Odstranjivač Ljubavi (Amolitium amoris)

The literary debut of Rijeka musician, guitarist and rocker Vlad Simčić Vava (born 1964), known for his work with the band Laufer and his solo career. The book is a mix of short prose and a shorter novel, in which the author, in his recognizable, cynical and introspective way, deals with the themes of love, relationships, disappointment and emotional anesthesia in a contemporary urban environment.

Vava writes in a fluent, colloquial language full of rocker spirit, slang and irony. His characters are mostly men in their late thirties and forties who wander through relationships, trying to find meaning in love, and most often encounter emptiness, power games and their own internal conflicts. Love here is not a romantic ideal, but something that needs to be "removed" in order to survive in the harsh modern world - hence the title and the Latin play on words Amolitium Amoris (roughly "dissolver of love").

Of particular note is the afterword by Boris Perić, who describes the book as a "surgical instrument" with which the author dissects contemporary love illusions. The style is dynamic, witty and sometimes harsh, and the stories exude Rijeka's urban atmosphere, musical references and self-irony.

Odstranjivač ljubavi is the authentic voice of the Rijeka rock scene transferred to literature – a cynical, nostalgic and sharp depiction of male-female relationships in the 21st century. The book quickly found an audience among fans of contemporary Croatian prose who prefer direct, genuine and "street" expression.