Sara left Bosnia years ago, finally settling in Dublin, and has succeeded in leaving her country thoroughly behind, cancelling all traces of it from herself and her life. Until she receives an unexpected phone call that undoes all her efforts. It's Lejla, Sara' best friend from childhood, whom she hasn't spoken to in twenty years. At Lejla's request, Sara drops everything and hurries back to Bosnia, embarking on a road trip across Europe to find Lejla's brother, Armin, who disappeared during the war and everyone else presumed dead.

During the journey, Sara is forced to confront her origins, her relationships (especially that with Lejla) and the past she so desperately tried to forget. The book is narrated by Sara herself, as if speaking with Lejla and alternates an account of their road trip with past episodes, slowly leading up to the events that led their friendship to fall apart. As a result, everything is filtered by Sara's perception, feelings, and faltering memory. Memories are notoriously unreliable, and Sara's is no exception. It becomes clear quite early on that she and Lejla have very different recollections of the same events, begging the question: where does the truth lie?

I was very much reminded of [a:Elena Ferrante|44085|Elena Ferrante|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png]'s books when reading Catch the Rabbit, both in the relationship between the two main characters (which strongly resembles that between Lenu and Lila) and the narration style, a game of mirrors where the truth is always hiding and individual desires shape the perception of reality. While I didn't particularly like Sara and Lejla as individuals, I did love them as characters. Both are deeply complex and masterfully drawn by the author, showing how the past influences present lives, expectations pollute relationships, and loss and trauma leave deep, often unhealing, wounds.

The writing is exceptional and the author did a wonderful job of translating her work into English. It's clear that every word has been pondered, every sentence expertly crafted, and nothing is left to chance. The circular structure of the book is highly original and clever indeed. It did leave me perplexed for a while when I reached the ending but, once I understood it, I definitely appreciated it. One negative aspect for me was that I struggled with certain passages throughout, and sometimes had to re-read them to ensure I had understood correctly, which slowed the pace for me and took me out of the story. The ending left me with just as many questions as I had at the beginning, and brought me to think about this book long after the final page had been turned.

Catch the Rabbit is a beautiful homage to Alice in Wonderland, where most things and words have multiple meanings, and truth and reality are as elusive as a white rabbit. Steeped in Balkan history and culture, this is a multilayered read touching on several themes, such as friendship, family, identity, diversity, loss, the effects of war and so many more besides - and I'm sure more still would emerge on a re-read. Well-suited to lovers of My Brilliant Friend and Balkan history and those who enjoy deep, complex and problematic characters.


I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. ( )

Novel.la extranya que segueix les visicituds de dues amigues que es retroben després de anys separades, en una road movie balcànica en la que intenten retrobar el seu nexe comú del passat, cercant el germà dessaparegut d’una de les dues protagonistes. Algunes aventures en una Bòsnia amb una nit perpetua, molts records de la infància, i una nova oportunitat per retrobar aquella connexió perduda. ( )

Sara, a Bosnian writer and poet, has settled down in Dublin, and has more or less succeeded in forgetting her past, her country of origin and the uncomfortable memories of a fractured, post-war state. One day, however, Sara receives an unexpected phone call from Lejla, the best friend with whom she shared her childhood and coming of age. Even though they have not spoken for twelve years, the voice of Lejla, the special friend with whom Sara shared her childhood and coming of age, draws her back to the Balkans. Lejla’s brother Armin, who disappeared during the atrocities of the Bosnian war, has reappeared in Vienna and Lejla wants her friend to drive her from Bosnia to the Austrian capital to track him down. But what exactly are the two friends looking for? Is it Armin, or is it, perhaps, a better understanding of their shared past?

Lana Bastašić’s debut novel, winner of the European Union Prize for Literature 2020, is being published in an English translation by the author herself. The novel’s title – Catch the Rabbit – is an homage to Lewis Carroll and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Like Alice’s surreal adventure underground, Bastašić creates a world which, although rooted in reality, is peopled by figures who are larger than life. Chief amongst these is Lejla, the real protagonist of this novel despite the fact that the narrator is Sara. The story does feature a real rabbit, which is a key element in Sara and Lejla’s shared memories. But it also serves as one of several narrative connections between Catch the Rabbit and Alice. Don’t expect, however, an entertaining children’s book. Like Carroll, Bastašić plays around with narrative logic but her themes and aims are dead serious. This is a novel around friendship along the divisive lines created by war, about adults rethinking and reinterpreting their childhood memories (and not necessarily liking what they find there). It is a book which can be uplifting, but which is equally painful in the realities it brings home to the narrator and, implicitly, the reader.

Indeed, if I have a reservation about this English edition, it is the cover. While it brings out nicely the novel’s more fantastical, psychedelic elements, its garish colours also hint at a light-hearted female buddy road novel. Catch the Rabbit is much darker than that.

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2020/12/catch-the-rabbit-by-Lana-Bastasic.htm... ( )

Драга Надо,
Још размишљам да ли назив твоје омиљене издавачке књиге Booka потиче од book, или је од "буке", или нешто сасвим треће, а ти си отишла, ниси ми открила тајну или могућности. Можда је на корицама књиге коју сам купила и читала кад си отишла твоја младеначка плетеница. Можда је твоја, а могла би бити и пријатељичина, тј. оне друге.

