Rose of Sarajevo

I like this book because it contains one of the best descriptions I have read of the development of the fracture of Yugoslavia in the 1980s and 90s. I was fortunate to visit Yugoslavia in 1988 on a tour of Croatia. The tour guide started her introduction to the tour by stating that Yugoslavia was a country of x ethnicities, y religions, z languages, etc. I forget the exact numbers, somewhere more than 5. The implication was that Yugoslavia was less a melting pot, as portrayed by many, than a simmering pot. That pot soon boiled over, as described in this novel. Reader alert! You will need to understand a little Balkan and Ottoman history to appreciate this novel, but that can be obtained, for example, by scanning a few Wikipedia articles. The protagonist in this novel is a woman journalist in Sarajevo. Making her a journalist was a stroke of inspiration, as it allows the integration of history and fiction without seriously disrupting the story. That type of integration often fails. Ultimately, this is a story of survival and complex relationships, of love and redemption. It reveals the tragedy of Sarajevo without wallowing in the gore. The history is fairly detailed, but it does have a viewpoint. The Serbs are the villains here, as expected from a Turkish author with sympathy for Bosnia. However, she is an excellent storyteller, with a knack for portraying sympathetic characters. This is the second of her novels I have read, and I will look for others.

4.5 A powerful read. The novel is set in Sarajevo in the 80's and 90's as Yugoslavia breaks apart. Nimeta is a Bosniak (Muslim) reporter and the novel follows the impact of the break-up on her family and friends, her work, and country and home of Sarajevo. With a main character as a reporter, Kulin is able to weave large chunks of history into the narrative - they still feel a bit slow, but she follows through with the personal, intimate view of the impact of those larger events. The novel has some grim moments, particularly as it gets into the massacres perpetrated by the Serbs. But the novel also shows the proud history of the Bosniaks and how they lived in peace for years with Serbs and Croats in the city of Sarajevo. While the novel's ending is ambiguous, I think it suits the themes and is a nod to what many who lived during that time dealt with.

While I thought the topic was really interesting (the treatment of Muslims in Bosnia by the Serbs in the early 90) it was pretty obvious to me that the book has been translated from another language because at times things were unclear. Also, the book was confusing in a number of places - it is difficult to articulate but my book club read the book this month and quite a few people commented that it was hard to follow. Overall I liked the story and was glad that I read it but wish it had been easier to follow. I do feel like I learned a lot about how the Bosnians were treated and it was so horrific and I think it is an important part of history for all of us to know about.

I enjoyed a lot reading the "Rosa de Sarajevo" book. This story happens during times of war. This is real narration that happening NOW in some place in our planet earth. The central character is Nimeta, a mother, wife, daughter, sister, and lover. She is also a professional journalist, and a very string person, who keeps her family together during those struggles years. I like the way the author, Ayse Kulin, tell us horrible things that happen to human beings during a war. I like the words that she chooses, and the description of the feelings of those people. It keeps me interested and alert. I also enjoyed trying to read those names of people and places that I cannot pronounce, because I don not know Serbian neither Croatian, but I had a good time trying to read them. I read this book in my Kindle, then it was easy to take it when I went for appointments, to keep me busy when I was waiting. Thanks for let me share this wonderful experience. Ana Rojas

This was definitely a depressing book though a good one. The writing is good and engaging and you have to feel the pain of the Bonsian as well as the disgust with the Serbs. You have to want to explore what went on in this war. It is hard to believe that any group could be encouraged to act as the Serbs did. It makes clear the power of propaganda and the weakness of people to see through it and to carry out horrific atrocities in the name of ethnic identity. It is good that the author exposed this and reminded me just how badly the Serbs acted. As with the German after WW2 I hope the Serbs realize what they have done and suffer the pain daily of knowing how horribly they acted.

