Genre: Historical, Classic
Published: 1981
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 11
The year: 1377. The place: the Balkan peninsula. An Albanian monk chronicles the events surrounding the construction of a bridge across a great river known as Ujana e Keqe, or "Wicked Waters". If successful in their endeavor, the bridge-builders will challenge a monopoly on water transportation known simply as "Boats and Rafts". The story itself parallels developments in modern-day Eastern Europe, with the bridge emblematic of a disintegrating economic and political order: just as mysterious cracks in the span's masonry endanger the structure and cast the local community into a morass of uncertainty, superstition and murder, so the fast-changing conditions in the 14th-century Balkan peninsula threaten to overwhelm the stability of life there.
Despite the book’s description, there’s actually a pretty solid storyline in the book. The book isn’t gloomy either –something I’ve come to expect from Balkan authors – but is a historical novel that breathes the medieval atmosphere. The characterizations are excellent, the voice of the monk is sublime. The ending had a great surprise and was icing on the cake. This book wholly deserves its five stars!
0 comments:
Post a Comment