Лако је дружити се са сличним, али хајд' се дружи и остани у пријатељски односима са оним који ти није сродан или којег је живот и потоњи догађаји одвео у сасвим други свет, друге вредности, међ друге људе и у другачије околности. Колико људи је имало и/ или има пријатеље који разбијају назоре које стичемо, који имају изгреде за све наше границе; чија се мера људскости и цивилизованости баш ни у чему не поклапају; којима је компромис увреда; који су живели храбро у ономе што смо ми једва и речима могли признати; којима се и дивимо, а повремено их се и стидимо; о које смо се огрешили али нам то они не узимају за зло; које смо можда и издали, али су управо они ти који знају негдашњу верзију нас и подсећају нас на то боље него ми сами? Ко је имао или има таквог пријатеља, пожелеће да ову књигу да ономе ко му је померао и стражњицу и назоре и границе. Не верујем да је ту у питању неко женско питање и женска књижевност; нити је битан рат и балкански котао као да не постоје друге животне неприлике. То је књига о пријатељству, које, као и свака љубав, превазилази пол и све остала припадања и сврставања по географији, времену, узрасном периоду живота, професији или нечем другом.

Откако си ми открила Лану Басташић, и откако сам прочитала књигу, размишљам коме да је поклоним, ко је мени такав пријатељ, ко је померио моја чувства, моје цивилизацијске наслаге и лицемерства, ко ме задивљавао и запрепашћавао; о кога сам се огрешила и ко ме окајао. А можда сам ја неком такав пријатељ, неразврстан и неприпадајући. Можда ја, баш ја - нечији изгред, нечија дика и нечији блам.

На много начина си ми померала границе и да ниси ти мени открила ову књигу, односно улила поверење да је вреди прочитати, можда бих је ја поклонила теби.
Овако, још размишљам коме да је поклоним. И да ни за чим не жалим! ( )

Het lijkt een simpel verhaal dat Dana Bastasic vertelt: Sara en Lejla, twee jeugdvriendinnen, hebben elkaar al 12 jaar niet meer gezien of gesproken, en gaan dan samen op een roadtrip van Mostar naar Wenen. Maar onder de oppervlakte van dat simpele verhaal broeit er van alles. Want de twee jeugdvriendinnen zijn elkaar niet zomaar uit het oog verloren. En er is een reden voor deze hereniging en voor de bestemming. Heel gezellig is het dan ook niet.

Sara is de verteller van het verhaal. Tijdens de reis die ze samen met Lejla maakt, reflecteert ze op hun vriendschap, hoe die begon en hoe die ten einde kwam. Eigenlijk gaat het boek meer daarover dan over de reis die ze nu samen maken. Het is fijn dat het af en toe wél over die reis gaat, want die levert wat luchtige momenten op, ook al hebben de twee elkaar bijna niks meer te zeggen.

Uit Sara’s verhaal komt vooral naar voren dat er een groot verschil in karakter is tussen de twee vrouwen. Lejla is impulsief en extravert, terwijl Sara beheerst is en introvert. Toch is er meer aan de hand, iets wat Sara alleen indirect benoemt, maar dat een enorme impact op haar en op de vriendschap met Lejla heeft gehad. Dat ook verklaart waarom Sara het gevoel krijgt een zwarte ondoordringbare mist in te rijden als ze dichter bij haar geboortestad komt. Dat ze in het buitenland is gaan wonen, ook al zal niemand daar haar ooit helemaal begrijpen. Dat ze geen contact meer wil met haar moeder. Dat iets is de oorlog.

Sara en Lejla groeiden namelijk op in Banja Luka, in Bosnië, in de jaren ‘90. Wat ik me uit die tijd herinner zijn de gruwelijke berichten over genocide en verkrachtingen. Dat was ook de reden dat ik er een beetje tegenop zag om dit boek te lezen. Maar die dingen komen in dit boek niet expliciet voor. Het zit hem meer in de details. Bijvoorbeeld dat de Serviërs in Banja Luka steeds meer terug grepen op hun al lang vergeten tradities (de Servische Sara moet ineens gedoopt worden). Of dat andere etnische groepen zodanig geïntimideerd werden dat sommige mensen hun naam veranderden om Servischer over te komen (Lejla werd Lela). Dat Sara’s ouders liever zagen dat zij een ander (Servisch) meisje als vriendin koos. Dat Lejla’s oudere broer zomaar verdween en dat de lokale politie (Sara’s vader!) geen enkele moeite deed om hem te vinden.

De taal in het boek is heel poëtisch: de tekst is doorspekt met metaforen en associaties. Ik denk dat je van taal moet houden om dit boek echt te kunnen waarderen, vooral omdat er niet heel veel gebeurt. Het is eerder wat overpeinzend en meanderend. Het mooie aan dit boek vind ik dat er zoveel ongezegd blijft, en open voor interpretatie. Tot en met het behoorlijk open einde aan toe. Je kan er het verhaal van het uiteenvallen van Joegoslavië in lezen, maar net zo goed kan je het lezen als de analyse van een vriendschap of een mysterieus sprookje. ( )