2/5 stars
How’d I find it? I loved being a member of the Graywolf Galley Club, receiving advance copies like this (plus swag).
Why not 3 or more stars? Kassabova steeps herself in the history and culture of Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa in the southern Balkans, her grandmother’s homeland, and learns how the region has shaped her own identity. The book’s languid and circuitous meandering failed to hold my interest despite the poetic voice at play in the writing. Nearly four hundred pages of examples of the area’s complexities return the reader to the premise of the introduction. Yes, yes, war and history shape people, but where might this journey have led with a more innovative approach?