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Spare Life
Spare Life | Lidija Dimkovska
9 posts | 3 read | 5 to read
Zlata and Srebra are 12-year-old twins conjoined at the head. It is 1984 and they live in Skopje, which will one day be the capital of Macedonia but is currently a part of Yugoslavia. A Spare Life tells the story of their childhood, from their only friend Roze to their neighbor Bogdan, so poor that he one day must eat his pet rabbit. Treated as freaks and outcastseven by their own familythe twins just want to be normal girls. But after an incident that almost destroys their bond as sisters, they fly to London, determined to be surgically separated. Will this be their liberation, or only more tightly ensnare them? At once extraordinary and quotidian, A Spare Life is a chronicle of two girls who are among the first generation to come of age under democracy in Eastern Europe. Written in touching prose by an author who is also a master poet, it is a saga about families, sisterhood, immigration, and the occult influences that shape a life. Funny, poignant, dark, and sharply observed, Zlata and Srebra reveal an existence where even the simplest of actions is unlike any we ve ever experienced."
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ReadingEnvy
Spare Life | Lidija Dimkovska
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Reading Envy Podcast Episode 228:
Full of Secrets with Audrey Morris @DreesReads

Audrey Morris, one of the people I chat with most in Instagram about books and baking, joins me to talk books. She also shares some award lists that have her looking forward to the next few months.

Listen and subscribe:
https://tinyurl.com/ReadingEnvy228

Reggie So I haven‘t read Cutting for Stone but at least read his first memoir, My Own Country, which is about him living in rural Tennessee and being a new Dr. when HIV was first showing up. It‘s pretty good. Great show. 3y
ReadingEnvy @Reggie oh I didn't know he'd written more, good to know. 3y
36 likes2 comments
review
ReadingEnvy
Spare Life | Lidija Dimkovska
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Pickpick

This rather long novel is the story of twin sisters who were born conjoined at the head. It's also the story of Yugoslavia, Macedonia, and the split of the country through war, religious, and political change. The author tries to use the sisters to speak metaphorically about the region, and it wasn't too obtuse to grasp, even in translation. The very long chapters cover specific time periods for the sisters.

Cinfhen Sounds interesting 3y
48 likes1 comment
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ReadingEnvy
Spare Life | Lidija Dimkovska
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Whoops to the editor

Texreader Oops. An old man gate…. I‘m trying to picture that! 😁 3y
Ruthiella I‘ve just finished a book where a woman‘s wedding dress was white and then two pages later green. In another book, a character lives in a three bedroom house and the in a couple of chapters, it‘s an apartment. 😬 3y
ReadingEnvy @Ruthiella wow that's not even an editor issue, that's just bad writing in general 3y
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ReadingEnvy @Texreader I imagine he's grumpy for sure. 3y
saresmoore I‘m picturing Carl‘s white picket fence from the movie, Up. 😆 3y
ReadingEnvy @saresmoore perfect lol 3y
35 likes6 comments
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Currey
Spare Life | Lidija Dimkovska
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Mehso-so

#readaroundtheworld #macedonia An oddly compelling tale of sisterhood as narrated by Zlata, one of conjoined twins growing up in Macedonia. Their life is severely impoverished, not just materially, but through lack of warmth and affection. The book details a troubled life against the background of the breakup of Yugoslavia, the war in Bosnia, and the continuing violence in the world. The writing is slow and methodical reflecting their lives.

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TNbooklover66
Spare Life | Lidija Dimkovska
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So, one of my New Year resolutions was to stop buying so many physical books. End of week one. How did I do? 🙄😮😂📚📚📚#bookhaul #buyallthebooks

Reviewsbylola 😂😂😂 8y
Reviewsbylola I can say undoubtedly that Lillian Boxfish is worth it. 100 pages in and loving it. 8y
Desha Haha you sound like me....yesterday it was the kindle sale that did me in! 😜 8y
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BarbaraTheBibliophage Me too. Epic fail. 🤣😓 8y
the.bookish.valkyrie The Darkest Part of the Forest is so good everyone should own a copy! 8y
jessberk13 😂😂😂😂 8y
jessberk13 If you don't count the #BOTM ones I'd say you did great!!! 8y
21 likes7 comments
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LeahsBookNest
Spare Life | Lidija Dimkovska
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New book!

CAGirlReading Two lines press puts out some great books in translation! I haven't read this one yet so I can't wait to hear what you think! 8y
LeahsBookNest @CAGirlReading I'm crossing my fingers! Hopefully I will get to it before March. 8y
26 likes1 stack add2 comments
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LeahsBookNest
Spare Life | Lidija Dimkovska
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Made it to an independent bookshop in Dallas called The Wild Detectives. What's better than indie books and a bar? A few popular books too. 😊

LeahBergen Sounds perfect! 8y
LeahsBookNest @LeahBergen it definitely was! Wish I lived in Dallas. 😖 8y
40 likes2 comments
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katrrosee
Spare Life | Lidija Dimkovska
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I should get started on my holiday decorating, but instead I'm racing through this book on my Eastern Europe kick. The story of dissolving and fight for independence of the Soviet bloc through the eyes of sisters desperately seeking separation from each other.

Note: I'm trying to learn Romanian (in-laws' native language). Is anyone familiar with good resources or reading materials to help a beginner?

MrBook Nice! 8y
tricours Try the Colloquial language learning series, I have the impression they aren't that bad! 8y
quirkyreader So are you a Boilermaker? 8y
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katrrosee @tricours Thanks!! 8y
katrrosee @quirkyreader No, but some family is. Did you go there? 8y
quirkyreader I went to University in Michigan, but I currently live in Indiana. Many of my friends went to Purdue. 8y
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ReadingEnvy
Spare Life | Lidija Dimkovska
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#bookmail from Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville, NC

Hobbinol One of my favorite bookstores❤️ 8y
ReadingEnvy @Hobbinol Oh me too. I don't have great independent bookstores in my town so I think of them as my hometown store. 8y
Hobbinol I live in Winston-Salem, so it's a tad far for me to adopt Malaprops's as my surrogate bookstore ☹️(all the independents here shuttered back in the nineties, but the group that organizes our literary festival will be opening a bookstore next year). I usually get to Asheville at least once a year: it's my favorite NC town. 8y
Betty Love Malaprop's too 8y
41 likes4 comments