Primeros reseñadoresDavid Williams

The Croatian writer Miljenko Jergovic, whose remarkable debut collection of stories, Sarajevo Marlboro – winner of the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize – was published by Archipelago, has masterfully created a novel which draws the reader into a boy's episodic, profoundly personal recounting of his war-torn homeland and childhood. Dazzling, rhapsodic, and above all compassionate, these linked stories, deeply rooted in place and history, break down stereotypes and humanize a complex cultural conflict.

Who is Hassan and what is behind his mysterious Valentine message to Amina? Who is the young beauty chased across a lorry park in the early hours? These are the questions local phone-in host Marc Niven struggles with as he is drawn deeper into the city's secret places. The question he already knows the answer to - why did Sam leave him so suddenly? - is the one that troubles him most.