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Bleak and painful. Whilst Bolla portrays the impact of violence and turmoil suffered by the Balkan people, Arsim takes centre stage. A difficult and unpleasant character, as destructive as the war raging on in the background. Difficult to rate as the strength of this novel lies in how unlikeable it is. 8/10

Wow! Apparently I started this book in June 2021. It is now February 2025 and I‘ve finally finished reading all 1150 pages! It‘s taken me as long to read it as it took Rebecca West to write it! An amazing, epic read that I was happy to dip into, savour, leave and return to over 4 years. The author at one point says that her book is so long probably no one will ever read it. She was wrong. Completed in 1941 and still being reprinted says it all.

A man in the final stages of cancer tries to reach his native #Montenegro to die. He is pursued in the forest and the mountains by a group 2 men soon to turn into a mob. This novella was a random find at the bookshop and I was bowled over.
#Serbia
Pic of ÄŒvrsnica by Ante Perkovic, via Wikimedia bc I couldn't find one of Prekornica from a free source

Bit of an odd one this - I have been dipping in and out for a few weeks. On one hand a fascinating loose fiction of war time comings and goings in Lisbon on the other a spraling cast it was@difficult to emotionally connect with

A moment in my San Francisco hotel room after dropping my daughter off at college.

I finished this on the plane here and loved it. Literature and life and a dizzying kaleidoscope of cultural clashes and mishmashes. And many beautifully quirky lines. Halfon is a Jewish-born Guatemalan grandson of a Polish Holocaust survivor and writes about himself fictionally or metafictionally, occasionally holding the seams up for us to see.

Milena lives a life of relative privilege behind the Iron Curtain. After a terrible tragedy, she finds herself intrigued by a visiting British poet and defects to the UK.

This is one of the only history books that I truly enjoyed, Kaplan's writing style is so full of life, it makes you feel as if you know the people present in the story. A journalistic/travelling way of explaining major events is so enjoyable! Definitely a worthy read, even for people that aren't interested in history

I‘ve read many a book that is grim & have a capacity to appreciate good writing that moves you to despair. I‘ve never read one that made me question whether reading books was something I needed to stop doing. I‘ve debated how to rate this - the story is certainly realistic and the writing kept me reading. Ultimately, I‘m panning it because it requires lots of crime tape around it. (Caution, caution, this will mess you up & think life is hopeless.)