pick12-6 Oct 24 (audiobook)
Brooks tells the story of a priceless 15th century illuminated Jewish book and its travels from Spain to Sarajevo through many hands to reach an Australian rare book excerpt shortly after the Serbian War recounting a history of antisemitism.
I enjoyed the concept which seems to be a trial run for the more successful Horse, but the narrative was difficult to follow as the book is traced backward in time to its origins.
pickI loved the story of the book & the various people who were involved in creating & caring for it through the ages but I wasn't thrilled w Hanna in the present day. Her examination of the book was interesting but her difficult relationship w her mom didn't feel like it added anything to the story. Then, the entire last 1/4 was pretty annoying, I'll rant a bit in a spoiler comment. But I learned a lot & the history was fascinating so it's a pick.
The MC has gone from her home in Sydney to Sarajevo to Vienna to Boston to London…so far. But the book in question lives In Sarajevo. #WhereAreYouMonday @Cupcake12
so-soI decided to check out Edna O‘Brien after the news of her passing. I found this on audible, read by Juliet Stevenson (!). Elegant language. Heaven. Oh, what i didn‘t know. O‘Brien is seriously messing with her reader and i was seriously uncomfortable with it. Effective. But, whoa.
The story opens with a Radovan Karadžić-like character arriving in small Irish town, hiding, posing as a healer and "sex therapist"…
pick3.5⭐️ A really interesting book; some sections felt longer than they should have. A character study that looks at how war affects people on a daily basis. #2024 #historicalfiction #fiction #canadian #literary #bosnianwar
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.
pickI enjoyed this novel immensely, books by this author are always such learning experiences for me, which I always appreciate.
pickThis is a book about an almost forgotten war and its forgotten children. A book that really got me. Maybe because I have memories attached to this war. Names, friendships. Sila talks about being a child in a town torn apart by war. About growing up and survival. And also about leaving. So strong, told in a quiet and thoughtful voice.
pickReading an 11-year-old‘s diary when she‘s a happy child and then suffering the fates of the Bosnian War is tragic and sad. Pages of the diary were published during the war in 1991-93 when she lived in Sarajevo, and she knew she was being compared to Anne Frank. Her writing is exemplary for her age but she never understood why there was a war and why peace wasn‘t coming. She was both hopeful and sometimes suicidal as friends were killed and ⬇️
This post is for all my #litsylove friends and others I‘ve corresponded with. Zlata has her first pen pal! Isn‘t it wonderful? In the midst of war, the value of a letter. ❤️ @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @TheBookHippie
