merrilywereadalong777's review against another edition
5.0
4.5
Breaking me out of an almost 2 week (an eternity for a book person) reading slump was Pajtim Statovci's shattering BOLLA. I picked this up knowing almost nothing other than it was a gay love (?) story and touched on Kosovo in the 90's and the war. And while that was true...this tiny book in it's less than 250 pages reached a Little Life level of brutality and bleakness.
But you wouldn't know it from the first fifty pages or so which encapsulate better than almost any book I've read this (or in the past few years) the euphoria and thrill of new love. Particularly between two young men. You can feel their worlds collide and click everything into place for them and the bliss and exhilaration from these two pours out of those opening chapters and 100% intoxicates the fuck out of the reader (or it sure did for this reader, at least) It was giving me heavy Call Me By Your Name vibes and I was absolutely here for it.
and then....oh jesus...and then...the reality of the world that these two inhabit comes crashing in abruptly on them and on us and it's so incredibly jarring and upsetting on a level that I haven't experienced for a whiiile in a book. You can feel the main narrator and protagonist, Arsim transform as his innocence and love are annihilated and he's forced to step into the role of someone he never wanted to be and as ABSOLUTLEY awful and unbearable as he can be, to his new wife and family, to seemingly everyone he comes across and to us, the reader as he repeatedly refuses to justify or apologize for any of his selfish, abusive actions...as awful as that shit was to read, I couldn't hate Arsim. I think this is one of the most impressive feats of this novel is that you have such a deeply unlikeable, unrelenting and uncaring narrator that you can't help but, maybe not sympathize but certainly empathize with. I never judged him. The fear and trauma that ripple throughout this book, passed from character to character leaves no room for anything other than just immense sorrow and heartbreak. A really powerful testament to the aftereffects of war and terror and how it resonates for years to come and manifests itself in so many ways into our relationships over time. It asks really hard questions (and purposefully refuses to answer them) about who is worth saving?
This book will haunt you. The writing is luminous and gripping and I think saves this book from being unbearably morbid or dismal. I have to say I was utterly gripped, consuming this tale in a single sorrowful sitting. I don't think I've ever had such a short book leave such a powerful impact on me.
Breaking me out of an almost 2 week (an eternity for a book person) reading slump was Pajtim Statovci's shattering BOLLA. I picked this up knowing almost nothing other than it was a gay love (?) story and touched on Kosovo in the 90's and the war. And while that was true...this tiny book in it's less than 250 pages reached a Little Life level of brutality and bleakness.
But you wouldn't know it from the first fifty pages or so which encapsulate better than almost any book I've read this (or in the past few years) the euphoria and thrill of new love. Particularly between two young men. You can feel their worlds collide and click everything into place for them and the bliss and exhilaration from these two pours out of those opening chapters and 100% intoxicates the fuck out of the reader (or it sure did for this reader, at least) It was giving me heavy Call Me By Your Name vibes and I was absolutely here for it.
and then....oh jesus...and then...the reality of the world that these two inhabit comes crashing in abruptly on them and on us and it's so incredibly jarring and upsetting on a level that I haven't experienced for a whiiile in a book. You can feel the main narrator and protagonist, Arsim transform as his innocence and love are annihilated and he's forced to step into the role of someone he never wanted to be and as ABSOLUTLEY awful and unbearable as he can be, to his new wife and family, to seemingly everyone he comes across and to us, the reader as he repeatedly refuses to justify or apologize for any of his selfish, abusive actions...as awful as that shit was to read, I couldn't hate Arsim. I think this is one of the most impressive feats of this novel is that you have such a deeply unlikeable, unrelenting and uncaring narrator that you can't help but, maybe not sympathize but certainly empathize with. I never judged him. The fear and trauma that ripple throughout this book, passed from character to character leaves no room for anything other than just immense sorrow and heartbreak. A really powerful testament to the aftereffects of war and terror and how it resonates for years to come and manifests itself in so many ways into our relationships over time. It asks really hard questions (and purposefully refuses to answer them) about who is worth saving?
