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The Internationals
Set in a Macedonian refugee camp during the 1999 Kosovo crisis, The Internationals spans seventy-eight tense days from the commencement of NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia to the withdrawal of Serb forces from Northern Kosovo. As the spotlight of the world's media is turned on a small, landlocked country, an extraordinary cast of aid workers and diplomats finds itself becoming inextricably involved with refugees, advertising executives and an Albanian mayor in ways none of them expected.
The weeks pass, temperatures soar and, gradually, the Internationals jettison more and more of the certainties they came with, until the only certainty they're left with is that no form of contraception exists against corruption - least of all purity of motive.
The weeks pass, temperatures soar and, gradually, the Internationals jettison more and more of the certainties they came with, until the only certainty they're left with is that no form of contraception exists against corruption - least of all purity of motive.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Sarah May
66 books35 followersSarah May was born in Northumberland, England in 1972. She studied English at London University and Creative Writing at Lancaster University.
Her acclaimed first novel, The Nudist Colony (1999), was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. A bleak, menacing fable set in a violent and corrupt England, the story centres on 14-year-old Aesop and his manipulative mentor. Her second book, Spanish City (2002), is a novel set in a pleasure resort on the north-east coast of England and chronicling the evolution of pleasure across the twentieth century, for which she was jointly awarded a 2001 Amazon.co.uk Writers' Bursary. The Internationals, set in and around a Macedonian refugee camp during the 1999 Kosovo crisis, was published in 2003. Her fourth novel was The Rise and Fall of the Queen of Suburbia (2006). Her latest book is The Rise and Fall of a Domestic Diva (2008).
Sarah May lives in London.
Her acclaimed first novel, The Nudist Colony (1999), was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. A bleak, menacing fable set in a violent and corrupt England, the story centres on 14-year-old Aesop and his manipulative mentor. Her second book, Spanish City (2002), is a novel set in a pleasure resort on the north-east coast of England and chronicling the evolution of pleasure across the twentieth century, for which she was jointly awarded a 2001 Amazon.co.uk Writers' Bursary. The Internationals, set in and around a Macedonian refugee camp during the 1999 Kosovo crisis, was published in 2003. Her fourth novel was The Rise and Fall of the Queen of Suburbia (2006). Her latest book is The Rise and Fall of a Domestic Diva (2008).
Sarah May lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 7, 2025
So many characters (who we don't deeply get to know) and an overly tongue-in-cheek tone combine to keep the reader at a distance from the story. This made for a pretty emotionally-dry reading experience, but that fit the story to some extent.
It was interesting that despite being set at a refugee camp, this is not a book about war or refugees, but about the "internationals" and how very morally-fraught they are as a group. From diplomats to humanitarians to journalists to naive volunteers. It was a corner of life in the world that I previously knew little about and would have imagined very differently, so that was interesting.
It was interesting that despite being set at a refugee camp, this is not a book about war or refugees, but about the "internationals" and how very morally-fraught they are as a group. From diplomats to humanitarians to journalists to naive volunteers. It was a corner of life in the world that I previously knew little about and would have imagined very differently, so that was interesting.
November 13, 2009
Was pretty good, although a bit jumbled at times.
Takes place in Kosovo at a refugee camp, journalists' camps, the ambassadors' houses, etc. Tries to take a broad view of the complex issues involved, but feels VERY "post-modern" at times.
Review here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/...
Takes place in Kosovo at a refugee camp, journalists' camps, the ambassadors' houses, etc. Tries to take a broad view of the complex issues involved, but feels VERY "post-modern" at times.
Review here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/...
Want to Read
July 29, 201104 long list-orange prize
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews