S. A Novel About The Balkans Book Review

S. A Novel about the Balkans, by Slavenka Drakulic, is a story about a Bosnian woman, named S., who was tortured by the hands of brutal soldiers during the Bosnia war. The novel mainly centers on a series of S.’s flashbacks, as she recounts the horrific ill-treatment she endured throughout this time period. Through telling S’s story, the author creates a vivid image of how deep and dark human nature is during wartime. The story is a revelation of the terrifying aspects of war, which include torture, rape and mass murdering/genocide by the occupying forces. Slavenka Drakulic’s story depicts how S. rose above the war crimes and on top of injustice to show the true meaning of human life. During war, almost all men and women involved suffer immensely, however, as portrayed in the novel S., women suffer more through mistreatment, sexual abuse, mishandling and irreversible traumas acted upon by the inhumane soldiers. The events that occurred in Bosnia during the 1990’s will go down in history as one of the most inhuman and cruel time periods ever. Through the character S.,
The Bosnians, Croats, and the Serbs eventually come to an agreement after acknowledging the disastrous effects of engaging in war (Sacco 212). Both sides demobilize the troops, and Gorazde rejoice. The Bosnians evicted from their homes return to their homes. The peacemaking makes residents realize the time wasted in battlefields and get used to the new situations as they resume their normal activities. Sometimes, wars bring peace, but they do so if one group decides to give up or both sides reach a compromise where they decide to start a peacemaking settlement. However, the peacemaking settlement must include some form of forgiveness and considers the causes of the war, which then help people to start a new life, as well as, live peacefully with one