What do you think?
Rate this book
禺丿丕丨丕賮馗 爻丕乇丕蹖賵賵
賴丕賳丕 丿賵丕夭丿賴 爻丕賱 丿丕卮鬲 賰賴 丌鬲賰丕蹖 亘賷爻鬲 賵 賷賰 爻丕賱賴貙 丕賵 賵 禺賵丕賴乇 丿賷诏乇卮丕賳 賳丕丿賷丕蹖 趩賴丕乇丿賴 鈥屸€屫池з勝� 乇丕 爻賵丕乇 丕鬲賵亘賵爻 賲禺氐賵氐 倬賳丕賴賳丿诏丕賳 賰乇丿 賰賴 夭賳丕賳 賵 亘趩賴鈥屬囏� 乇丕 丕夭 卮賴乇 噩賳诏鈥屫藏� 禺丕乇噩 賲蹖鈥屬冐必�. 丌鬲賰丕 丿乇 卮賴乇 賲丕賳丿 鬲丕 賲乇丕賯亘 倬賳噩 禺賵丕賴乇 賵 亘乇丕丿乇 丿賷诏乇卮 亘丕卮丿. 丌賳鈥屬囏� 鬲氐賵乇 賲蹖鈥屬冐必嗀� 噩賳诏 趩賳丿 賴賮鬲賴 亘賷卮鬲乇 丿賵丕賲 賳禺賵丕賴丿 丌賵乇丿 丕賲丕... 貨
448 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2011
100 people are currently reading
3,248 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews
January 5, 2016
A true story based on the journals kept by two sisters, of ten siblings, who are separated during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the mid-1990s.
The book has many examples of selfless acts of generosity by people who are initially strangers to the girls and their family. These provide heartening respite from the descriptions of how to avoid being shot at by snipers while collecting water during a seige; how to eke out food and fuel supplies during a blockade 鈥� jeans and leather shoes burn well apparently, once you鈥檝e run out of trees, doors, furniture, and books; and how to stay sane when it would be so much easier to not.
I鈥檇 known from watching a documentary on Annie Leibovitz that Susan Sontag had flown to Sarajevo during this time to put on a performance of Waiting for Godot but this book gave me a much greater understanding of just what a stroke of surreal genius that gesture was. And lurking in the backdrop to Atka and Hana鈥檚 story are鈥� concentration camps. For crying out loud 鈥� and yes, the book did make me cry, many times 鈥� how can anyone, anywhere, in this day and age, still think that concentration camps are any kind of an appropriate approach to problem solving??
I鈥檓 shelving this book alongside The Diary of Anne Frank as a reminder that while times and technology change, people and politics do not. The good, and the abhorrent unfortunately, remain.
The book has many examples of selfless acts of generosity by people who are initially strangers to the girls and their family. These provide heartening respite from the descriptions of how to avoid being shot at by snipers while collecting water during a seige; how to eke out food and fuel supplies during a blockade 鈥� jeans and leather shoes burn well apparently, once you鈥檝e run out of trees, doors, furniture, and books; and how to stay sane when it would be so much easier to not.
I鈥檇 known from watching a documentary on Annie Leibovitz that Susan Sontag had flown to Sarajevo during this time to put on a performance of Waiting for Godot but this book gave me a much greater understanding of just what a stroke of surreal genius that gesture was. And lurking in the backdrop to Atka and Hana鈥檚 story are鈥� concentration camps. For crying out loud 鈥� and yes, the book did make me cry, many times 鈥� how can anyone, anywhere, in this day and age, still think that concentration camps are any kind of an appropriate approach to problem solving??
I鈥檓 shelving this book alongside The Diary of Anne Frank as a reminder that while times and technology change, people and politics do not. The good, and the abhorrent unfortunately, remain.
August 31, 2013
OK, the two authors of this book had an important story to tell. These two sisters and their family lived through the Siege of Sarajevo, beginning in 1992. The Muslim family living in Sarajevo was very large - ten kids! Two of the kids, one twelve and the other fifteen were evacuated to Croatia. Another daughter was in Vienna when the siege began so she too later lived with her sisters in Croatia. The rest, along with their mother and father and two grandmothers lived through the Siege from March 1992 through November 1995. The mother chose to return to Sarajevo. 10.000 were killed. 60.000 were wounded. Remember this was in Europe; this was in recent times. And what did the UN do? Not much of anything.... What did the European Union do? Very little. It was very hard to listen to this because it felt so close in both time and place. It felt like next door! And I have been in Zagreb where the three girls in Croatia stayed. It spooked me. What happened to this family will shake you, and it is a story that needs to be told. If you want to know exactly what it might have been like to be there in Sarajevo during this war, read this book. You also hear what it was like for the three girls alone in Zagreb, not knowing what was happening to their family. You will get all the facts clearly presented.
It almost feels like a young adult book though. Why? because everything is explained very simply, but yes, also correctly. Their is love too, and jokes and the dialogs are what you hear on any modern day TV show. It is accurate, but don't look for nuanced ideas or skilled writing.
The narration of the audiobook was done by Bernadette Dune. It was fine, and you know what I mean by that. Not special, just OK. Just ordinary talking. It could have been better. Since the story is told by both twelve year old Hanna and her twenty-one year old sister Atka, it would have been better if the intonations were a bit different for the two. I didn't mix them up though. You always knew who was speaking because they were in different places. You could tell who was speaking by what was going on.
The content of the book pulls you in, but how it was written is just ordinary.
It almost feels like a young adult book though. Why? because everything is explained very simply, but yes, also correctly. Their is love too, and jokes and the dialogs are what you hear on any modern day TV show. It is accurate, but don't look for nuanced ideas or skilled writing.
The narration of the audiobook was done by Bernadette Dune. It was fine, and you know what I mean by that. Not special, just OK. Just ordinary talking. It could have been better. Since the story is told by both twelve year old Hanna and her twenty-one year old sister Atka, it would have been better if the intonations were a bit different for the two. I didn't mix them up though. You always knew who was speaking because they were in different places. You could tell who was speaking by what was going on.
The content of the book pulls you in, but how it was written is just ordinary.
March 13, 2017
'Do you understand much about the situation here?' I asked.
'I'm trying to,' he said, 'but it's confusing because you all look the same; Serbs, Croats and Muslims, I can't tell the difference.' Mike got up and slung his cameras around his neck.
'I don't understand how you lived side by side for so long and then the Serbs turned against you.' He shook his head.
In my opinion no "human" understood or will ever understand the reasons of ethnic killing
In the beginning the novel was very interesting because it told two sides of the story, Atka and her family being in Sarajevo and Hana and Nadia who had the chance to go to Croatia as refugees...
I also found it very interesting that the family consisted of 10 siblings and two grandmothers, which is unusual of Bosnian families be that huge, it was kind of sad to see how each of them coped with the war...
'I'm trying to,' he said, 'but it's confusing because you all look the same; Serbs, Croats and Muslims, I can't tell the difference.' Mike got up and slung his cameras around his neck.
'I don't understand how you lived side by side for so long and then the Serbs turned against you.' He shook his head.
In my opinion no "human" understood or will ever understand the reasons of ethnic killing
In the beginning the novel was very interesting because it told two sides of the story, Atka and her family being in Sarajevo and Hana and Nadia who had the chance to go to Croatia as refugees...
I also found it very interesting that the family consisted of 10 siblings and two grandmothers, which is unusual of Bosnian families be that huge, it was kind of sad to see how each of them coped with the war...
November 20, 2016
I was torn whether to give this book two or three stars.... it really needs 2.5
The story is very moving and it was good to read a first hand experience. But.... the writing is not particularly engaging and I think it could have been so much more. Living through the Sarajevo siege was clearly traumatic, difficult and horrifying, yet through this the Atka's family stayed strong but the emotion of the writing was a little flat. I really should have felt more moved than I did. It read like a list of I did this, he did that then we did something else. There was a lack of description of emotions and relationships.
So I think this is an important book that should be read, particularly given that in the last twenty years the world still hasn't learnt to treat refugees as individual people with hopes, dreams and needs. In conclusion it's an important read about horrifying events that we as a world community largely ignored but it is not a 'great read'.
The story is very moving and it was good to read a first hand experience. But.... the writing is not particularly engaging and I think it could have been so much more. Living through the Sarajevo siege was clearly traumatic, difficult and horrifying, yet through this the Atka's family stayed strong but the emotion of the writing was a little flat. I really should have felt more moved than I did. It read like a list of I did this, he did that then we did something else. There was a lack of description of emotions and relationships.
So I think this is an important book that should be read, particularly given that in the last twenty years the world still hasn't learnt to treat refugees as individual people with hopes, dreams and needs. In conclusion it's an important read about horrifying events that we as a world community largely ignored but it is not a 'great read'.
