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The Longest Winter
Terry is a British doctor on a mission to rescue a sick child in urgent need of life-saving surgery. Brad is an American journalist desperately trying to save his reputation following the disasters of his last posting. Milena is a young woman from Eastern Bosnia who has fled from her home and her husband, seeking refuge from betrayal amid the devastation of besieged Sarajevo. In the aftermath of the assassination of a government minister, three life stories are intertwined in a dramatic quest for redemption.
336 pages, Paperback
Published October 20, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 29, 2016
Powerful story of the Bosnian War of the 1990s
Set during the Siege of Sarajevo Kevin Sullivan tells the story of a varied group of characters living and working within the city.
The main character is Terry is a relatively naïve British doctor on a mission to rescue a sick child in urgent need of life-saving surgery and it is through her eyes large part of the story are played out.
Kevin Sullivan was present in Sarajevo throughout the siege and evidently knows his stuff. The story is well told and you really emphasis with the characters.
A gripping novel set against at 1,425 days the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Set during the Siege of Sarajevo Kevin Sullivan tells the story of a varied group of characters living and working within the city.
The main character is Terry is a relatively naïve British doctor on a mission to rescue a sick child in urgent need of life-saving surgery and it is through her eyes large part of the story are played out.
Kevin Sullivan was present in Sarajevo throughout the siege and evidently knows his stuff. The story is well told and you really emphasis with the characters.
A gripping novel set against at 1,425 days the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
December 8, 2018
This book is the story of a tense few days spent in the besieged city of Sarajevo during the Bosnian war, centred around a young British doctor who has been sent there to evacuate a seriously ill child. Through her experiences and the people she meets the reader is drawn into the life of the city and into a gripping narrative that had me feeling nervous and anxious the whole way through. This is one of the most nerve-wracking books I have ever read. The siege is vividly portrayed in all its horror. The sense of danger, the sheer unpredictability of where that bullet is going to come from, the cold, the hunger, the dirt, the destruction, the devastation. The author spent time in the area reporting on the war and was in fact seriously wounded in an attack. This gives him an authority that few other novelists can have and the authenticity of his narrative is never in doubt. His descriptions of this brutal, senseless conflict make for some very upsetting and disturbing reading, and the author is to be congratulated for his handling of the tragedy, never glamorising it, or making melodrama out of drama, but conveying what it was really like during those dreadful years.
March 23, 2017
This is a wonderful book. Kevin Sullivan, takes us to Sarajevo, where he lived during the war. We are in a war zone, freezing cold, with no running water, no electricity and bullets skimming dangerously close past our heads. The story centres around three people, all in search of some kind of redemption. I particularly enjoyed the story of Milena. Sullivan evokes with an almost feminine sensitivity the life and feelings of this young woman, who has suffered so much and palsy the piano so beautifully. I also like the way he enters into the mind and thoughts of many different characters, even the long dead great uncle of one young girl, Sanela, who as a baby crawled into a field of sunflowers and met another baby, a girl, crawling in the opposite direction. ‘Sanela had no way of knowing that such a thing happened to her uncle Izet, who died long before she was born. But she knew, of course.’ It’s the joy of fiction, making us suspend disbelief in such a magical way. There’s plenty of action, plenty of tension, and a beautiful rounded shape to the story - but best of all I enjoyed being taken inside the lives and fates of people in a country I’d never known much about before. A gripping and moving book. I was sorry when it came to an end.
February 11, 2016
This novel represents an opportunity for which many readers will be grateful. The Balkan conflict is one which, to my eternal shame, more or less by-passed me. I knew that Yugoslavia (as we had always called it) was imploding and I remember tutting in all the right places at the wanton destruction of property and the distress of the local people as I followed the daily news reports of the upheaval they had to endure but for some reason it was never a conflict that made a deep impression on me. It was always followed by another story which was closer to home.
Kevin Sullivan was there. He covered the siege of Dubrovnik in 1991, then reported on the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina the following year. He is able to speak with the authority of a man who was seriously wounded in a land-mine explosion, with the compassion of someone who witnessed first-hand the devastation that was inflicted on the local population, and with the affection that persuaded him to make his home in Sarajevo after all he had witnessed.
The Longest Winter takes us behind the scenes as UN delegates, military and local politicians try to establish some sort of order amidst the chaos of bureaucratic disputes, internecine warfare and naked self-interest. It is an almost dystopian world in which a trip to your hotel room involves detailed planning to find a route which will keep you safe from the snipers - a world in which finding enough running water for a shower is a cause for celebration and the prospect of seeing one day through to the next comes with no guarantee.
