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Bronwyn Birdsall

Autor von Time and Tide in Sarajevo

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Werke von Bronwyn Birdsall

Time and Tide in Sarajevo (2022) 4 Exemplare

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Time and tide wait for no man, attributed to Chaucer's Prologue to the Clerk’s Tale but probably a proverb older than that, is a warning against procrastination. It's like seize the day, it commands us to be decisive and get on with things that need to be done.

In Bronwyn Birdsall's compelling debut novel, however, decisive action is not a simple matter. Time and Tide in Sarajevo is set in a city still recovering decades after the siege by Serbian forces during the Bosnian War and the Bosnian Genocide (1992-1995). After these years of atrocities the Dayton Accord was negotiated but that was not the end of the matter. Wikipedia tells us that
The agreement has been criticized for creating ineffective and unwieldy political structures and entrenching the ethnic cleansing of the previous war.

In Birdsall's story the city is suffering under the weight of the Accord and there is widespread distrust of politicians. Politics is an everyday concern, and the issues are very complex. For an outsider, this means treading a careful path not to alienate the people on whom she depends for company, friendship and advice about negotiating everyday life.

Into this city fraught with tension enters Evelyn, a twenty-something woman escaping the tedium of her Australian job in admin by taking up a job teaching English overseas.

The blurb offers a spoiler-free summary of the novel's trajectory:
Life in the city is tenuous yet welcoming. Dedicated to her work preparing high-schoolers for a scholarship that could change the course of their lives, Evelyn feels more herself here than at home in Australia. But when the teenage son of a local hero is stabbed and it seems like a cover-up will let the killer go free, Sarajevans take to the streets in protest.

When Evelyn discovers evidence that could ignite the volatile situation, putting both her students' ambitions and her friendships at risk, she faces an impossible decision.

Evelyn's circle includes some young men and some after-hours drinking pals, but the most important friend is the feisty Aida, a journalist in new media. Aida is still suffering some PTSD after effects of the war, struggling to cope with home alarms that jolt them out of their sleep and remind her of the sirens warning of Serbian attacks during the siege.

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anzlitlovers | Sep 27, 2022 |

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Werke
1
Mitglieder
4
Beliebtheit
#1,536,815
Bewertung
4.0
Rezensionen
1
ISBNs
3