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Songs From This and That Country
"A visceral depiction of the inhumanity of oppression, Songs from This and That Country is, at its core, an unforgettable story of the evocative resonance of one's past." — Don Aker, bestselling author of The First Stone
It is 1996: a mortar shell explodes, shredding nine Sarajevan citizens, while a Canadian opera singer and others huddle together in horrified solidarity;
thirty years a mother gives birth to a caul baby, a strange child who seems able to will events into being;
forty-five years a young man returns home from the Italian front and his hair has turned snow white;
600 years a young woman leaves her father, a despot under the Ottomans, to meet the witch Baba Roga from whom she learns that father and Turk are not so very different;
and back in 1996: a young opera singer, estranged from her parents, sings about all of this and contemplates killing her father.
Songs from This and That Country is an inter-generational story that examines the reality of age-old ethnic conflicts between Serbs-Croats-Muslims, exposing these divisive and acrimonious relationships as recursive and mirrored in the lives of first- and second-generation families. As a blend of family drama, historical fact and fairy tale, Songs reflects a South Slavic immigrant experience, WWII infantry service in 1940s Italy, the Bosnian conflicts in the 1990s, and the rise of a second generation Serb-Canadian opera singer–all set in relief to a Slavic fairy tale in the time of the Ottoman Empire.
It is 1996: a mortar shell explodes, shredding nine Sarajevan citizens, while a Canadian opera singer and others huddle together in horrified solidarity;
thirty years a mother gives birth to a caul baby, a strange child who seems able to will events into being;
forty-five years a young man returns home from the Italian front and his hair has turned snow white;
600 years a young woman leaves her father, a despot under the Ottomans, to meet the witch Baba Roga from whom she learns that father and Turk are not so very different;
and back in 1996: a young opera singer, estranged from her parents, sings about all of this and contemplates killing her father.
Songs from This and That Country is an inter-generational story that examines the reality of age-old ethnic conflicts between Serbs-Croats-Muslims, exposing these divisive and acrimonious relationships as recursive and mirrored in the lives of first- and second-generation families. As a blend of family drama, historical fact and fairy tale, Songs reflects a South Slavic immigrant experience, WWII infantry service in 1940s Italy, the Bosnian conflicts in the 1990s, and the rise of a second generation Serb-Canadian opera singer–all set in relief to a Slavic fairy tale in the time of the Ottoman Empire.
224 pages, Paperback
Published January 6, 2026
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About the author
Gail Sidonie Sobat
13 books20 followersGail is a witch at heart, a pirate in her dreams, and a gypsy in practice.
She has assumed any number of disguises in her lifetime, including that of teacher, adjunct professor, woman-in black, professional actor and singer, grounds keeper, flag girl, parimutuel seller and flower seller. She is the creator/ coordinator of YouthWrite, a camp for kids who love to write, a teacher at the University of Alberta Hospital School, an instructor in the University of Alberta Faculty of Education, and the Canadian Authors Association(Alberta Chapter) Writer-in Residence. Gail completed a Master’s degree in English at the University of Alberta in Children’s Literature, specializing in fantasy.
She has assumed any number of disguises in her lifetime, including that of teacher, adjunct professor, woman-in black, professional actor and singer, grounds keeper, flag girl, parimutuel seller and flower seller. She is the creator/ coordinator of YouthWrite, a camp for kids who love to write, a teacher at the University of Alberta Hospital School, an instructor in the University of Alberta Faculty of Education, and the Canadian Authors Association(Alberta Chapter) Writer-in Residence. Gail completed a Master’s degree in English at the University of Alberta in Children’s Literature, specializing in fantasy.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 28, 2026
Intense, musical, with deeply drawn characters. Historical fiction braided into contemporary narrative. A complicated but compelling novel.
December 8, 2025
Sobat's thought-provoking narrative is imaginative and beautifully human. she traces violence, music, and love across 3 interwoven generations and stories. Magnificent book that will leave you wanting more.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews