"...these interconnected stories are both achingly affecting and archly realistic...A moving book about young survivors of armed―and especially unarmed―conflict." ―Kirkus Reviews
"Gary Barker writes as beautifully and efficiently as any writer I’ve read―not an unnecessary sentence in the entire book. He is Hemingway without the false macho energy, and The Museum of Lost Love is an extraordinary testament to the enduring power of our pasts." ―Richard Reyes-Gavilan, Executive Director, Washington DC Public Libraries
“Inspired by an actual museum in Croatia, in his The Museum of Lost Love Gary Barker brings to life an ensemble of characters striving to express love, kindness, bravery and integrity in a world where war, genocide, rape, torture and trauma prevail. At a time when ugliness and despair threaten the most resolute faith, Barker brings us a moral tale that contrasts the high and the low roads. In the end, as he follows several men and women to stirring resolutions, we are, somehow, both gripped by their tragedies and uplifted by their humanity.” ―Michael Reichert, PhD, author of How to Raise a Boy: The Power of Connection to Build Good Men
"War and love are eternal subjects of literature. Therefore, writing about it requires not only a brave, but also skillful writer. Using The Museum of Lost Love as his frame an mixing documents and stories, Gary Barker found an interesting way to connect his lovers over time and continents, telling about their moving, hopeless, tragic but also fulfilling struggle for love." ―Slavenka Drakulic
"The emotional heft of The Museum of Lost Love is obvious from the first page and never lets up. The characters breathe, they love, they mourn. They stay with you." ―Jennifer Fox, Writer/Director/Producer of the award-winning film The Tale
"This is a compassionate, thoughtful and layered book that makes for an intriguing read." ―Jude Kelly, OBE, Director, Women of the World Foundation
for Mary of Kivu
"Mary of Kivu is the story of the Great African War, told with grace and passion. Drawing on his own experience in Congo and Rwanda, Barker depicts the horrors of war (including the sexual brutality that turned this beautiful land into the ‘worst place in the world to be a woman’) in an intriguing story that shows humanity’s gift to forgive is greater than its genius to destroy." ―Shereen El Feki, author of Sex and the Citadel
"Barker writes with a simple, raw honesty that is captivating. No one is untouched by suffering in this novel. But the hope of healing and redemption, even in the darkest times, shines through. Mary of Kivu has an enduring, yet timely message: that forgiveness has the power to heal the deepest wounds―and create miracles in the process." ―Kuwana Haulsey, author of The Red Moon and Angel of Harlem
for The Afghan Vampires Book Club
"A riveting story of love and war. A marriage of American Sniper and Heart of Darkness. I read it straight through in one sitting." ―Jane Fonda
"Partly a satirical broadside against the insanity of war by two writers who have spent years campaigning against violence, The Afghan Vampires Book Club also works as conspiracy thriller, speculative fiction, and full-on descent into hell." ―The Herald Scotland
for Luisa’s Last Words
"Luisa’s Last Words is like a Le Carré novel with heart: you can’t put it down." ―Jonathan Nossiter, filmmaker
"Offers a chilling evocation of the emotional impact of violence in South America. This rich contemporary, political novel is written in a vivid cinematic style." ―Liemers Bibliotheken
"Based on his personal experiences, Barker offers a frank, honest glimpse at the people behind the human rights field. A strong debut. It raises challenging questions about peace negotiations, a theme we rarely read about in fiction." ―Cutting Edge, Belgium
From the Back Cover
Tyler is in therapy. Katia and Goran are in love. On a summer trip to Zagreb, the couple discover an unusual museum that displays mementos of broken relationships. Inside, Goran stumbles upon an exhibit that seems to be addressed to him, from a girl he met in a Sarajevo refugee camp at age fourteen. What follows is a whirlwind summer of reconnecting with lost pasts: Goran confronts the youth he lost during the Yugoslav Wars, Katia heads to Brazil to find her roots, and Afghanistan veteran Tyler pours out his soul. Set against alternating backdrops of violent circumstances, this novel is a soulful testament to the resilience of the human heart. ‘Told with grace and passion, Mary of Kivu is an intriguing story that shows humanity’s gift to forgive is greater than its genius to destroy.’ SHEREEN EL FEKI, author of Sex and the Citadel (for Mary of Kivu) ‘I was incredibly impressed with Mary of Kivu. Hemmingway without the false macho energy.’ RICHARD REYES-GAVILAN, Executive Director, Washington DC Public Libraries (for Mary of Kivu)
