Portraits of Sarajevo

I read Dizdarevic's first book, and I think this is as good as the first. Both books are rather brief, so they could have been combined with a book of only 300 pages. However after the success of the first, the publisher probably wanted to make a little more money on a second book of war stories. That said, the stories are powerful about the cruelity of war and its consequences. Some of the stories at the end are the most powerful, especially about the wayward boy looking for his father in the trenches. Some of the others, the reader is left scratching his/her head on what the author was trying to convey. This is simply a collection of stories from the residents of Sarajevo to the outside world.For a quick read on the siege of Sarajevo, both Dizdarevic's Sarajevo: A War Journal and this book are good human interest reads. The reader can go through them in a three hour sitting.

This is one of the best books i've read in ages. The peoples' stories that fill these pages show just how amazing the people of Sarajevo are to be able to stay in their wartorn city. The thing that comes across strongest in this book is the undeniable spirit of Sarajevo and the refusal of these people to give in and let war ruin their lives.The book is basically a collection of simple stories from different people who chose to stay in sarajevo during the war. All the stories are very emotional, however i came away with a good feeling rather than feeling sad. The people featured (which seems to be anyone, young children, cafe owners, musicians etc) in the book describe their experiences more as a triumph of spirit, rather than portraying themselves as helpless victims. This is a truly inspirational book about inspirational people.