During four years of war in Bosnia, over 100,000 people lost their lives. But it was months, even years, before the mass graves started to yield up their dead and the process of identification, burial and mourning could begin. For many, the waiting, the searching and the suspended grieving still continue. We travel through the ravaged post-war landscape in the company of some of those who survived, as they visit the scenes of their loss: a hall where the clothing of victims is displayed; an underground cave with its pale jumble of bones; a camp for homeless refugees; a city now abandoned to the ghosts of painful memories; and, a funeral service where a family finally says goodbye. These encounters are snapshots and memorials, capturing a community still flinching from its raw and recent past, not yet able to believe in the possibility of a peaceful future.

Like Eating a Stone

Wojciech Tochman

Portobello Books

A portrait of human devastation in the wake of the Bosnian Wars, told through the stories of survivors searching for family members and their remains.During four years of war in Bosnia, over 100,000 people lost their lives. But it was months, even years, before the mass graves started to yield up their dead and the process of identification, burial, and mourning could begin. Here we travel through the ravaged postwar landscape in the company of a few survivors (mostly women) as they visit the scenes of their loss: a hall where victims' clothing is displayed; an underground cave littered with pale jumbles of bones; a camp for homeless refugees; a city now abandoned to the ghosts of painful memories; a funeral service where a family can finally say goodbye. These encounters are snapshots and memorials, a feat of powerful reportage told from the viewpoint of people who have lost nearly everything. With the sensibility of Philip Gourevitch or Ryszard Kapuscinski, Tochman captures a painful moment in history, as an entire community comes to terms with its raw and recent past.

Like Eating a Stone: Surviving the Past in Bosnia

History

Europe

Atlas

Jakbyś kamień jadła

Pogranicze

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wojciech Tochman. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Wojciech Tochman