Customer Reviews

Stillness: And Other Stories

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Generally stories that focus on the atrocities of ethnic wars are too difficult and painful to read, but in this vivid debut story collection, author Brkic writes of the human tragedy as fiction. The tales are of course based on the tragedy of former Yugoslavia's 'difficulties' as Bosnia and Croatia tried to erase each other's ethnic memory. She is a gifted writer, able to reduce the unfathomable horror to the level of one human being at a time.

If ever there were a book that should be read by all world leaders, this is it. Despite whatever lofty goals are used as an excuse for war, this amazingly written literary debut should make each and every one of us think long and hard about the effects of such military action. Each story reveals the pain experienced by a different citizen, whether directly involved in the fighting or not. Each experience and point of view is painful, and lasting, and not easily or perhaps ever "rebuilt" into a feeling of safety again. The common humanity in all of us has been intimately detailed and portrayed with such power; it should be a constant reminder to us of the need for mutual respect and dignity, as well. Kudos to Ms. Brkic for giving us such a meaningful gift!

I was quite surprised to come to this comments page and find so few reviews. Perhaps this gem has been somewhat overlooked? I agree with all the positive comments of others but I would stress that the book's value is not only, or even mainly, in its thematic content on the horrors of war in general or this war in particular. The stories are also worth reading just because of their haunting, usually understated windows into the inner lives of people in extreme stress. The tone is pretty much one of despair and emptiness throughout--don't go here looking for inspiration or heroism. Endurance and survival are the most to be expected, and those are shaky at best. Within that limited perspective, though, the stories are very readable, insightful, troubling, and memorable.

After working in the living hell of the 90's Balkans, fiction can be the only way to express the horrors witnessed and experienced.
These stories take you there. You want more, and you never again want to hear about this slaughterhouse, at the same time.
This book may be all you ever want to know about these times and places. If you are familiar with what happened, then you will be compelled by the faces Ms Brkic puts on the countless victims.
Either way, this is a most rewarding book.