This book will haunt you. The writing is luminous and gripping and I think saves this book from being unbearably morbid or dismal. I have to say I was utterly gripped, consuming this tale in a single sorrowful sitting. I don't think I've ever had such a short book leave such a powerful impact on me.
iina's review against another edition
4.0
Hämmentävä lukukokemus: kieli oli kaunista ja taitavaa kuten Statovcilla aina, ja kielikuvat loistavia. Päähenkilöstä en aluksi välittänyt, myöhemmin aktiivisesti inhosin — ja silti halusin kiihkeästi lukea kirjan loppuun, aikamoinen taidonnäyte sekin siis tavallaan. Tuntui selkeämmältä kuin kaksi aiempaa romaania Statovcilta, mutta ehkä siinä jäi pois myös kerros tai kaksi moniulotteisuudesta. Silti, Bolla veti mukaansa nopeasti
emanuela_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
otsolax's review against another edition
3.0
Millä keinoin kirja tulee voittaneensi Finlandia -palkinnon? En tiedä. En ainakaan tämän kirjan kohdalla. Bolla’n kuvaama maailma on surkea paikka surkeille surkimuksille. Se on itsekäs, raadollinen ja tunteissaan tyystin omaehtoinen, muista välittämätön. Se on kurja maailma kurjuudessa eläville kurjille. Siinä on vain vähän hyvää, sekin pääosin kulissia. Teknisesti kirja on kirjoitettu hyvin ja kieli on tarkkaa ja kuvaavaa. Arvomaailaltaan ja kerronnaltaan aivan liian synkkä lukukokemus.
jkatey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and War
mishelleday's review against another edition
5.0
oh my god. speechless. broken. such a beautifully tormenting story. books like this remind me why i love reading. this book dives into how we are broken by war, by lust, and especially by the things we cannot have.
psantic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
michaela_lubbers's review against another edition
Oof. This was, to quote some other reviews, a "miserable, nihilistic," "grinding" book. It is decidedly not my cup of tea. It has a very distinct, flowing, almost lyrical style (due to, as I discovered upon reading the last 15% of the book on paper, instead of listening to it, massive run on sentences. And that's coming from ME.) that I imagine some people will enjoy immensely.
It's dark and gritty and teeming with misery, resplendent with a bleak, miserable ending. Arsim is a deeply unlikable, unreliable asshole of an narrator, capable of such wanton cruelty that he speaks of so neutrally, so guiltlessly.
The description indicates that this is a book about war and star crossed lovers so you expect a certain level of painful reality. You are likely not expecting this. It's haunting, certainly, but is it hauntingly beautiful? Jury's still out. It's harsh and it's painful and some people will really dig this but it was not me.
It's dark and gritty and teeming with misery, resplendent with a bleak, miserable ending. Arsim is a deeply unlikable, unreliable asshole of an narrator, capable of such wanton cruelty that he speaks of so neutrally, so guiltlessly.
The description indicates that this is a book about war and star crossed lovers so you expect a certain level of painful reality. You are likely not expecting this. It's haunting, certainly, but is it hauntingly beautiful? Jury's still out. It's harsh and it's painful and some people will really dig this but it was not me.
ferliegram's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Per gran parte era stato un romanzo da 4 in alcuni passaggi che mi hanno molto toccato per la crudezza e la tangibilità delle descrizioni anche 5, ritenendolo addirittura superiore al precedente “Le Transizioni”. Purtroppo ha buttato tutto alle ortiche nei due capitoli finali. Non ho compreso affatto questa improvvisa virata della trama, non che avessi voluto un finale specifico ma scritto in questa maniera sembra sia stato appiccicato a forza tanto per mettere una conclusione alla narrazione. Con una maggiore ponderazione poteva venirne fuori un piccolo capolavoro!
Ps: Statovci resta un autore di grandissimo talento che affronta con una maturità e un acume fuori dal comune capitoli della storia sempre troppo dimenticati e pertanto non bisogna smettere di tenerlo d’occhio
Per gran parte era stato un romanzo da 4 in alcuni passaggi che mi hanno molto toccato per la crudezza e la tangibilità delle descrizioni anche 5, ritenendolo addirittura superiore al precedente “Le Transizioni”. Purtroppo ha buttato tutto alle ortiche nei due capitoli finali. Non ho compreso affatto questa improvvisa virata della trama, non che avessi voluto un finale specifico ma scritto in questa maniera sembra sia stato appiccicato a forza tanto per mettere una conclusione alla narrazione. Con una maggiore ponderazione poteva venirne fuori un piccolo capolavoro!
Ps: Statovci resta un autore di grandissimo talento che affronta con una maturità e un acume fuori dal comune capitoli della storia sempre troppo dimenticati e pertanto non bisogna smettere di tenerlo d’occhio