The Bosnian war of 1992–1995 was something I knew little about, and this book helped me get some context. While the book doesn’t go into the motivations and differences that led to the conflict (indeed, the characters themselves are at a loss to point a finger at why), it goes give one an insight into the kind of multicultural space Sarajevo was. I had no idea that it was part of the Ottoman empire once, and enjoyed getting glimpses of its culture like how festivals were celebrated and some folklore as well as some of its bridges and landmarks. Sarajevo’s people continue to fight against the seeds of division that the conflict tries to sow (there are some of course, who hold radical views, too). A particularly beautiful, yet highly distressing moment is where people get together to save what they can from the library which is on fire: It is with this historical perspective that you can see just how extreme and intentional the discrimination has been, and how clear the impacts of it continue from the past into the present.

The author has researched her book well and it shows in the detailed and precise penning of incidents and feelings. The author’s note clarifies which two persons' experiences she combined and adapted into this story. That lends a lot of validity to what would otherwise have seemed as fictional events improbable in real life. This is the story of the Sarajevo siege that raged from 1992-1996. A story of Zora, an artist, who didn’t travel with her daughter, husband and mother to England. While they were gone, she became trapped within her city. Hunger, fear, cold. Their constants. Set in 1992, Zora Kočović is an art professor who lives in Sarajevo with her husband, Franjo (a former journalist), and her 83 years old mother. Sarajevo is a multicultural city (where the city is full of the Muslim, Serb, Croat, and Yugoslav populations) but racial sentiments, and ethnic tensions have arisen, and conflict is brewing. At this point in time, Zora decided to stay in Sarajevo for her painting and her job while Franjo and her mother traveled to England to visit their daughter Dubravka. Unfortunately, subsequent to the recognition of Bosnia as an independent and sovereign nation, the Bosnian War broke out and Sarajevo was under siege. Zora is trapped in Sarajevo and she is forced to maneuver around the constant bombings, shellings, and violence happening in the city, together with her neighbors and friends, and she has to resort to art to keep herself sane. A remarkable account of the strength of art, love, and hope in the face of war. The prose was beautiful, showing the limitlessness of inspiration and human connection as clear and bright as paint on a canvas. I also very thoroughly appreciated that this story helped to uplift the voices of a people seldom heard in mainstream media. A haunting and resonating new novel.

Hedgerows and Woodland-Edge

Priscilla Morris’ writing is serviceable but the book excels at created an emotive atmosphere. The reader will feel Zora’s pain and pleasure when finding ways to survive and her eventual bid for freedom. This book will be published on the 30th anniversary of the Siege of Sarajevo. It’s an informative novel allowing readers to develop compassion for refugees and those who seek asylum today. Za sada jedina knjiga iz ovogodišnje Women's prize for fiction selekcije koja me je privukla i to zato što je tema romana opsada Sarajeva. Nisam baš sigurna šta sam tačno očekivala, ali ovo što sam dobila je onako, recimo ok, tačno pisana za zapadnjake.

Grasslands are an incredibly valuable habitat for many of the UK’s moths and butterflies. Semi-natural grassland, pasture, arable land, urban parkland and any areas with rough unmanaged grass will all support a variety of butterfly species. In the height of summer these areas can be teeming with Skippers, Common Blues, Ringlets and Meadow Browns. Be sure to inspect any flowering plants (particularly thistles and knapweeds) as these can act as vital nectaring points for many butterflies. Pay close attention for the fast and subtle movements of smaller species as these can often disappear against such a busy environment. A prime example of this is the Small Copper which is notoriously hard to spot due to its minute size, fast flight and discrete colouration (when its wings are closed). LOOK OUT FOR: I searched high and low for this since its publication last year. Even crossed a continent but couldn’t land a copy until I found one online this year. Finally. In the UK there are currently 57 resident species of butterfly and two regular migrants. Of these, it is estimated that 76% have declined in abundance, occurrence or both over the past 40 years. Almost all of these losses can be attributed to man-made changes such as habitat destruction and pollution, along with larger patterns of weather and climate change.Told from Zora’s POV, the use of third-person helped remind me that this beautifully written, descriptive, heartbreaking, and reflective story wasn’t a memoir! I've been on a reading spree lately, trying to catch up on my reading challenge. From the books I've been reading, so far none have touched me like RM Drake's book has. If anything, it has done the antithesis of spurring my dormant writer's hand into action. It has submerged the wont to a discontented winter in the far reaches of my creative mind. This book is everything… this book is for all who are breathing and for all who are no longer here. I love teaching as well as writing and teach creative writing at University College Dublin. I have a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and read Social Anthropology at Cambridge University.

Half of Sarajevo is Muslim, a quarter Serb, and fewer than one in ten Croat. A third of marriages are mixed, the children simply calling themselves ‘Yugoslav’.” This is for you if you are pulled towards survival stories, poetic writing, and the kind of novel that humanizes headlines.and so is this book, you will smile, you will cry, you will think!! And maybe thats what I enjoyed most about this book, that it makes you think deeply about the things around you, to really appreciate the people you have in your life or had and due to certain circumstance arent apart of your life ~whether by death or just life happens~. It is haunting, powerful, deep, highly recommendable, and I'm pretty sure more than one poem will touch your soul. Thanks to Butterfly Conservation for letting us use their images throughout this article. For more information on UK butterflies and how you can help them, please visit Butterfly Conservation.org. Here you will find a wealth of information to help you find and identify butterflies and moths. I went to Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro on holidays in May 2006, accidentally stumbling on an independence referendum in the latter, when it seceded from Serbia. Gunshots and fireworks broke out in the capital Podgerica in jubilant scenes that I will never forget. I've always been a fan of poetry, but this, this is just a bunch of words formed together "wisely" to make a master piece!