Songs from This and That Country
War, family, violence, music, love and forgiveness: Šobat weaves these human themes together in a beautifully written, unique tale spanning centuries and continents. Danilo, a Serbian Canadian and WWII veteran suffering from PTSD, later brutalizes his wife Luba and their child Mirjam, a caul baby with magic powers. The magic powers are shown early in the novel but dropped as Mirjam ages. Mirjam, like the biblical Miriam, is a gifted singer, and despite their tumultuous home and Danilo’s objections, Luba helps her daughter study operatic singing and begin her career. After her debut opera in Berlin, she travels to Serbia with her cellist lover to sing during the 1990s Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian ethnic wars. She has previously rejected her Serbian roots along with her Serbian father, but she sings to bring beauty to their war-torn lives and, she realizes, to understand herself.
Woven throughout this 20th-century story is the story of Sudbina, the daughter of a despot in 14th-century Serbia. The modern story mirrors the fairy tale storyline, but the fairy tale interrupts the flow of the very strong and well-written 20th century storyline. Nevertheless, Songs of This and That Country is a unique, moving and enthralling novel.