June 9, 2015
Loved this book, I didn't know too much about the Bosnia war except for snippets so for me this was a huge education piece whilst following a families story. I couldn't put it down, it was so compelling and a really important book for me to read because of what I learnt.
January 13, 2013
Quite an amazing story of the harshness of war, the love of family and the transformation afforded by deeds of the kindhearted and generous of spirit, when moved by pity towards our defenceless sisters. This is the story of the children of a family torn apart by the outrages of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s. The experiences of the two narrating sisters are quite different, with the 21 year old Atka forced to stay behind in Sarajevo, and act as mother to her many other siblings; and Hana, who made it to the relative safety of Croatia, and had a more conventional, though lonely and parentless experience in which she went to school and was supported by the family of neighbours.
It is an inspiring story which documents time and again the kindness and generosity of strangers, and in which the girls happen upon some wonderful good luck. But, as a mother, I found it disturbing to observe the emotional distance both the girls parents seemed to need to impose on the children in order to cope with the outrages to their lives. Hana and Atka are not resentful of this through much of the book, and I don't mean to judge them either - heaven knows how any of us would cope if faced with the trials imposed on these people. "There but for the grace of God go I" is the only reasonable attitude to have, IMHO. But it is clear the high price that was paid by the girls we follow most closely through the book, in loneliness, depression and the heavy weight of responsibility under which they sometimes buckled and sought escape. For the girls, this leads to dependency on others, pregnancy and perhaps premature sexual relationships, though this is not clear (and certainly doesn't seem to apply directly to either of our narrators).
The writing style is a little stilted, especially in the dialogue, which stops me from going any higher in my rating, but this is an immensely readable book and a very emotionally satisfying story. Or I'm just a sucker for the misfortunes of children.
It is an inspiring story which documents time and again the kindness and generosity of strangers, and in which the girls happen upon some wonderful good luck. But, as a mother, I found it disturbing to observe the emotional distance both the girls parents seemed to need to impose on the children in order to cope with the outrages to their lives. Hana and Atka are not resentful of this through much of the book, and I don't mean to judge them either - heaven knows how any of us would cope if faced with the trials imposed on these people. "There but for the grace of God go I" is the only reasonable attitude to have, IMHO. But it is clear the high price that was paid by the girls we follow most closely through the book, in loneliness, depression and the heavy weight of responsibility under which they sometimes buckled and sought escape. For the girls, this leads to dependency on others, pregnancy and perhaps premature sexual relationships, though this is not clear (and certainly doesn't seem to apply directly to either of our narrators).
The writing style is a little stilted, especially in the dialogue, which stops me from going any higher in my rating, but this is an immensely readable book and a very emotionally satisfying story. Or I'm just a sucker for the misfortunes of children.
November 7, 2015
You can also read my review here:
The Balkan War of the 90s is one of those events that I have a morbid fascination with. I struggle to understand how it happened, how people that you had been happily living next to for years could suddenly turn into your enemy, how the Western nations could just stand back and watch the atrocities that were being committed and do nothing. It is a subject I return to over and over again, trying to garner some insight into, but I always come up empty.
Unfortunately this book added little to my understanding and I don鈥檛 suppose I should have expected it to as it is the retelling of two sisters experience of the war, one in Sarajevo and the other in Zagreb. While what they went through was awful and I can鈥檛 imagine having to live through something like that myself, I felt somewhat detached from it. This may be because it was written in English which is not their first language. I found the language quite simplistic and I think that this impacted their ability to fully describe the horrors they endured.
However, I鈥檓 not sorry that I read this book particularly at this time in history when the world is again in the midst of a horrific war and millions of refugees are now homeless and looking to start new lives in safety and security. I think it was a good reminder that nobody chooses to be stuck in the middle of a war and that when you are placed in that situation you will do anything and everything you can to ensure the survival of your family. In that respect, this book is definitely worth reading.
The Balkan War of the 90s is one of those events that I have a morbid fascination with. I struggle to understand how it happened, how people that you had been happily living next to for years could suddenly turn into your enemy, how the Western nations could just stand back and watch the atrocities that were being committed and do nothing. It is a subject I return to over and over again, trying to garner some insight into, but I always come up empty.
Unfortunately this book added little to my understanding and I don鈥檛 suppose I should have expected it to as it is the retelling of two sisters experience of the war, one in Sarajevo and the other in Zagreb. While what they went through was awful and I can鈥檛 imagine having to live through something like that myself, I felt somewhat detached from it. This may be because it was written in English which is not their first language. I found the language quite simplistic and I think that this impacted their ability to fully describe the horrors they endured.
However, I鈥檓 not sorry that I read this book particularly at this time in history when the world is again in the midst of a horrific war and millions of refugees are now homeless and looking to start new lives in safety and security. I think it was a good reminder that nobody chooses to be stuck in the middle of a war and that when you are placed in that situation you will do anything and everything you can to ensure the survival of your family. In that respect, this book is definitely worth reading.
November 28, 2014
It never ceases to amaze me the level of horror, degradation and deprivation humans continue to put on one another in the name of some pumped up righteous ideal! The evidence has been mounting for centuries that slugging it out means there are a lot more losers than winners. Yet time and time again when the human story is revealed it is the ordinary folk intent on surviving that show us what courage and strength mean. It is the love and connection to those closest that means super human feats are performed.
Goodbye Sarajevo is one such story it centered around a large family from Sarajevo. Atka the eldest daughter and Hana a younger sister kept journals throughout their ordeals. So much of the story is lifted from these and gives you a real sense of what they went through and how such things fell. It is a lesson in gratitude and love. The family are not strongly religious or political but clearly have ethics and humanity and this is what I believe serves them all so well in the end. It is a wonderful read that has you feeling very desperate for them all but with a touching and surprising end. Highly recommend.
Goodbye Sarajevo is one such story it centered around a large family from Sarajevo. Atka the eldest daughter and Hana a younger sister kept journals throughout their ordeals. So much of the story is lifted from these and gives you a real sense of what they went through and how such things fell. It is a lesson in gratitude and love. The family are not strongly religious or political but clearly have ethics and humanity and this is what I believe serves them all so well in the end. It is a wonderful read that has you feeling very desperate for them all but with a touching and surprising end. Highly recommend.
November 8, 2018
亘賵爻賳蹖 鬲賳賴丕 讴卮賵乇 丕乇賵倬丕蹖蹖 賴爻鬲 讴賴 噩賲毓蹖鬲 賲爻賱賲丕賳卮 賲賴丕噩乇 賳蹖爻鬲賳丿 賵 丕氐丕賱鬲丕 丕賴賱 賴賲丕賳 讴卮賵乇 賴爻鬲賳丿. 丕賲丕 丨鬲蹖 丕蹖賳 賲爻卅賱賴 賴賲 噩賱賵蹖 爻丕夭賲丕賳 賲賱賱 乇賵 亘乇丕蹖 亘爻鬲賳 趩卮賲卮 亘賴鈥屫辟堐� 噩賳丕蹖鬲鈥屬囏й屰� 讴賴 毓賱蹖賴 賲爻賱賲丕賳丕賳 亘賵爻賳蹖 丕賳噩丕賲 賲蹖鈥屫簇� 亘诏蹖乇賴. 賲丨丕氐乇賴 爻丕乇丕蹖賵賵 鄞鄱 賲丕賴 丕丿丕賲賴 丿丕卮鬲 賵 丿乇 丕蹖賳 賲丿鬲 亘蹖卮 丕夭 郾郯郯郯郯 賳賮乇 丕夭 賲乇丿賲 卮賴乇 丿乇 丕孬乇 賳亘賵丿 丕賲讴丕賳丕鬲 丕賵賱蹖賴 賲孬賱 丌亘貙 睾匕丕 賵 丕賳乇跇蹖 賵 亘賲亘丕乇丕賳 賵 鬲蹖乇丕賳丿丕夭蹖 賲爻鬲賯蹖賲 氐乇亘鈥屬囏� 亘賴 讴賵趩賴鈥屬囏� 賵 禺丕賳賴鈥屬囏� 賵 亘蹖賲丕乇爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏ж� 讴卮鬲賴 卮丿賳丿. 讴鬲丕亘 亘丕 賳孬乇 乇賵丕賳 賵 噩匕丕亘 夭賳丿诏蹖 丿賵 禺賵丕賴乇 賲爻賱賲丕賳 亘賵爻賳蹖丕蹖蹖 乇賵 乇賵丕蹖鬲 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁�. 丿乇 胤蹖 讴鬲丕亘 毓賯丕蹖丿 賲乇丿賲蹖 讴賴 賲爻賱賲丕賳 亘賵丿賳丿 丕賲丕 亘毓丿 丕夭 蹖讴 丿賵乇賴 丨讴賵賲鬲 讴賲賵賳蹖爻鬲蹖貙 丨丕賱丕 亘丕 賮乇賵倬丕卮蹖 蹖賵诏爻賱丕賵蹖 賵丕乇丿 丿賵乇賴鈥屰� 噩丿蹖丿蹖 亘乇丕蹖 讴卮賵乇卮賵賳 卮丿賴 亘賵丿賳丿 乇賵 亘賴 賵囟賵丨 賳卮賵賳 賲蹖丿賴. 賵 丿乇 賳賴丕蹖鬲 丕蹖賳 乇賵 讴賴 賲爻賱賲丕賳丕賳 亘賵爻賳蹖 丿乇 讴卮賵乇 禺賵丿卮賵賳貙 賵賱蹖 丿乇 賳賴丕蹖鬲 睾乇亘鬲貙 亘賴 丿賱蹖賱蹖 讴賴 丨鬲蹖 丕夭 丕賵賳 禺亘乇 賳丿丕卮鬲賳丿 賲賵乇丿 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 賮噩蹖毓鈥屫臂屬� 賳爻賱鈥屭┴篡屸€屬囏й� 鬲丕乇蹖禺 亘卮乇 賵丕賯毓 卮丿賴 亘賵丿賳丿.
