Senko Karuza's 'Isola' Explores Life on the Adriatic Island of Vis

Senko Karuza, a self-described philosopher-chef born in Split in 1957, has published a new short story collection titled 'Isola' in Italy through Bottega Errante. The book centers on the island of Vis (also known as Lissa) in the Adriatic Sea, where Karuza runs a small restaurant serving fish and his own wine. The collection, prepared for the Italian edition in collaboration with translator Ginevra Pugliese, features a unique narrative voice that shifts between a communal 'we' and a solitary 'I', reflecting on the island's past and present. Karuza's stories avoid self-celebration, instead offering a severe reflection on modernity, tourism, and identity. The narrator, an elderly man who returned to Vis after living in Zagreb, grapples with the loss of traditional ways—donkeys, goats, chickens—replaced by tourists who bring economic life but also a sense of emptiness. The book critiques the romanticization of the past, revealing its fragility. Karuza's language mixes poetic reflections with colloquial bar talk and colorful curses, creating a vivid portrait of island life. 'Isola' invites readers to reconsider how we experience places and stories in an era of fast consumption.