The cheesemaker's daughter

Lots of novels have stories centered on individuals leaving the old country and coming to America. Vuković's debut, instead, is focused on Marina, a woman who left the Croatian island of Pag for college and found a life in New York, returning home because her family's cheesemaking business is in trouble, as is her marriage. Pag is a small island steeped in tradition and buffeted by strong winds and harsh weather, breeding a population used to hardship. The equipment in her family's facility is antiquated, the methods unchanged for decades, and the deep-seated resentments and feuds between her family and the more successful cheesemakers from the northern end of Pag provide emotional complications. The factory needs an infusion of money and ideas. Trusting the wrong people is nearly disastrous, but in the end provides inspiration and ultimate succes--the truth does set them free. The author deftly portrays the landscape and sense of place set in a time when Croatia is about to join the European Union. This engaging and well-written book will suit many fiction collections.