beauty, its strength.
Michel Abescat (Radio France)
Sober master style... full of references to the masters of the genre. As he himself is.
Eric Libiot (Lire Magazine)
Mater Dolorosa is a real success that confirms that its author is one of the finest voices in contemporary crime fiction. Not to be missed under any circumstances.
Gregory Seyer (Benzine)
Descriptions of space and human frailty are mixed with surgical precision. But the strength of this extraordinary thriller lies in the touching humanity of the three main characters, men and women...
Sylvia Zappi (Le Monde, 25. 10. 2024.)
Crime novel is sometimes a gift that confronts us with painful remorse. Such is the case with Croatian writer Juric Pavičić's heartbreaking novel, a gruesome family tragedy that is impossible to forget after turning the last page.
Phillippe Blanchet (Le Figaro magazine, 18.10. 2024.)
The reader is invited to ask himself the question of the weight of blood ties.
Clementine Goldszal (Elle Magazine, 10. 10. 2024.)
This new novel serves as a reminder of how the Croatian writer has no equal in combining the social and political power of the crime novel with the most advanced character study.
Yoann Labroux Satabin (Télérama)
Clever and cunning!
Phillipe Manche (Focus Levif)
Great novel.. Masterfully, passionate, with a superior intelligence...
Bernard Poirette (C'est a lire)
