pickThis book of short stories (indeed, most were under 10 pages) was a terrific, albeit heartbreaking read. The author is Bosnian and lived in the former Yugoslavia worker as a journalist and writer during the war. His stories focus on the disruptiveness and impact of the war both directly and indirectly, and the cost to relationships between people and their land. The final story, The Library, affected me deeply. Recommended!
pickA collection of essays and poems, this book was an early piece about the ongoing Siege of Sarajevo and the Bosnian War. A Bosnian city resident and writer living out the early ‘90s under daily sniper fire and shelling, Mehmedinovic documents what strikes him hardest amongst the existential dread and ennui of this war, from the gray hairs found in his young son‘s hair to fellow artists risking their lives to chronicle Sarajevo‘s destruction.
so-soAutofiction centred on a breast cancer journey was never going to be a "light" read...
It's evening. Another day is behind you. Metal, grey, swollen with unspoken words. You're all eating pizza. You and the children.... You think how beautiful they are. How beautiful they are!
You don't think about whether you'll be able to watch them grow up. That thought is forbidden. Unnecessary. Damaging. Your thoughts and words are submitted to controls. Good and acceptable. And the others. The others are immediately censored.
Mehmedinović wrote this book in Sarajevo, during the Bosnian war. It contains poems and essays. It's heart-breaking.
Photo of Vijećnica, Sarajevo's former city hall and library, from wikipedia. An extraordinary place that had to be rebuilt after the war.
I‘m not sure how to review this book that deals with such a serious subject as the Bosnian war and the massacre at Srebrenica. I‘ll be thinking about it for a while, but at the same time I found the mystery elements to be a bit lacking.
In any event, I finished this mystery and two other books (The Beauty in Breaking & The Return of the King) during the #35by35 #readathon and will keep working away at the mysteries. #wrapup
Happy almost birthday to @MatchlessMarie !
For this #readathon I‘m doing something a little different. Instead of #35by35 I want to read 35 mysteries by the end of the year, but I can make a lot of progress toward that if I concentrate on mysteries for the next ten days. So far I‘ve read 24 mysteries, which leaves 11 more to go to reach the goal. They may or may not all be the ones in the picture, but I‘m currently reading the tagged book.
pickI usually read graphic novels in one go but I couldn‘t do it with this one. It is hard to believe that humans can commit such horrible crimes even though history and reality sadly confirm now and again that they certainly can. Joe Sacco is the master of comic journalism and once again his written and graphic report have made a deep impression on me. I highly recommend it.
