Gently beautiful writing that captures the desperate, devastating effects of the outbreak of war in Sarajevo in 1992. The helplessness of people trying to continue their normal lives as societal structures collapse around them was very moving and the speed of that collapse was terrifying. I found it a compelling read, very hard to put down, and Zora was alive in my head and my heart and will stay there for some time.
Perhaps a dozen people press up against each other, coffee breath, perfume and the smell of their sweat intermingling. Each explosion sends a collective tremor through them. When they pull apart some twenty minutes later, they don’t look at each other. They brush down their clothes, straighten their shoulders and move off quickly.
Zora stares after them, in shock. It’s a quarter to ten on a Tuesday morning. She can’t live like this.