October 31, 2014
Wow
This was truly an amazing book. The dichotomy between those mindlessly killing and those helping the family was both sad and heartening.
This was truly an amazing book. The dichotomy between those mindlessly killing and those helping the family was both sad and heartening.
March 4, 2024
Everyone needs to read this book. My perspective and worldview is forever changed.
厂辞产产颈苍驳鈥�
厂辞产产颈苍驳鈥�
March 8, 2019
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘丕 噩丿丕 卮丿賳 丿賵 禺賵丕賴乇貙 丌鬲讴丕 賵 賴丕賳丕貙 賵 倬蹖賲丕賳蹖 讴賴 丌賳 丿賵 亘丕 賴賲 賲蹖鈥屫ㄙ嗀嗀� 卮乇賵毓 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� 丕蹖賳鈥屭┵� 鬲丕 倬丕蹖丕賳 噩賳诏 賵 丿賵亘丕乇賴 亘丕 賴賲 丿乇 芦禺丕賳賴禄 亘賵丿賳貙 卮噩丕毓 亘丕卮賳丿. 讴賱 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵丕蹖鬲 爻丕丿賴 賵 丕賵賱 卮禺氐 丿賵 禺賵丕賴乇 丕爻鬲 丕夭 卮乇丕蹖胤 丌賳鈥屬囏� 讴賴 丿乇 爻丕乇丕蹖賵賵 夭蹖乇 乇诏亘丕乇 亘賵丿賳丿 賵 丌賳鈥屬囏� 讴賴 亘賴 禺丕胤乇 乇诏亘丕乇 禺丕賳賴 乇丕 鬲乇讴 讴乇丿賴 亘賵丿賳丿 賵 丿乇 讴卮賵乇賴丕蹖 丿蹖诏乇 倬賳丕賴 噩爻鬲賴 亘賵丿賳丿. 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� 丿乇讴 讴乇丿 讴賴 亘賴 丿賱蹖賱 丕賵賱 卮禺氐 亘賵丿賳 乇賵丕蹖鬲 賵 丨丕賱鬲 芦丿賮鬲乇趩賴 禺丕胤乇丕鬲蹖禄 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴賴 蹖讴 賮氐賱 丿乇 賲蹖丕賳 丕夭 夭亘丕賳 丌鬲讴丕貙 禺賵丕賴乇 亘蹖爻鬲 賵 趩賳丿 爻丕賱賴貙 賵 賴丕賳丕貙 郾鄢 爻丕賱賴貙 賳賵卮鬲賴 卮丿賴貙 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 丕夭 鬲賵氐蹖賮鈥屬囏й� 丕丿亘蹖 賵 卮丕禺 賵 亘乇诏 丿丕丿賳 亘賴 乇賵丕蹖鬲 氐乇賮 賳馗乇 讴乇丿賴鈥屫з嗀� 丕賲丕 賳賲蹖鈥屫堌з� 賳丕丿蹖丿賴 诏乇賮鬲 讴賴 趩賳蹖賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳蹖 倬鬲丕賳爻蹖賱 夭蹖丕丿蹖 亘乇丕蹖 丕蹖賳 丿爻鬲 鬲賵氐蹖賮鈥屬囏� 丿丕乇丿 賵 賲蹖鈥屫堌з嗀池� 禺蹖賱蹖 诏蹖乇丕鬲乇 丕夭 趩蹖夭蹖 讴賴 丕讴賳賵賳 賴爻鬲 亘丕卮丿.
丕诏乇 賲孬賱 賲賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏й� 丨丕卮蹖賴 賵 賲鬲賳 丿賵乇丕賳 噩賳诏 乇丕 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮蹖丿貙 賳讴丕鬲 噩匕丕亘 (賵 丕賱亘鬲賴 賴賲丕賳鈥屫焚堌� 讴賴 诏賮鬲賲 亘賴 卮丿鬲 賲禺鬲氐乇 賵 賳丕倬乇丿丕禺鬲賴) 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 讴賲 賳禺賵丕賴蹖丿 蹖丕賮鬲. 丕夭 丕賲蹖丿蹖 讴賴 丕賳爻丕賳 丿乇 讴賳丕乇 賵 賲蹖丕賳賴鈥屰� 賲乇诏 丨爻 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀� (丕蹖賳 芦丕賲蹖丿禄 賮乇蹖亘賳丿賴 賵 囟丕賲賳 丿乇丿賴丕蹖 亘蹖卮鬲乇) 鬲丕 趩賳诏 夭丿賳 亘賴 亘丕賵乇賴丕 丨鬲蹖 丿乇 蹖讴 禺丿丕賳丕亘丕賵乇 賴乇趩賳丿 丿乇 丨丿 鬲讴乇丕乇 蹖讴 賲丕賳鬲乇丕蹖 氐亘丨诏丕賴蹖: 芦丕賲乇賵夭 乇賵夭 禺賵亘蹖 亘乇丕蹖 賲乇丿賳 賳蹖爻鬲禄. 毓卮賯蹖 讴賴 賲蹖丕賳賴鈥屰� 噩賳诏 賲鬲賵賱丿 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� (賴賲蹖卮賴 毓卮賯 夭蹖乇 诏賱賵賱賴 丕夭 夭蹖亘丕鬲乇蹖賳 趩蹖夭賴丕 亘乇丕蹖賲 亘賵丿賴貨 賲亘丕乇夭賴 亘乇丕蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 賵 賮乇氐鬲賽 亘蹖卮鬲乇貙 噩賲毓蹖 卮丿賳 蹖讴 賲爻卅賱賴鈥屰� 賮乇丿蹖 賵 賮乇丿蹖鬲 蹖丕賮鬲賳 蹖讴 倬丿蹖丿賴鈥屰� 丕噩鬲賲丕毓蹖) 賵 乇賵丨蹖賴 賵 賮毓丕賱蹖鬲鈥屬囏й� 賴蹖噩丕賳鈥屫з嗂屫� 蹖讴 毓讴丕爻 禺亘乇蹖 讴賴 丿賱蹖賱 丕賳鬲禺丕亘賽 亘賵丿賳 丿乇 趩賳丕賳 卮乇丕蹖胤蹖 乇丕貙 丕卮鬲蹖丕賯 亘乇丕蹖 亘賵丿賳 丿乇 噩丕賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 鬲丕乇蹖禺 丿乇 丨丕賱 鬲睾蹖蹖乇 丕爻鬲 毓賳賵丕賳 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀� 賵 丿乇 毓蹖賳 丨丕賱 丕夭 丕爻鬲賮丕丿賴 丕夭 亘丿亘禺鬲蹖 賲乇丿賲 賵 丌丿賲蹖 讴賴 亘賴 丌賳 鬲亘丿蹖賱 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� 賴乇丕爻 丿丕乇丿. 噩丕蹖蹖 丿蹖诏乇 丕夭 丿丕爻鬲丕賳貙 賵賯鬲蹖 丕夭 蹖讴 丕賮爻乇 丕乇卮丿 丕乇鬲卮 亘賵爻賳蹖 丿乇亘丕乇賴鈥屰� 丕禺賱丕賯蹖 亘賵丿賳賽 丨囟賵乇 蹖讴 倬爻乇 郾鄢爻丕賱賴 丿乇 丕乇鬲卮 爻丐丕賱 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁嗀� 丕賮爻乇 倬丕爻禺 賲蹖鈥屫囏�: 芦丕蹖賳 禺丕乇噩蹖鈥屬囏� 賲賳賵 夭蹖乇 爻丐丕賱 賲蹖鈥屫ㄘ辟嗀� 丕禺賱丕賯蹖丕鬲 丿賳蹖丕 趩蹖 讴賴 賳卮爻鬲賴 賵 爻賱丕禺蹖 卮丿賳 賲丕 乇賵 鬲賲丕卮丕 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁囏熉� 讴賴 丿乇 讴賳丕乇 鬲賲丕賲蹖 賲乇诏鈥屬囏� 賵 夭賳丿诏蹖鈥屬囏й屰� 讴賴 丿乇 胤賵賱 讴鬲丕亘 亘丕 丌賳鈥屬囏� 賲賵丕噩賴 賲蹖鈥屫促堐屫� 賲乇诏 丕賳爻丕賳鈥屬囏й屰� 丿乇 氐賮 賳丕賳 賵 丌亘 賵 夭賳丿诏蹖 爻乇亘丕夭丕賳蹖 讴賴 賲爻鬲 賵 賱丕蹖毓賯賱 丕夭 禺胤 賲賯丿賲 亘丕夭诏卮鬲賴鈥屫з嗀� 讴賲蹖 賯爻賲鬲 丕禺賱丕賯蹖 賲睾夭鬲丕賳 乇丕 賴賲 賯賱賯賱讴 賲蹖鈥屫囏�. 