About the Author
Gary Barker is a leading global voice in engaging men and boys in advancing gender equality. He is the CEO and founder of the international organization Promundo, which has worked for 20 years in more than 40 countries to end violence against women. He has been awarded an Ashoka Fellowship and an Open Society Fellowship for his work in conflict zones. His previous novels include Luisa’s Last Words, Mary of Kivu, and The Afghan Vampires Book Club (co-written with Michael Kaufman). Barker lives in Washington, DC.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Katia knew that look in her patients’ eyes. She had questioned the competence of her own therapist. In her case it had been a woman, black like her, when she was fifteen. Now, as she started her own practice, the patients came to her instead. And she was convinced their lives were bigger and more damaged than her own. She was silent as she sat across from her first patient of the day, a man about her age. He had short, tussled blond hair, his weathered skin affirming the hours he spent outdoors. Katia wanted to throw her notepad at him: Say something, will you?! This doesn’t work unless you help me here. This was their second session and both fidgeted as if on an internet-arranged date. “Mr. Nielsen, how is your son adjusting?” “You can call me Tyler. Mr. Nielsen sounds like my dad’s name.” “How so?” “I’m usually Officer Nielsen. Then I was Corporal Nielsen. But I’ve never really been Mr. Nielsen. Just Tyler.” “And now you’re the dad.” “Sammy doesn’t call me that.” “No, not yet, I’m sure. But he will.” Tyler stopped. He hunched his shoulders slightly as if confessing. This is how it went with him. He would start, stingily offer a few details, then stop again, staring at the floor or at his interlaced fingers. Seeing him like this, it was hard for her to imagine how he must have been when on patrol, with his uniform, his gun, his broad shoulders and muscular arms commanding respect. Katia had asked her clinical supervisor about Tyler’s long silences. Just let him be. If it goes on too long, ask him again if he wants to continue seeing you. And if he says yes, let the minutes go. Ask some questions but not too many. If it goes on like that, I would say you stop the session after fifteen or twenty minutes and suggest to him that you start again the next week. Katia lost her concentration when he stopped like this. She thought about her recent move to Austin, her other clients, and whether Goran would call. Whether she wanted him to call. Whether she missed him. Or whether she was glad they were in this extended period of undefined, long-distance whatever and that he was a safe distance away in the apartment they had once shared in Chicago. “I’m worried about what I’m starting to feel and if it’ll confuse him.” Tyler’s voice seemed to come from the next room or the next building, from down the street. The words snaked their way into the quiet of the consultation room. It took Katia a moment to re-engage. “What is it you’re starting to feel?” “For this woman I met. It’s like my boy just came into my life. I never even knew I had a son until now. And just when I’m figuring out how to get on with him, I meet this woman.” “Do you want to talk about her?” “It’s not about her, or who she is really. It’s about that feeling, if you know what I mean.” Katia knew she should wait for him to say more, but the halting flow of Tyler’s words was unbearable. “Tell me about that feeling.” Tyler took a deep breath and stared at her with exasperation. “It’s like Afghanistan. Like being on those patrols. At night. Even with night gear and all. I mean even in the daytime in Afghanistan it’s like you’re blind. You have no idea when they’ll hit you or what they’ll hit you with or who’s out there. If they’re Taliban or just some goat herder and his family getting on with their day. Every time you come around a blind spot or a corner, every step, you’re ready for that explosion. Direct or indirect. It’s all the same. That’s how I feel with a woman when I’m starting to care about her, you know. It’s like love is … like I’m completely blind.” Katia repressed a smile. Only occasionally did Tyler use so many words. She struggled not to hum the rest of the song that jumped into her head, and not to tell Tyler her own story. She knew that wasn’t allowed, and she knew this wasn’t about her.
