Reviews

Sarajevo blues by Semezdin Mehmedinović

tprsjr's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

lottie1803's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

dzejna's review against another edition

5.0

The words are intense and hard to read from time to time. As a Bosnian girl my self, I’ve had to take some long break while reading this, because it reminded me of the stories I’ve head from family and friends.

Would recommend for everyone to read

hafious's review against another edition

5.0

This is a collection of poetry and prose by Bosnian writer Mehmedinovic. In this book he describes his experiences living under siege in Sarajevo, his writing is hard-hitting and thought-provoking. The themes of hopelessness, fear, loss and desperation are universal even if the book is about a specific place and time. If I could pick out a central idea it would be about the loss of identity in Bosnia where Sarajevo became unrecognisable and neighbours turned against each other. Although this is a short book it is by no means easy to get through, I would recommend it to someone familiar with the Bosnian war and wanting understand the experience of war.

electra_one's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I knew this book filled with notes, poems and vignettes would be as beautiful as sad it can be, the author wrote them during the Sarajevo siege and as he said, had finally the time to do it. 

havdic's review against another edition

5.0

4.5 stars

What a beautiful collection. This is seriously nothing like anything I've ever read. So raw, breathtaking, and heartbreaking. I love the content on Sarajevo--it feels so familiar and personal to me, but he writes it in such a way that is still fresh and new to me. I love how Semezdin does not sugarcoat the atrocities Bosnian civilians endured during the siege/war/genocides. This is the kind of writing, the kind of stories, that everyone needs on their shelves. I hope to read more of his work.

sameconversation's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

whatadutchgirlreads's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

4.0

lauren_endnotes's review against another edition

▪️SARAJEVO BLUES by Semezdin Mehmedinović, translated from the Bosnian by Ammiel Alcalay, 1995/1998 by @citylightsbooks

#ReadtheWorld21

heatherinjapan's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

No rating for this one. 

I don't think I've read such a work of literature before that affected me so much mentally and physiologically. Reading these essays and poems was like I was slowly submerging into a feeling of emptiness and being devoid of hope or happiness. It's affected me quite a bit for the week after reading it. While the words don't stick in my mind, the feeling doesn't really leave you for a while. While I can't say I enjoyed this, the author was very successful in getting across the feelings he had during this time in Bosnia. 

Definitely not for the faint of heart and be sure you're in an okay place mentally before reading.