胤亘蹖毓蹖 卮丿賳賽 趩賴乇賴鈥屰� 噩賳诏 賵 氐丿丕蹖 诏賱賵賱賴 亘乇丕蹖 賲乇丿賲 卮賴乇 丕夭 噩丕蹖蹖 丕夭 讴鬲丕亘 亘賴 亘毓丿貙 丨爻蹖 讴賴 倬賳丕賴噩賵蹖丕賳 賳爻亘鬲 亘賴 丨囟賵乇 禺賵丿 賵 鬲讴鈥屫� 乇賮鬲丕乇賴丕蹖 丿賵爻鬲丕賳賴 賵 禺氐賲丕賳賴鈥屰� 賲乇丿賲 讴卮賵乇 賲賯氐丿 丿丕乇賳丿貙 鬲兀孬蹖乇 夭賳丿诏蹖 賵 讴賳丕乇 賴賲 亘賵丿賳 賲乇丿賲蹖 丕夭 賮乇賴賳诏鈥屬囏й� 賲鬲賮丕賵鬲 亘乇 丿蹖丿 丌賳鈥屬囏� 丕夭 蹖讴丿蹖诏乇 賵 乇賵蹖讴乇丿 丌卮賳丕蹖 爻丕夭賲丕賳 賲賱賱 賵 噩賴丕賳 賳爻亘鬲 亘賴 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲乇丿賲蹖 讴賴 趩卮賲 賵 诏賵卮 亘賴 爻賲鬲 讴賲鬲乇蹖賳 丕禺亘丕乇 亘蹖乇賵賳 丕夭 卮賴乇 賵 賳丕噩蹖丕賳 丕丨鬲賲丕賱蹖 丿丕卮鬲賳丿 丕夭 賳讴丕鬲 丿蹖诏乇 噩丕賱亘 鬲賵噩賴 讴鬲丕亘 丕爻鬲.
丿乇 賲噩賲賵毓 丕诏乇 亘賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 噩賳诏 賵 丌賳 亘禺卮 丕夭 丕乇賵倬丕蹖 卮乇賯蹖 毓賱丕賯賴 丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮蹖丿貙 讴鬲丕亘 賲蹖鈥屫堌з嗀� 亘乇丕蹖鬲丕賳 噩匕丕亘 亘丕卮丿 丕賲丕 亘丕蹖丿 丕賳鬲馗丕乇鬲丕賳 丕夭 鬲賵氐蹖賮 賲賵賯毓蹖鬲鈥屬囏� 賵 卮乇丕蹖胤貙 卮禺氐蹖鬲鈥屬矩必ж槽屸€屬囏ж� 丿乇诏蹖乇 讴乇丿賳 禺賵丕賳賳丿賴 亘丕 噩夭卅蹖丕鬲 丕丨爻丕爻蹖 賵 丿乇賵賳蹖丕鬲 讴丕乇丕讴鬲乇賴丕 賵 丿乇 蹖讴 讴賱丕賲 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴乇丿賳 丿乇賵賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 倬丕蹖蹖賳 亘蹖丕賵乇蹖丿.
丕诏乇 賲孬賱 賲賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏й� 丨丕卮蹖賴 賵 賲鬲賳 丿賵乇丕賳 噩賳诏 乇丕 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮蹖丿貙 賳讴丕鬲 噩匕丕亘 (賵 丕賱亘鬲賴 賴賲丕賳鈥屫焚堌� 讴賴 诏賮鬲賲 亘賴 卮丿鬲 賲禺鬲氐乇 賵 賳丕倬乇丿丕禺鬲賴) 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 讴賲 賳禺賵丕賴蹖丿 蹖丕賮鬲. 丕夭 丕賲蹖丿蹖 讴賴 丕賳爻丕賳 丿乇 讴賳丕乇 賵 賲蹖丕賳賴鈥屰� 賲乇诏 丨爻 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀� (丕蹖賳 芦丕賲蹖丿禄 賮乇蹖亘賳丿賴 賵 囟丕賲賳 丿乇丿賴丕蹖 亘蹖卮鬲乇) 鬲丕 趩賳诏 夭丿賳 亘賴 亘丕賵乇賴丕 丨鬲蹖 丿乇 蹖讴 禺丿丕賳丕亘丕賵乇 賴乇趩賳丿 丿乇 丨丿 鬲讴乇丕乇 蹖讴 賲丕賳鬲乇丕蹖 氐亘丨诏丕賴蹖: 芦丕賲乇賵夭 乇賵夭 禺賵亘蹖 亘乇丕蹖 賲乇丿賳 賳蹖爻鬲禄. 毓卮賯蹖 讴賴 賲蹖丕賳賴鈥屰� 噩賳诏 賲鬲賵賱丿 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� (賴賲蹖卮賴 毓卮賯 夭蹖乇 诏賱賵賱賴 丕夭 夭蹖亘丕鬲乇蹖賳 趩蹖夭賴丕 亘乇丕蹖賲 亘賵丿賴貨 賲亘丕乇夭賴 亘乇丕蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 賵 賮乇氐鬲賽 亘蹖卮鬲乇貙 噩賲毓蹖 卮丿賳 蹖讴 賲爻卅賱賴鈥屰� 賮乇丿蹖 賵 賮乇丿蹖鬲 蹖丕賮鬲賳 蹖讴 倬丿蹖丿賴鈥屰� 丕噩鬲賲丕毓蹖) 賵 乇賵丨蹖賴 賵 賮毓丕賱蹖鬲鈥屬囏й� 賴蹖噩丕賳鈥屫з嗂屫� 蹖讴 毓讴丕爻 禺亘乇蹖 讴賴 丿賱蹖賱 丕賳鬲禺丕亘賽 亘賵丿賳 丿乇 趩賳丕賳 卮乇丕蹖胤蹖 乇丕貙 丕卮鬲蹖丕賯 亘乇丕蹖 亘賵丿賳 丿乇 噩丕賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 鬲丕乇蹖禺 丿乇 丨丕賱 鬲睾蹖蹖乇 丕爻鬲 毓賳賵丕賳 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀� 賵 丿乇 毓蹖賳 丨丕賱 丕夭 丕爻鬲賮丕丿賴 丕夭 亘丿亘禺鬲蹖 賲乇丿賲 賵 丌丿賲蹖 讴賴 亘賴 丌賳 鬲亘丿蹖賱 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� 賴乇丕爻 丿丕乇丿. 噩丕蹖蹖 丿蹖诏乇 丕夭 丿丕爻鬲丕賳貙 賵賯鬲蹖 丕夭 蹖讴 丕賮爻乇 丕乇卮丿 丕乇鬲卮 亘賵爻賳蹖 丿乇亘丕乇賴鈥屰� 丕禺賱丕賯蹖 亘賵丿賳賽 丨囟賵乇 蹖讴 倬爻乇 郾鄢爻丕賱賴 丿乇 丕乇鬲卮 爻丐丕賱 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁嗀� 丕賮爻乇 倬丕爻禺 賲蹖鈥屫囏�: 芦丕蹖賳 禺丕乇噩蹖鈥屬囏� 賲賳賵 夭蹖乇 爻丐丕賱 賲蹖鈥屫ㄘ辟嗀� 丕禺賱丕賯蹖丕鬲 丿賳蹖丕 趩蹖 讴賴 賳卮爻鬲賴 賵 爻賱丕禺蹖 卮丿賳 賲丕 乇賵 鬲賲丕卮丕 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁囏熉� 讴賴 丿乇 讴賳丕乇 鬲賲丕賲蹖 賲乇诏鈥屬囏� 賵 夭賳丿诏蹖鈥屬囏й屰� 讴賴 丿乇 胤賵賱 讴鬲丕亘 亘丕 丌賳鈥屬囏� 賲賵丕噩賴 賲蹖鈥屫促堐屫� 賲乇诏 丕賳爻丕賳鈥屬囏й屰� 丿乇 氐賮 賳丕賳 賵 丌亘 賵 夭賳丿诏蹖 爻乇亘丕夭丕賳蹖 讴賴 賲爻鬲 賵 賱丕蹖毓賯賱 丕夭 禺胤 賲賯丿賲 亘丕夭诏卮鬲賴鈥屫з嗀� 讴賲蹖 賯爻賲鬲 丕禺賱丕賯蹖 賲睾夭鬲丕賳 乇丕 賴賲 賯賱賯賱讴 賲蹖鈥屫囏�. 胤亘蹖毓蹖 卮丿賳賽 趩賴乇賴鈥屰� 噩賳诏 賵 氐丿丕蹖 诏賱賵賱賴 亘乇丕蹖 賲乇丿賲 卮賴乇 丕夭 噩丕蹖蹖 丕夭 讴鬲丕亘 亘賴 亘毓丿貙 丨爻蹖 讴賴 倬賳丕賴噩賵蹖丕賳 賳爻亘鬲 亘賴 丨囟賵乇 禺賵丿 賵 鬲讴鈥屫� 乇賮鬲丕乇賴丕蹖 丿賵爻鬲丕賳賴 賵 禺氐賲丕賳賴鈥屰� 賲乇丿賲 讴卮賵乇 賲賯氐丿 丿丕乇賳丿貙 鬲兀孬蹖乇 夭賳丿诏蹖 賵 讴賳丕乇 賴賲 亘賵丿賳 賲乇丿賲蹖 丕夭 賮乇賴賳诏鈥屬囏й� 賲鬲賮丕賵鬲 亘乇 丿蹖丿 丌賳鈥屬囏� 丕夭 蹖讴丿蹖诏乇 賵 乇賵蹖讴乇丿 丌卮賳丕蹖 爻丕夭賲丕賳 賲賱賱 賵 噩賴丕賳 賳爻亘鬲 亘賴 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲乇丿賲蹖 讴賴 趩卮賲 賵 诏賵卮 亘賴 爻賲鬲 讴賲鬲乇蹖賳 丕禺亘丕乇 亘蹖乇賵賳 丕夭 卮賴乇 賵 賳丕噩蹖丕賳 丕丨鬲賲丕賱蹖 丿丕卮鬲賳丿 丕夭 賳讴丕鬲 丿蹖诏乇 噩丕賱亘 鬲賵噩賴 讴鬲丕亘 丕爻鬲.
