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 Čvrsnica by Ante Perkovic, via Wikimedia bc I couldn't find one of Prekornica from a free source
pickBit 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
pickA 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.
pickMilena 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.
pickThis 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
panI‘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.)
pickI don‘t know if I even have words to describe this one. It sickened me, broke my heart, and is generally overall hopeless. Arsim is one of the most unredeemable characters I‘ve ever read. The story of how he meets, falls in love, and cares for Milos starts so promising. But he is married, has a child on the way, and is Albanian and Milos is a Serb. The war will tear them apart, but they do that on their own. Homophobia, war, ⬇️⬇️
