Catch the Rabbit - Libroj.org

Poŝlibro, 256 paĝoj

Eldonita je 31-a de majo 2021 de Restless Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-63206-289-5

(1 recenzo)

Sara hasn't seen or heard from her childhood best-friend, Lejla, in years. She's comfortable with her life in Dublin, with her partner, their avocado plant, and their naturist neighbour. But when Lejla calls and demands she come home to Bosnia, Sara finds that she can't say no.

What begins as a road trip becomes a journey through the past, as the two women set off to find Armin, Lejla's brother who disappeared towards the end of the Bosnian War. Presumed dead by everyone else, only Lejla and Sara believed Armin was still alive.

Confronted with the limits of memory, Sara is forced to reconsider the things she thought she understood as a girl: the best friend she loved, the first experiences they shared, but also the social and religious lines that separated them, that brought them such different lives.

Translated into English by Lana Bastašic, Catch the Rabbit tells the …

Sara hasn't seen or heard from her childhood best-friend, Lejla, in years. She's comfortable with her life in Dublin, with her partner, their avocado plant, and their naturist neighbour. But when Lejla calls and demands she come home to Bosnia, Sara finds that she can't say no.

What begins as a road trip becomes a journey through the past, as the two women set off to find Armin, Lejla's brother who disappeared towards the end of the Bosnian War. Presumed dead by everyone else, only Lejla and Sara believed Armin was still alive.

Confronted with the limits of memory, Sara is forced to reconsider the things she thought she understood as a girl: the best friend she loved, the first experiences they shared, but also the social and religious lines that separated them, that brought them such different lives.

Translated into English by Lana Bastašic, Catch the Rabbit tells the story of how we place the ones we love on pedestals, and then wait for them to fall off, how loss marks us indelibly, and how the traumas of war echo down the years.

2 eldonoj

Stephanie Jane recenzis Catch the Rabbit de Lana Bastašić

An intense novel

4 steloj

I had to read first few pages of Catch The Rabbit twice before I grasped its perspective shift and I was occasionally briefly confused by time jumps during the course of this intense novel, but once I got into my reading stride, I found the story to be compelling. Lana Bastašic has a beautifully poetic way with words that gives an almost otherworldly dimension to her prose and I felt it worked particularly well with this darkly mysterious roadtrip novel. Catching up with other reviews after having finished it, I discovered that Catch The Rabbit was heavily influenced by Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland. I didn't pick up on this at the time (in fact, I'm not even sure if I've ever read that classic other than in an abridged Ladybird format although I do love the ballet adaptation).

Bastašic has created a memorable female friendship in the relationship between …

I had to read first few pages of Catch The Rabbit twice before I grasped its perspective shift and I was occasionally briefly confused by time jumps during the course of this intense novel, but once I got into my reading stride, I found the story to be compelling. Lana Bastašic has a beautifully poetic way with words that gives an almost otherworldly dimension to her prose and I felt it worked particularly well with this darkly mysterious roadtrip novel. Catching up with other reviews after having finished it, I discovered that Catch The Rabbit was heavily influenced by Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland. I didn't pick up on this at the time (in fact, I'm not even sure if I've ever read that classic other than in an abridged Ladybird format although I do love the ballet adaptation).

Bastašic has created a memorable female friendship in the relationship between Sara and Lejla exploring particularly how childhood memories can be distorted over time. Sara's memories are frequently at odds with Lejla's leaving me wondering whether one woman was deliberately lying to the other - and, if so, which - or if both were simply remembering their own truths. Sara's history of almost hero-worshipping Lejla all those years ago gives her an uncomfortable perspective now. From my reader's point of view, I didn't feel that Lejla had actually changed all that much, whereas Sara's different situation and adult understanding leads her to see Lejla's actions and motivations in a new light. I loved this complicated portrayal.