I bought this book at Book Fair Australia this year. I wasn’t certain about buying so many books this time round so I tried to only buy one from each series. If I like them I’m sure the authors will be happy to sell me other books from the series in the future. There is some very useful information in the front of this book. We’re talking about a cast of characters sorted by family, some quick notes on pronunciation and, a glossary.
This book is not the easist to read. It is set in Srebrenica during the Massacre which followed the disintegration of Yugoslavia. It is in the first person and we see everything through the eyes of Seka Torlak, a teenager trying to survive. Seka is a Bosniak and the Serbs are wanting to ethnically cleanse the area of Bosniaks. Pajalić does not mince her words, we are told exactly what is happening.
Seka is not just trying to survive. She’s also discovered medication is being sold on the black market. It’s medication that is needed for the whole community. With her good English she finds herself translating for an Australian journalist. With the ability to send a message to the journalist, and the encouragement to write a story about the black market and the medications, Seka is drawn to investigate.
Remember how Seka is a teenager? She wants to do what all teenagers want to do, have time with friends and fall in love. We see some of this in the guise of a movie night and a dance. Some of the payments for tickets for the movie night are interesting. Some people paid with money while others paid with food items.
There are discussions of sex and pregnancy, some of which I found rather confronting. These are things that should be perfectly normal discussions between mother and daughter and yet I was confronted. That probably says more about me than the book.
I can’t really say much more without giving spoilers. I do recall this genocide being broadcast on the news at the time and it is much more than I remember. Which makes sense as I was in safety in my house in Melbourne, Australia, while the events were happening in Srebrenica. Very nicely written, the historical accuracy is impressive. I did run a search of a couple of things just to check locations and found so much more which all checks out in the book. Before starting this book I did take a chance on the author and backed another book by her on Kickstarter. Pity I bought the ebooks, I do prefer a print book. I will be reading more of her works.