丿乇 賲噩賲賵毓 丕诏乇 亘賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 噩賳诏 賵 丌賳 亘禺卮 丕夭 丕乇賵倬丕蹖 卮乇賯蹖 毓賱丕賯賴 丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮蹖丿貙 讴鬲丕亘 賲蹖鈥屫堌з嗀� 亘乇丕蹖鬲丕賳 噩匕丕亘 亘丕卮丿 丕賲丕 亘丕蹖丿 丕賳鬲馗丕乇鬲丕賳 丕夭 鬲賵氐蹖賮 賲賵賯毓蹖鬲鈥屬囏� 賵 卮乇丕蹖胤貙 卮禺氐蹖鬲鈥屬矩必ж槽屸€屬囏ж� 丿乇诏蹖乇 讴乇丿賳 禺賵丕賳賳丿賴 亘丕 噩夭卅蹖丕鬲 丕丨爻丕爻蹖 賵 丿乇賵賳蹖丕鬲 讴丕乇丕讴鬲乇賴丕 賵 丿乇 蹖讴 讴賱丕賲 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴乇丿賳 丿乇賵賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 倬丕蹖蹖賳 亘蹖丕賵乇蹖丿.
November 28, 2017
A true story of two sisters from a large Muslim family living in Sarajevo, who recount their life after the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the subsequent attacks on Sarajevo by the Bosnian Serbs. Near starvation, lack of fuel and heating, lack of care and support from the Western world, lack of money, and lack of communications all contribute to a very unpleasant survival regime for the inhabitants of Sarajevo. The mother is trapped in Vienna, the only son is drafted into the army, and two of the sisters are moved to safety in Zagreb, Croatia. The family once close and supportive, is no longer the family they knew and loved. Extended family members are killed or wounded by mortar shell and snipers, their endeavours to rummage for sufficient nourishment, and fear and constant threat of death dominate their lives. I found it an excellent account of the terrifying challenges anyone under such extremes would face. Add to this the incredible chance encounters, the fortunes of being in the right place at the right time and an outcome that is totally surprising and beyond their wildest expectations.
March 22, 2016
The story is powerful - the experiences of a family of 10 dislocated by the Bosnia/Serbia civil war find themselves separated. Most are trapped in Sarajevo, the mother and one daughter are campaigning in Europe, two daughters are sent to Croatia to be safe and the eldest son has escaped from the army. Eventually they all escape and reunite in New Zealand thanks to the eldest daughter who marries a NZ photojournalist.
Narrated by the eldest daughter Atka and her then 12 year old sister Hana it tells of the horror of the conflict, the uncertainty of day to day life and how the kindness of strangers can be so powerful in others lives.
Narrated by the eldest daughter Atka and her then 12 year old sister Hana it tells of the horror of the conflict, the uncertainty of day to day life and how the kindness of strangers can be so powerful in others lives.
December 10, 2011
Being a refugee from the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 myself, I have read Atka's book with deep empathy. It brings us back not only to the time of the Ex Yugoslavian conflict, but shows also the absurdity of war and the hopelessness of the people having to endure it. This book can be read as a pars pro toto for so many human beings, going through a similar fate. Goodbye Sarajevo has besides its engaging contents also a very well structured narrative. I can highly recommend this book!
August 8, 2014
It was really a good one. I started to love Non Fiction...
July 25, 2021
Amazing true story, told by two sisters separated in the war... it all felt so crazy to me, that this happened when I was only a few years younger than the youngest sister, yet I鈥檇 heard nothing about it in school and only had the vaguest memory of reading Zlata鈥檚 Diary a couple of years later. I kept thinking I was reading a WWII book too and then they鈥檇 mention modern TV etc and I鈥檇 realise that no this was the 90s! Read also during Melbourne鈥檚 4th lockdown and there were definite parallels in the story, about being separated from loved ones :(
May 27, 2021
Jo拧 jedna pri膷a o ratnom Sarajevu, o izbjegli拧tvu i sudbinama ljudi prinu膽enih da napuste svoja ognji拧ta. Svidjela mi se knjiga jer su opisi realni i 啪ivotni puni emocija.
Read
September 17, 2012by
Review: This review is long over due. I had this book on my tablet as a preview book until I decided in mid-July a few days before my birthday that i really wanted the book. I was told i was allowed to purchase one book and so i did along with another book called Assignment Bosnia. It didn't take me long to finish the book as i was so engrossed with it. While reading the book I made notes to check spellings and meanings of words since some I didn't reconginze. I laughed at the good parts and cried at the parts where people were dying and getting wounded or when something happened within the family. The book is told from two sisters points of view one is Atka the oldest who marries a good New Zealand reporter. They met at a party that Atka went to while she was working as a translator. Before the war Atka was at University but it closed when the JNA(Yugoslav's People's Army-Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija) sieged Bosnia. War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1 March 1992 and 14 December 1995
There family was huge it consisted of 10 children(**Children are in order of birth) Atka, Mesha, Lela, Nadia, Hana, Selma, Jana, Tarik and the twins(unsure of names) the parents, the father's mother, and the mother's mother i believe. The grandmother on the mom's side lives with the family and the dad usually had to go back and forth to see his mother, but at times the shelling was so terrible that he often had to stay with his mother for the night. There were also aunts and uncles who were spread out along Bosnia,Croatia and Serbia.
Hana
Only two children are allowed to leave. The middle children Nadia and Hana. They are are of an age where they understand what is going on but would not be help at home or with their mother and sister who are in Austria trying to get funding for Mother's of Bosnia. When the JNA took over the Bosnian Army the brother Mesha was caught in the middle and had no way to escape but he does. In the middle. Nadia and Hana are on their way to Croatia where they are to search for a business partner of their father's and/or uncle. While on the bus ride they are being targeted and when they come to a Serbian checkpoint they are made fun of; the officer says you won't be able to have cevapcici a traditional Eastern European dish which i had a pleasure of eating in mid-August for the first time. In English it's simply called Cevaps. A lot happens to Nadia and Hana while in Croatia. First they are treated as refugees when the arrive and have no money when a women approaches them asking if they would like to board with her. Since they have no money they are directed to a bus going to a stadium that has a camp full of refugees. Once they leave the sports center they walk to a hotel where an associate of their father is staying but he has gone to Germany for some time. An English man has helped them when the manager started giving them trouble. So the foreigner Christopher and Mladlena help them; they go to Rijeka until family friends return to Zagreb.(***reading this book gave me so much pleasure, I'm finally able to share a story that could of been my story had my mother and her family stayed in Croatia; back in the 70's there was a threat of war then, it didn't happen for another 23 years).
