Quiet Flows the Una - Softcover

Šehic, Faruk

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1908236493 ISBN 13: 9781908236494

Publisher: Istros Books, 2016

Synopsis

Quiet Flows the Una is the story a man trying to overcome the personal trauma caused by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Through an induced trance, the main character of the novel takes the reader through three time periods: the hero’s childhood before the war, the battle lines during the war, and his attempt to continue with normal life in a post-conflict society. Through poetic, meditative prose, Šehić attempts to reconstruct the life of a man who is bipolar in nature, being both a veteran and a poet. At times, he manages to pick up the pieces of his life, but at other times it escapes him.  With the help of his memories, he uses his mind and strength to look for a way out of the maze in which he is confined, acting as both archivist and chronicler of the past—roles that allow him the opportunity to rebuild everything again. In parallel to this story, the book’s passages on the city next to the river Una take on mythical and dreamlike dimensions. Here, the novel expands into a poetic description of nature, seasons, flora, and fauna, as well as childhood memories not yet tainted by all that will happen after 1992. Quiet Flows the Una is a book is dedicated to people who believe in the power and beauty of life in the face of death and mass destruction.

About this title

About the Author:

Faruk Šehic studied veterinary medicine in Zagreb before joining the army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which he led a unit of 130 men. After the war he studied literature. The collection of short stories Under Pressure was awarded the Zoro Verlag Prize, and his novel Quiet Flows the Una received the Meša Selimovic prize for the best novel published in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia in 2011. Šehic is a member of the Writers’ Association and the PEN Centre of Bosnia & Herzegovina. He works as a columnist and journalist.

Review:

"Quiet Flows the Una is heartfelt, important and rich in the ambivalence as well as insights an insider brings in explaining the horrors of war." —Irish Times

"Šehić’s compressed, hypnotic intensity is closest to Tim O’Brien’s Vietnam war novel The Things They Carried. Quiet Flows the Una brands the reader with the same brilliant heat." —Guardian

About this edition

• Publisher: Istros Books
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1908236493
• ISBN 13: 9781908236494
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 170