I. Anđelko Bošnjak, a translator and a book editor
A painting, a horseman, a clock is a layered, mature novel—one that braids together major historical and political currents with intimate personal stories, chance encounters, and the quiet but persistent hand of providence.
Through its historical and political lens, the author brings into focus key moments that have shaped the region where the story unfolds—a place long marked by crossings and collisions, by conflict, upheaval, and reinvention. By setting two political realities several centuries apart side by side, she draws out their deeper connection, giving the reader a vivid sense of an enduring cycle of struggle and resilience. The central figures in these moments face real danger, high-stakes choices, and constant uncertainty, yet even under pressure, they manage to lay the groundwork for what comes next.
At the heart of the novel is a different kind of story, though no less consequential: the bond between two young people—capable, sharp, and unafraid—whose relationship begins with a chance meeting and grows into the full weight and texture of marriage and family life. They push back against class divisions and social expectations, and later against the realities of war itself. What sustains them is not luck but conviction: a shared moral compass shaped by their Catholic upbringing. It’s the same faith that, centuries earlier, Franciscan friars defend with their lives, refusing to let what matters most be erased.
Faith, then, isn’t just a theme—it’s the novel’s backbone, running from the first page to the last. God is presented not as an abstraction but as the only true constant, the force that quietly guides the arc of human history.
By the end, it’s easy to say that A painting, a horseman, a clock is both compelling and thought-provoking. The shifts between historical periods, the tension and release of its plot, all pull you forward—you keep turning pages without thinking twice. At the same time, its hard-earned wisdom comes through voices from every walk of life, across different roles and levels of education. Add to that its thoughtful engagement with historical and political realities, and what you get is a novel that feels complete, ambitious, and genuinely worth your time.
II. Zrinka Martinić, literary critic and a librarian
The work could alternatively be titled “Knight, Lady, Cloak.”
Rose L. Harper has, for the third time, pleasantly surprised us with what is arguably her most creative work to date, A painting, a horseman, a clock, a novel written not only in the manner of modernist writers but also carrying the resonance of a work worthy of repeated readings. It is not merely engaging for the attentive reader; it is also intellectually enriching, thus possessing that artistic value which only rare writers manage to achieve—being equally compelling and appealing to both audience and critics alike.
Events from the past are skillfully intertwined with present-day developments through the technique of retrospection, into which introspection is also embedded. The narrative almost compels the reader to begin investigating the subject matter themselves, while simultaneously admiring it. Formally, the novel is divided into 57 chapters, and the action unfolds in the period immediately before and during the First World War in Sarajevo, where the author has placed eighteen realistic chapters. Thirteen chapters are highly emotional—love letters between Dora and Zvonimir—through which the writer skillfully fills in the missing wartime events, both in Sarajevo and Vienna, and which truly delight the reader. They almost recall the world-famous letter of Petar Zrinski to his wife Katarina (“My Dear Heart”). The more beautiful, fantastical, and no less historically significant events are set in the past—from the fifteenth century to the present—across several locations connected to the main and secondary protagonists: the Republic of Dubrovnik, Olovo (eighteen chapters), Kraljeva Sutjeska (four chapters), Ilok, and Vienna. The narrative threads converge in the final chapter, whose action returns to where it all began—Sarajevo—but now in 1919.
The main protagonists are Dora Zlatar, a beautiful, good, and intelligent young woman from a bourgeois artisan family (what one might call “the watchmaker’s treasure”), and Zvonimir Josip Stjepan Krsto Anton Maria Kotromanić—a descendant of a noble and illustrious royal lineage, who, in accordance with his name, also embodies royal demeanor and equal skill.
This is a historical-romance novel in which both components are equally represented. It can be said that it is suitable for readers of all generations, as it offers a fresh perspective on well-known subject matter. It will, in my view, be especially appealing to younger audiences who increasingly seek elements of fantasy as a conditio sine qua non of what they consider a good book.
The narrative flow is particularly interesting with regard to its religious dimension. The most significant event is the discovery of the miraculous painting of Our Lady of Olovo, followed by Queen Katarina Kotromanić’s gift to the Franciscan monastery in Olovo in fulfillment of a vow made for answered prayer—two chests. This situation is reminiscent of adventure films about Indiana Jones.
We may conclude that reality and fantasy are interwoven throughout the entire novel. Even the book’s cover is visually striking and fairytale-like, excellently designed, so that form fully corresponds to content. I believe that all the effort invested in this book will prove worthwhile many times over. Personally, I would recommend it to all who believe in ideals and whose hearts are adorned with love and goodness.
Original versions available in Croatian.
roselharper.com 