Summary of The Hotel Tito
At the onset of the Croatian War of Independence in 1991, the protagonist, a 9-year-old girl from Vukovar, is sent with her brother to the Adriatic coast. Weeks later, their mother arrives, but their father disappears in the war when defending their hometown against the Serbs. The family, along with other displaced persons, finds shelter in a building in Kumrovac that they nickname Hotel Tito, after the former Yugoslav president who was born there.
Reasons to read The Hotel Tito
“The Hotel Tito” by Ivana Bodrožić tells the story of a girl growing up as a refugee during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. The novel won the Croatian Kiklop Award for Best Work of Fiction in 2010 and the Prix Ulysse for Best Debut in France in 2013. Much of this novel is based on Ivana Bodrožić’s own wartime experiences as a young girl.
Setting: Vukovar, Kumrovac, Zagreb (Croatia)
Original title: Hotel Zagorje
Year of publication: 2010
Nr of pages: 176