I was pushed off from reading this book because I read many negative reviews about it lacking substance. However, I'm so glad I gave it a shot because I liked it so much that I read it in a day, I just couldn't put it down. This book tells the story of the war in Croatia and Bosnia from the standpoint of a muslim news reporter in Bosnia. There's a lot of history in this book, but it is explained in such a way that you can understand the development of this very complicated war, and since its more like reporters talking about it, you get to feel like you are in the newsroom. Many of the negative reviews that I had read explained that the characters were flat and that they felt that something was missing in this book, but to be honest I actually enjoyed the way Kulin portrayed the characters because it enables the reader to put himself in the shoes of the characters. Do you really need someone to explain to you how would you feel in the middle of war when there is no food and people are massacred, or would you rather stop and think how would you feel in this situation? For me, this style of writing made the story more real - it enabled me to transport myself to this horrific period.

I have become a fan of Ayse Kulin's books, because they are well-written, and because the fact that she is from Turkey gives her books a different perspective than I have, as an American. While there were a lot of good things about this book (well-written, an interesting plot, good characterization), it was set during the Bosnian War, and the author included some pretty graphic scenes related to the war. I realize this is historical fiction, but it was very painful to read about the atrocities that were committed against the Bosniaks. I only give it 4 stars, because it was so intense at times, that I could only read it in short segments.

A disturbing book based to a certain extend on the war and genocide in Bosnia. It is reality based and the overall feeling is one of hopelessness. It is only by the tireless efforts of journalists that the story is told to an outside world that seemingly cannot believe what they are hearing. The book ends with a word of hope that Bosnia will survive through the lives of her children, however the ghastly stories, based on truth, made me wonder how much of the culture and community spirit will survive. The overall impression is one of incredible disgust for the lies and manipulation of men and politicians that seem to stop at nothing to attain their goal of total annihilation of a Muslim society. The most disturbing aspect is the lethargy of world powers to do something about this. A book worthwhile to read to be reminded that no one can be complacent about evil.

I ENJOYED THE STORYLINE as well as the historical aspect. The characters seemed authentic as well. The book held my interest from start to finish

Rose of Sarajevo...Is it fiction or is it a history..This Novel seems to dangle between these two. Through the story of Nimitha and her family, Author covers the bloody war which finally cut Yugoslavia into pieces. The Croats,Bosnians ,relegions, there are many players in this historical Novel as you can say it While going through how a family gets disintegrated between the bloodiest war, modern war has seen book also gives us a peak into lives of real people who lived during these difficult times Anyone who would like to know what really happened in this part of world during this timultanious time can go through this book,Those looking for just a nice light read better don't

Escolhi esse livro porque estive na região dos Bálcãs há 3 anos e me interessei muito por saber mais sobre a história daquele povo. A história é muito bem contada, tocante, uma história de amor entre os escombros de uma guerra sem sentido, como alíás, todas as guerras.

I have learnt so much through this novel, about the suffering of the Bosnian Muslims at the hands of the Serbians in the grip of fanatical nationalism. Ayse Kulin writes so movingly through the eyes of her characters .It is a harrowing visceral read, and at times I had to just stop and cry. Why were we in the West so inept and unable to stop the genocide, and...shocking expression...The Ethnic Cleansing of people.

Eine bosnische Ehefrau und Mutter zweier Kinder verliebt sich in ihren kroatischen Kollegen. Die eigentliche Liebesgeschichte rückt aber vor den dramatischen Ereignissen während des Bosnienkrieges in den Hintergrund der Geschichte. Wieder einmal muss ich gestehen, dass ich anfang der 90ger von diesem furchtbaren Bürgerkrieg direkt vor unserer Haustür so gut wie nichts mitbekommen habe und dass mir wichtiges Hintergrundwissen hierzu fehlt. Um so mehr war ich beim Lesen schockiert über die furchtbaren Gräueltaten, die an der muslimischen Bevölkerung begangen wurden. Wie bei der Autorin üblich, gibt es zunächst eine lange Einleitung und detaillierte Beschreibungen aller Charaktere und Motive. Die Geschichte benötigt ein wenig Zeit, um sich zu entwickeln, aber dann möchte man das Buch nicht mehr aus Hand legen. Unbedingte Kaufempfehlung!