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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
Thank you MCD and Net Galley for offering me an advanced readers' copy of this remarkable novel. Rafael Pinto, a young Bosnian Jew, is working in the apothecary in Sarajevo he inherited from his father, fantasizing about the dashing cavalry officer who had entered the store, and the future was bright. “We now lived in a brand-new century,” Hemon writes, “progress was everywhere to behold, the future was endless, like a sea — nobody could see the end of it.” Then, Pinto witnesses the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which was “the exact moment, no longer than what passes between heartbeats, that broke the world in two, into the before and the after.” Pinto is quickly conscripted into the Imperial Army along with tens of thousands of other Bosnians, embarking upon an epic, decades- and continents-spanning adventure.
Hemon writes about the horror of war, such as the Brusilov Offensive, one of the most lethal offensives in history, but he juxtaposes these atrocities with Pinto’s soaring romance with the handsome and charming Muslim soldier, Osman Karišik. Osman is the man “Pinto was born to love” and Osman, in turn, protects and loves Pinto, and together, they escape the madness of the war, encountering Bolsheviks, Cossacks, English spies, and a cast of characters whose lives were upended by conflict. Even when Pinto is left rotting in a frigid Russian jail in Turkestan, Osman remains at his side as Pinto imagines living with Osman in a cabin “high up in the mountains, far from other people, from their gossip and judgment, from their murderous plans for a perfect future.”
Pinto’s drug addiction makes him an unreliable narrator, but it seems that Osman perished and Pinto “someone who must suffer alone, someone destined to spend in sickness and isolation what little life he had left.” Yet, Pinto delivers a child, Rahela, whom he believes was fathered by Osman. Pinto protects the infant and perseveres in the belief that “Osman was with him as long as Rahela was with him.” Pinto and Rahela spend years trekking aimlessly through the desert with other refugees and relying on the kindness of strangers, ultimately making their way to Shanghai. “Like all refugees, they kept moving forward because they had nowhere to else to go; being on the move meant being alive.” Although Osman had been absent for as long as Rahela had been alive, his voice continues to haunt Pinto as Pinto and Rahela survive.
Although the depictions of war and its aftershocks is grim and relentless, Hemon’s beautiful prose elevates this tale that is, at bottom, about the resilience of love.
Hemon writes about the horror of war, such as the Brusilov Offensive, one of the most lethal offensives in history, but he juxtaposes these atrocities with Pinto’s soaring romance with the handsome and charming Muslim soldier, Osman Karišik. Osman is the man “Pinto was born to love” and Osman, in turn, protects and loves Pinto, and together, they escape the madness of the war, encountering Bolsheviks, Cossacks, English spies, and a cast of characters whose lives were upended by conflict. Even when Pinto is left rotting in a frigid Russian jail in Turkestan, Osman remains at his side as Pinto imagines living with Osman in a cabin “high up in the mountains, far from other people, from their gossip and judgment, from their murderous plans for a perfect future.”
Pinto’s drug addiction makes him an unreliable narrator, but it seems that Osman perished and Pinto “someone who must suffer alone, someone destined to spend in sickness and isolation what little life he had left.” Yet, Pinto delivers a child, Rahela, whom he believes was fathered by Osman. Pinto protects the infant and perseveres in the belief that “Osman was with him as long as Rahela was with him.” Pinto and Rahela spend years trekking aimlessly through the desert with other refugees and relying on the kindness of strangers, ultimately making their way to Shanghai. “Like all refugees, they kept moving forward because they had nowhere to else to go; being on the move meant being alive.” Although Osman had been absent for as long as Rahela had been alive, his voice continues to haunt Pinto as Pinto and Rahela survive.
Although the depictions of war and its aftershocks is grim and relentless, Hemon’s beautiful prose elevates this tale that is, at bottom, about the resilience of love.
2.5 stars rounded up because how often do you get a book grounded in queer love set in World War 1? This book is a story about how war is hell (often told with quite gruesome details) and love can be magical (though at times borders on obsessive). There are clear strokes of genius in the writing that are suddenly interrupted by interjections in (I think) Ladino or German. At times I got frustratingly close to understanding a character's inner struggles and feeling their emotions, only to be pulled away from a switch in the narration or transition in the plot. I feel like for some readers this is an amazing book (and clearly the reviews/ratings reflect that) but, for me, it felt more like a slog. I would recommend others give it a try before relying on my review alone though!
This is a novel of epic proportions about life and love and death and war. It’s philosophical and poetic and evocative following Pinto, an introspective poet, whose love for fellow soldier Osman takes us on a journey across countries and continents and decades. A dense and emotive read, this is one I had to read in chunks sporadically—definitely not a quick read (for me).
This is a very good book filled with the concepts I love to think about: the interconnectedness of humanity, the tragedy of human life, the limits of language to represent that life. It is very violent and gory, which I wish I’d been prepared for going in. Put simply, this book is good storytelling and I’m grateful for it.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated