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purplemuskogee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
4.0
To be honest, if Olivia Sudjic decided to publish a collection of her grocery lists, I would probably buy it, read it and rave about it.
'Asylum Road' is a weird little novel about Anja/Anya, who lives in London and has barely gone back to Split, her hometown in Bosnia, since leaving when she was a child. She has left behind her parents and travels back with her fiance after overhearing his parents commenting on the fact it was strange he had never met them. There is a lot in there about belonging - not being quite from here, but no longer having a tangible connection there either -, being in between,
It is easy to feel Anya's pain and feeling of not fitting in; you feel her discomfort with her., and the trauma of the war. There are gaps between Anya and everyone around her - her boyfriend who does not see her slow mental breakdown, the well-meaning friend who somehow cannot reach her, Mira who wants to move to London and is full of determination and optimism; her sister and her resentment.
Olivia Sudjic inserted different themes woven into the story - Brexit, Donald Trump, climate change - which is something I see more and more in recent novels but still somehow takes me by surprise, like a brutal return to reality; but she does it very subtly.
I was not convinced entirely by the various changes of times, the flashbacks that did not insert themselves neatly into a timeline. I understand why it was done this way but it felt... too scattered at times.
It is still a beautiful, dark little gem, and I enjoyed reading it - despite how anxious it made me feel!
Free ARC from Netgalley.
'Asylum Road' is a weird little novel about Anja/Anya, who lives in London and has barely gone back to Split, her hometown in Bosnia, since leaving when she was a child. She has left behind her parents and travels back with her fiance after overhearing his parents commenting on the fact it was strange he had never met them. There is a lot in there about belonging - not being quite from here, but no longer having a tangible connection there either -, being in between,
It is easy to feel Anya's pain and feeling of not fitting in; you feel her discomfort with her., and the trauma of the war. There are gaps between Anya and everyone around her - her boyfriend who does not see her slow mental breakdown, the well-meaning friend who somehow cannot reach her, Mira who wants to move to London and is full of determination and optimism; her sister and her resentment.
Olivia Sudjic inserted different themes woven into the story - Brexit, Donald Trump, climate change - which is something I see more and more in recent novels but still somehow takes me by surprise, like a brutal return to reality; but she does it very subtly.
I was not convinced entirely by the various changes of times, the flashbacks that did not insert themselves neatly into a timeline. I understand why it was done this way but it felt... too scattered at times.
It is still a beautiful, dark little gem, and I enjoyed reading it - despite how anxious it made me feel!
Free ARC from Netgalley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Sexual content
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