Atka
Back in Sarajevo the family lives on poor rations and packed in the basement when shelling is heavy. So the ones still at home are The Dad,Grandma, Atka,Selma, Jana, Tarik and the twins. During Atka's life Sarajevo had been a multicultural city that accepted all people Bosnian Muslims, Orthodox Serbians, Catholic Croatians and other foreigners. In May of 1993 the first massacre occured killing 22 people who were lined up for bread. One day Atka gets a job as a translator at a local radio station. She has to listen to newscast on tv that are in English and then translate them to Bosnian and report them live on the air. One day while she is at a party she mets a guy and he takes her all over the place so she translates for him. The program she translate is Voices of America. Mesha finally calls during a time when the shelling is heavy and Atka has to tell him to not do anything rash. He's escaped from the Army and will be in big trouble when he gets back to Sarajevo, escaping from the JNA is a very hard thing to do; it nearly gets you killed all able-bodied men over 18 are obligated to join the Army. In my evernote account this review is 3 pages long, I could add more but then I'd be giving the whole thing away. Any questions or if i didn't format something right let me know.
Note: *Above I was simply showing the translation of the title it was written in English. But it might be translated to other languages.
**Children are in order of birth.
*** A personal touch
Review: This review is long over due. I had this book on my tablet as a preview book until I decided in mid-July a few days before my birthday that i really wanted the book. I was told i was allowed to purchase one book and so i did along with another book called Assignment Bosnia. It didn't take me long to finish the book as i was so engrossed with it. While reading the book I made notes to check spellings and meanings of words since some I didn't reconginze. I laughed at the good parts and cried at the parts where people were dying and getting wounded or when something happened within the family. The book is told from two sisters points of view one is Atka the oldest who marries a good New Zealand reporter. They met at a party that Atka went to while she was working as a translator. Before the war Atka was at University but it closed when the JNA(Yugoslav's People's Army-Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija) sieged Bosnia. War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1 March 1992 and 14 December 1995
There family was huge it consisted of 10 children(**Children are in order of birth) Atka, Mesha, Lela, Nadia, Hana, Selma, Jana, Tarik and the twins(unsure of names) the parents, the father's mother, and the mother's mother i believe. The grandmother on the mom's side lives with the family and the dad usually had to go back and forth to see his mother, but at times the shelling was so terrible that he often had to stay with his mother for the night. There were also aunts and uncles who were spread out along Bosnia,Croatia and Serbia.
Hana
Only two children are allowed to leave. The middle children Nadia and Hana. They are are of an age where they understand what is going on but would not be help at home or with their mother and sister who are in Austria trying to get funding for Mother's of Bosnia. When the JNA took over the Bosnian Army the brother Mesha was caught in the middle and had no way to escape but he does. In the middle. Nadia and Hana are on their way to Croatia where they are to search for a business partner of their father's and/or uncle. While on the bus ride they are being targeted and when they come to a Serbian checkpoint they are made fun of; the officer says you won't be able to have cevapcici a traditional Eastern European dish which i had a pleasure of eating in mid-August for the first time. In English it's simply called Cevaps. A lot happens to Nadia and Hana while in Croatia. First they are treated as refugees when the arrive and have no money when a women approaches them asking if they would like to board with her. Since they have no money they are directed to a bus going to a stadium that has a camp full of refugees. Once they leave the sports center they walk to a hotel where an associate of their father is staying but he has gone to Germany for some time. An English man has helped them when the manager started giving them trouble. So the foreigner Christopher and Mladlena help them; they go to Rijeka until family friends return to Zagreb.(***reading this book gave me so much pleasure, I'm finally able to share a story that could of been my story had my mother and her family stayed in Croatia; back in the 70's there was a threat of war then, it didn't happen for another 23 years).
Atka
Back in Sarajevo the family lives on poor rations and packed in the basement when shelling is heavy. So the ones still at home are The Dad,Grandma, Atka,Selma, Jana, Tarik and the twins. During Atka's life Sarajevo had been a multicultural city that accepted all people Bosnian Muslims, Orthodox Serbians, Catholic Croatians and other foreigners. In May of 1993 the first massacre occured killing 22 people who were lined up for bread. One day Atka gets a job as a translator at a local radio station. She has to listen to newscast on tv that are in English and then translate them to Bosnian and report them live on the air. One day while she is at a party she mets a guy and he takes her all over the place so she translates for him. The program she translate is Voices of America. Mesha finally calls during a time when the shelling is heavy and Atka has to tell him to not do anything rash. He's escaped from the Army and will be in big trouble when he gets back to Sarajevo, escaping from the JNA is a very hard thing to do; it nearly gets you killed all able-bodied men over 18 are obligated to join the Army. In my evernote account this review is 3 pages long, I could add more but then I'd be giving the whole thing away. Any questions or if i didn't format something right let me know.
Note: *Above I was simply showing the translation of the title it was written in English. But it might be translated to other languages.
**Children are in order of birth.
*** A personal touch
June 12, 2023
Actually rate it 3 1/2 stars but 欧宝娱乐 doesn鈥檛 let you. This book tells us an important story and it鈥檚 devastating this happened relatively recently.
The book itself was good but the switching of perspectives was a little repetitive. Atka鈥檚 pov was slightly more interesting.
Did not expect New Zealand to be in this book and kiwi characters, so that was interesting. Also, Atka鈥檚 and Hana鈥檚 parents decisions through this whole book was so bizarre to me and honestly felt like they did not speak much on it.
Overall, had really sad parts and was eye opening to hear a modern day war tale, the ending was also bittersweet and unexpected. Would recommend if you like this kind of stuff.
The book itself was good but the switching of perspectives was a little repetitive. Atka鈥檚 pov was slightly more interesting.
Did not expect New Zealand to be in this book and kiwi characters, so that was interesting. Also, Atka鈥檚 and Hana鈥檚 parents decisions through this whole book was so bizarre to me and honestly felt like they did not speak much on it.
Overall, had really sad parts and was eye opening to hear a modern day war tale, the ending was also bittersweet and unexpected. Would recommend if you like this kind of stuff.
August 7, 2011
This is a memoir by two sisters who had very different experiences during the siege of sarajevo and the war in Bosnia in the 1990s. Atka, a university student, finds herself the temporary mother of 6 of her young siblings when her mother is unable to return to Bosnia because of the war. Hana, another sister, is put on a refugee bus to Croatia, and sees out the war as a young refugee. The girls take turns with chapters, relating what was happening in their lives throughout the siege. For Atka it was the day to day struggles of feeding and caring for her family in a war torn city, where snipers made the gathering of water and food a deadly exercise - deadly for an Uncle, and leaving a young cousin terribly wounded. Hana, meanwhile, is young, desparately missing her family (anotehr sister, Nadia, accompanied her) and forced to make decisions and deal with the difficulties of refugee life.
I'd seen the book in bookshops and while interested, resisted reading it. The cruelty and utter stupidity of this war, where a European nation descended into tribal fighting, is not something I want to read about. I feel the West failed the people of Sarajevo, and sometimes I just don't want to read unhappy stories.
But I heard an interview with the authors on the radio, and decided I'd borrow the book from the library and only read what happened when they left Bosnia and came to New Zealand (that's not a spoiler, I'm pretty sure the blurb tells you that). I wanted to read about how you adapt to a life in a totally different culture, a different language, how you deal with a traumatic past. But sadly, the book didn't really go into that. I'm still dying to know - I want to know what happened to everyone in the family, and whether they travel back to Bosnia now.
I did actually read the whole book in the end. It wasn't too full of atrocities, but it's still an uneasy read of racial nastiness, UN ineffectiveness and life in a war zone. I'm eternally grateful to live in NZ, and just wish there was more I could do for the rest of the world.
I'd seen the book in bookshops and while interested, resisted reading it. The cruelty and utter stupidity of this war, where a European nation descended into tribal fighting, is not something I want to read about. I feel the West failed the people of Sarajevo, and sometimes I just don't want to read unhappy stories.
But I heard an interview with the authors on the radio, and decided I'd borrow the book from the library and only read what happened when they left Bosnia and came to New Zealand (that's not a spoiler, I'm pretty sure the blurb tells you that). I wanted to read about how you adapt to a life in a totally different culture, a different language, how you deal with a traumatic past. But sadly, the book didn't really go into that. I'm still dying to know - I want to know what happened to everyone in the family, and whether they travel back to Bosnia now.
I did actually read the whole book in the end. It wasn't too full of atrocities, but it's still an uneasy read of racial nastiness, UN ineffectiveness and life in a war zone. I'm eternally grateful to live in NZ, and just wish there was more I could do for the rest of the world.
July 7, 2015
鈥楾he tragedy of war.鈥�
The city of Sarajevo was besieged, from April 1992, for 1425 days. During that period more than 13,000 people, from a population of fewer than 500,000, were killed.
Atka Reid and Hana Schofield are two of the survivors of this war, and in this book they tell their story of survival. Atka, then aged 21, was the eldest child in a family of ten, and remained in Sarajevo to look after the younger children. Two of her sisters, Hana then aged 12 and Nadia then aged 15, were put onto one of the last of the United Nations buses to leave the city. They hoped that their separation would be short.
But life as refugees has its own hardships: survival outside Sarajevo with little money and with few friends was tough. Those left behind were in desperate straits: an uncle was killed queuing for bread, a cousin lost his leg. Constant bombardment destroyed buildings and infrastructure, snipers made any movement around the city difficult and fuel, food and water were scarce.
In alternate chapters throughout the book, Atka and Hana recount their experiences. They also touch on the experiences of other family members which provides a number of different perspectives. Amidst the horror, Atka, Hana and Nadia each experience kindness and decency. Atka meets a New Zealand photojournalist, Andrew Reid. Hana and Nadia make it to Croatia, where they are cared for by a family in Zagreb.
Reading this account brings home the desperation and the horror of the situation in Sarajevo. The war in the former Yugoslavia pitted Serbs and Croats against Bosnians, Muslims against Christians and neighbours against neighbours. Atka and Hana鈥檚 account is important. It is an account of one family鈥檚 struggle but it is also a reminder of how fragile the veneer of civilization can be.
Atka and Hana both now live in New Zealand. The efforts of Andrew Reid鈥檚 parents made it possible for their entire family to join them as part of the first intake of Bosnian refugees to New Zealand.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
The city of Sarajevo was besieged, from April 1992, for 1425 days. During that period more than 13,000 people, from a population of fewer than 500,000, were killed.
Atka Reid and Hana Schofield are two of the survivors of this war, and in this book they tell their story of survival. Atka, then aged 21, was the eldest child in a family of ten, and remained in Sarajevo to look after the younger children. Two of her sisters, Hana then aged 12 and Nadia then aged 15, were put onto one of the last of the United Nations buses to leave the city. They hoped that their separation would be short.
But life as refugees has its own hardships: survival outside Sarajevo with little money and with few friends was tough. Those left behind were in desperate straits: an uncle was killed queuing for bread, a cousin lost his leg. Constant bombardment destroyed buildings and infrastructure, snipers made any movement around the city difficult and fuel, food and water were scarce.
In alternate chapters throughout the book, Atka and Hana recount their experiences. They also touch on the experiences of other family members which provides a number of different perspectives. Amidst the horror, Atka, Hana and Nadia each experience kindness and decency. Atka meets a New Zealand photojournalist, Andrew Reid. Hana and Nadia make it to Croatia, where they are cared for by a family in Zagreb.
Reading this account brings home the desperation and the horror of the situation in Sarajevo. The war in the former Yugoslavia pitted Serbs and Croats against Bosnians, Muslims against Christians and neighbours against neighbours. Atka and Hana鈥檚 account is important. It is an account of one family鈥檚 struggle but it is also a reminder of how fragile the veneer of civilization can be.
Atka and Hana both now live in New Zealand. The efforts of Andrew Reid鈥檚 parents made it possible for their entire family to join them as part of the first intake of Bosnian refugees to New Zealand.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
April 2, 2017
Fantastic read, because of the insight it gave into the experience of Bosnians during the conflict of the 90's. But I also found it very moving in terms of capturing the experience of any refugee. The trauma, fear, and sadness at having to leave the place they've grown up and loved, but also their bravery. I don't think that's necessarily captured in the current portrayal of refugees. I also found it amazing that so many people across Croatia and the rest of the world welcomed the refugees into their own homes. The human element aside, it was also interesting to read more about the war that effected Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, places we've travelled through peaceful times 20 years later. But I remember hearing about war in Bosnia while in primary school, and didn't really have an understanding of what was happening. The writing style wasn't very sophisticated, which is fair enough given the story is a personal account by two sisters, based on their journal entries throughout the conflict. So if you put that aside, it's an excellent read.
October 18, 2011
This is the true story of two sisters who have very different experiences during the siege of Sarajevo. Hana, as a twelve year old, is sent as a refugee to Croatia, and Atka, her twenty one year old sister, stays in war-torn Sarajevo to help look after her younger siblings.
In many ways this is such a sad story, the conflict in Bosnia becomes a lot more real as the sisters both describe their different circumstances, and how each survived a bitter and bloody conflict. The separation was only meant to last a few weeks, but as the siege continued, hope of reconciliation became more and more remote.
Atka eventually finds work as a translator in a local radio station in Sarajevo, and then for a photojournalist from New Zealand. This meeting eventually leads to a much happier future for the whole family.
It is hard to believe that in this day and age such a brutal tribal war could last for as long as it did, and the book also highlights the inefficiencies of the UN.
In many ways this is such a sad story, the conflict in Bosnia becomes a lot more real as the sisters both describe their different circumstances, and how each survived a bitter and bloody conflict. The separation was only meant to last a few weeks, but as the siege continued, hope of reconciliation became more and more remote.
Atka eventually finds work as a translator in a local radio station in Sarajevo, and then for a photojournalist from New Zealand. This meeting eventually leads to a much happier future for the whole family.
It is hard to believe that in this day and age such a brutal tribal war could last for as long as it did, and the book also highlights the inefficiencies of the UN.
November 28, 2011
This is a beautiful story of two sisters' experiences during the Bosnian War, one as a refugee in Croatia and the other trapped in war torn Sarajevo. This book ticks all the boxes for me- it's one of those rare books that I could not tear myself away from - full of adventure, tragedy, humour and even a little bit of (well written) romance. It is also extremely informative as it gives the reader a glimpse into the lives of those caught up in this dreadful war. This is a war that I did not know very much about (prior to reading this book) and in my opinion there is lack of literary material about these very important stories. What I found most surprising about this book though, is that despite its subject matter, you finish it feeling uplifted rather than depressed. In the end this book is about love, survival and how small acts of kindness can have a profound impact upon peoples' lives. You must read it!!!
August 26, 2012
Wow! what the hell was I doing during those years? All I remember about the Bosnian war was that I caught the tail end of it on the news. The part where the Serbs were leaving. I remember thinking 'holy shit I wonder what the hell happened over there?!'. I never followed the news back at that time therefore I was completely oblivious to what was going on in Yugoslavia.
This book was amazing! A true story about a Bosnian family's survival during the siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s. Written by two sisters giving us insight on ones experience on the inside of Sarajevo and anothers experience on the outside of Sarajevo. It is sad yet courageous, inspiring, heartfelt and very uplifting involving a Kiwi family's steadfast intention to get the whole family to New Zealand.
It is hard to believe that in this day and age such a brutal war could last for as long as it did, and the book also highlights the inefficiencies of the UN.
This book was amazing! A true story about a Bosnian family's survival during the siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s. Written by two sisters giving us insight on ones experience on the inside of Sarajevo and anothers experience on the outside of Sarajevo. It is sad yet courageous, inspiring, heartfelt and very uplifting involving a Kiwi family's steadfast intention to get the whole family to New Zealand.
It is hard to believe that in this day and age such a brutal war could last for as long as it did, and the book also highlights the inefficiencies of the UN.
April 6, 2012
Great book to help learn about the ins and outs of everyday life in Sarajevo during the Siege. I've been absorbedly passionate about Bosnia since studying and writing history essays about the Siege in 1992. Having traveled to Sarajevo post-Siege, I can unequivocally say the city is magical, and the people's spirit equally so. The city has an an amazing mix of Bosniak, Catholic and Jewish people ... a vibrant culture of music, art and nightlife, a fantastic cafe scene (oh how they love their coffee and sweets), and is one of the most fun "walking" cities I've ever experienced. Coming out the other side of the War, thanks to the 1995 Dayton Accords, I hope this country and people continue to heal and shine - it really is the best. Goodbye Sarajevo gives really good insight into a terribly tragic time for the Bosnian people post Tito's Yugoslavia.
November 27, 2018
亘爻賲賭 丕賱賱賴...
蹖賴 讴鬲丕亘 噩丿蹖丿 賵 蹖賴 賲賵囟賵毓 賲鬲賮丕賵鬲 丕夭 賴賲賴 蹖 讴鬲丕亘賴丕蹖 賯亘賱蹖貙 讴鬲丕亘 #禺丿丕丨丕賮馗_爻丕乇丕蹖賵賵 賵 賲賵囟賵毓 噩賳诏 亘賵爻賳蹖. .
讴鬲丕亘貙 賲丕噩乇丕蹖 蹖讴 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 蹖 亘賵爻賳蹖丕蹖蹖 乇賵 乇賵丕蹖鬲 賲蹖讴賳賴 讴賴 丿乇 胤蹖 賲丨丕氐乇賴 賲噩亘賵乇 賲蹖卮賳 丕夭 賴賲 噩丿丕 亘卮賳 賵 亘丕 爻禺鬲蹖賴丕蹖 賲禺鬲賱賮蹖 丿爻鬲 賵 倬賳噩賴 賳乇賲 賲蹖讴賳賳. 丕蹖賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘氐賵乇鬲 賲賵丕夭蹖 賵 丕夭 夭亘丕賳 賴丕賳丕 賵 丌鬲讴丕蹖 賳賵噩賵丕賳 讴賴 賲噩亘賵乇 賴爻鬲賳 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 乇賵 鬲乇讴 讴賳賳丿貙 乇賵丕蹖鬲 賲蹖卮賴.
鬲賵 賲爻蹖乇 讴鬲丕亘貙 亘丕 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 夭賳丿诏蹖 賴丕賳丕 賵 丌鬲讴丕 賴賲乇丕賴 卮丿賲貙
丿乇丿卮賵賳 乇賵 丨爻 讴乇丿賲貙
鬲賱禺蹖 胤毓賲 夭賳丿诏蹖 蹖讴 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 蹖 噩賳诏夭丿賴貙 丿乇 蹖讴 讴卮賵乇 鬲丨鬲 賲丨丕氐乇賴 乇賵 趩卮蹖丿賲貙
鬲賵賳爻鬲賲 亘亘蹖賳賲 讴賴 賲賵賯毓 噩賳诏貙 丿乇 诏賵卮賴 讴賳丕乇 亘毓囟蹖 丕夭 讴賵趩賴 賴丕 賵 禺蹖丕亘賵賳丕蹖 #爻丕乇丕蹖賵賵 趩賴 賲蹖诏匕卮鬲貙
丕夭 噩賳诏 亘賵爻賳蹖 蹖丕丿 诏乇賮鬲賲貙
亘丕 賮乇賴賳诏 賲爻賱賲丕賳賴丕蹖 丕賵賳噩丕 丌卮賳丕 卮丿賲貙
賵... .
丕賲丕 賳鬲蹖噩賴 蹖 噩丕賳亘蹖 丿蹖诏賴 丕蹖 賴賲 賲胤丕賱毓賴 卮 亘乇丕賲 丿丕卮鬲貙 賵 丕賵賳賴賲 丕蹖賳讴賴 賮乇氐鬲蹖 亘乇丕賲 賮乇丕賴賲 讴乇丿 鬲丕 丕夭 夭丕賵蹖賴 蹖 噩丿蹖丿蹖 亘賴 噩賳诏 賴卮鬲 爻丕賱賴 蹖 丕蹖乇丕賳 賵 乇跇蹖賲 亘毓孬 毓乇丕賯 賳诏丕賴 讴賳賲.
亘乇丕蹖 毓賱丕賯賲賳丿丕蹖 亘賴 讴爻亘 丕胤賱丕毓丕鬲 亘蹖卮鬲乇 丿乇 賲賵乇丿 噩賳诏 亘賵爻賳蹖貙 讴鬲丕亘 噩匕丕亘蹖 禺賵丕賴丿 亘賵丿.
蹖賴 讴鬲丕亘 噩丿蹖丿 賵 蹖賴 賲賵囟賵毓 賲鬲賮丕賵鬲 丕夭 賴賲賴 蹖 讴鬲丕亘賴丕蹖 賯亘賱蹖貙 讴鬲丕亘 #禺丿丕丨丕賮馗_爻丕乇丕蹖賵賵 賵 賲賵囟賵毓 噩賳诏 亘賵爻賳蹖. .
讴鬲丕亘貙 賲丕噩乇丕蹖 蹖讴 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 蹖 亘賵爻賳蹖丕蹖蹖 乇賵 乇賵丕蹖鬲 賲蹖讴賳賴 讴賴 丿乇 胤蹖 賲丨丕氐乇賴 賲噩亘賵乇 賲蹖卮賳 丕夭 賴賲 噩丿丕 亘卮賳 賵 亘丕 爻禺鬲蹖賴丕蹖 賲禺鬲賱賮蹖 丿爻鬲 賵 倬賳噩賴 賳乇賲 賲蹖讴賳賳. 丕蹖賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘氐賵乇鬲 賲賵丕夭蹖 賵 丕夭 夭亘丕賳 賴丕賳丕 賵 丌鬲讴丕蹖 賳賵噩賵丕賳 讴賴 賲噩亘賵乇 賴爻鬲賳 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 乇賵 鬲乇讴 讴賳賳丿貙 乇賵丕蹖鬲 賲蹖卮賴.
鬲賵 賲爻蹖乇 讴鬲丕亘貙 亘丕 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 夭賳丿诏蹖 賴丕賳丕 賵 丌鬲讴丕 賴賲乇丕賴 卮丿賲貙
丿乇丿卮賵賳 乇賵 丨爻 讴乇丿賲貙
鬲賱禺蹖 胤毓賲 夭賳丿诏蹖 蹖讴 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 蹖 噩賳诏夭丿賴貙 丿乇 蹖讴 讴卮賵乇 鬲丨鬲 賲丨丕氐乇賴 乇賵 趩卮蹖丿賲貙
鬲賵賳爻鬲賲 亘亘蹖賳賲 讴賴 賲賵賯毓 噩賳诏貙 丿乇 诏賵卮賴 讴賳丕乇 亘毓囟蹖 丕夭 讴賵趩賴 賴丕 賵 禺蹖丕亘賵賳丕蹖 #爻丕乇丕蹖賵賵 趩賴 賲蹖诏匕卮鬲貙
丕夭 噩賳诏 亘賵爻賳蹖 蹖丕丿 诏乇賮鬲賲貙
亘丕 賮乇賴賳诏 賲爻賱賲丕賳賴丕蹖 丕賵賳噩丕 丌卮賳丕 卮丿賲貙
賵... .
丕賲丕 賳鬲蹖噩賴 蹖 噩丕賳亘蹖 丿蹖诏賴 丕蹖 賴賲 賲胤丕賱毓賴 卮 亘乇丕賲 丿丕卮鬲貙 賵 丕賵賳賴賲 丕蹖賳讴賴 賮乇氐鬲蹖 亘乇丕賲 賮乇丕賴賲 讴乇丿 鬲丕 丕夭 夭丕賵蹖賴 蹖 噩丿蹖丿蹖 亘賴 噩賳诏 賴卮鬲 爻丕賱賴 蹖 丕蹖乇丕賳 賵 乇跇蹖賲 亘毓孬 毓乇丕賯 賳诏丕賴 讴賳賲.
亘乇丕蹖 毓賱丕賯賲賳丿丕蹖 亘賴 讴爻亘 丕胤賱丕毓丕鬲 亘蹖卮鬲乇 丿乇 賲賵乇丿 噩賳诏 亘賵爻賳蹖貙 讴鬲丕亘 噩匕丕亘蹖 禺賵丕賴丿 亘賵丿.
November 27, 2011
I'm not a big reader - but I couldn't put this down. Being of Croatian descent it was interesting to read of life as a Bosnian living in Sarajevo and surrounded by the Serbs. This doesn't get into the politics of it all but rather tells you how it really was. I had read the book after visiting Sarajevo earlier in the year and it was fanastic as I could visualise where they were talking about and truly get it! What was also great was the account from both sides - the sister that stayed behind and the one that was able to flee Sarajevo.
This really is a story of courage, love and survival! How these ladies have turned out so 'normal' is a miracle and a further sign of their strength. Let us hope that history is not repeated.
Enjoy this read.
This really is a story of courage, love and survival! How these ladies have turned out so 'normal' is a miracle and a further sign of their strength. Let us hope that history is not repeated.
Enjoy this read.
January 16, 2018
I found this book interesting especially since I did not know much about the Bosnian war. The book is written by two sisters, Hana and Atka, and the chapters alternate between them. They wrote about how they struggled during the war whether they were in Sarajevo or away, especially since being away means not knowing if their family was alive or not.
I was not sure about rating it between 3.5 and 4 stars. The writing is easy to read but for me the chapters are long but I usually read books with shorter chapters. I did find sometimes that I wanted the story to move at a faster pace, many parts of the book were about their daily lives and tasks. Overall I enjoyed the book and recommend it.
I was not sure about rating it between 3.5 and 4 stars. The writing is easy to read but for me the chapters are long but I usually read books with shorter chapters. I did find sometimes that I wanted the story to move at a faster pace, many parts of the book were about their daily lives and tasks. Overall I enjoyed the book and recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.