Into this nightmare comes an inexperienced young doctor whose task is to locate a child in desperate need of surgery and fly him out of the country. It’s a mission for which she is not even remotely prepared and any chance she has of success is totally dependent upon help from those she encounters.
But this is by no means Anna’s story – that accolade goes to the ordinary people of the besieged city of Sarajevo and the journalists who are determined to alert the rest of the world to the horrors that are taking place. All live with the threat of a sniper’s bullet or an undetected landmine or a stray shell hanging over them and yet at the same time they battle against the odds to retain even a mere semblance of the life they knew before the conflict began – an annual singing contest, for instance, has to go ahead even though the generators and recording equipment may fail at any moment and there are no guarantees it will ever be broadcast. Many of the characters we meet will survive, some will not but no one will be unaffected, and that goes for the reader too.
This is a graphic illustration of the horrors that are a reality even now in some parts of the world and could not resonate more strongly in the light of the current refugee crisis. We as readers may never know Sarajevo the way Kevin Sullivan does but this fine novel is vivid and articulate enough to help us to empathise a little more strongly with the plight of those less fortunate. It thoroughly deserves a 5* rating.
Kevin Sullivan was there. He covered the siege of Dubrovnik in 1991, then reported on the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina the following year. He is able to speak with the authority of a man who was seriously wounded in a land-mine explosion, with the compassion of someone who witnessed first-hand the devastation that was inflicted on the local population, and with the affection that persuaded him to make his home in Sarajevo after all he had witnessed.
The Longest Winter takes us behind the scenes as UN delegates, military and local politicians try to establish some sort of order amidst the chaos of bureaucratic disputes, internecine warfare and naked self-interest. It is an almost dystopian world in which a trip to your hotel room involves detailed planning to find a route which will keep you safe from the snipers - a world in which finding enough running water for a shower is a cause for celebration and the prospect of seeing one day through to the next comes with no guarantee.
Into this nightmare comes an inexperienced young doctor whose task is to locate a child in desperate need of surgery and fly him out of the country. It’s a mission for which she is not even remotely prepared and any chance she has of success is totally dependent upon help from those she encounters.
But this is by no means Anna’s story – that accolade goes to the ordinary people of the besieged city of Sarajevo and the journalists who are determined to alert the rest of the world to the horrors that are taking place. All live with the threat of a sniper’s bullet or an undetected landmine or a stray shell hanging over them and yet at the same time they battle against the odds to retain even a mere semblance of the life they knew before the conflict began – an annual singing contest, for instance, has to go ahead even though the generators and recording equipment may fail at any moment and there are no guarantees it will ever be broadcast. Many of the characters we meet will survive, some will not but no one will be unaffected, and that goes for the reader too.
This is a graphic illustration of the horrors that are a reality even now in some parts of the world and could not resonate more strongly in the light of the current refugee crisis. We as readers may never know Sarajevo the way Kevin Sullivan does but this fine novel is vivid and articulate enough to help us to empathise a little more strongly with the plight of those less fortunate. It thoroughly deserves a 5* rating.
September 16, 2018
2.5 stars - rounded up to 3 given the setting.
I wanted to love this book, given the setting and the opportunity to learn more about the Siege. Sadly, there were too many characters for a relatively short book dealing with such a important historical topic and some of the message and history was given up in exchange for too much detail on characters with whom I didn’t have much emotional connection.
Ultimately, I’d still recommend on the basis that it makes such a terrible part of recent history so accessible.
I wanted to love this book, given the setting and the opportunity to learn more about the Siege. Sadly, there were too many characters for a relatively short book dealing with such a important historical topic and some of the message and history was given up in exchange for too much detail on characters with whom I didn’t have much emotional connection.
Ultimately, I’d still recommend on the basis that it makes such a terrible part of recent history so accessible.
April 23, 2019
Perhaps, my expectation of this book was high, just by looking at the title. I was disappointed a bit, not sure how or by what but it is there. The depiction of war is vivid though. The survivors, they are brave people who continue living in this horror. War, tear people apart.
Terry Bard, a doctor, who volunteered to cover for another doctor, went to Sarajevo to save a child. She went to the war-torn country without any preparation of what she is going to go through. Dr. Bard thought that it would be as easy as meeting the child, Miro, and his mother, and be out of the country with the letter in her hand. Little did she knew that it is not going to be a smooth sailing.
Dr. Bard met with the journalists - Anna & Brad - whom at the end, saved her and the child. It was brave of what Anna & Brad did. I would think that journalists, especially those who cover war-torn areas, are firm, tough and hard as they need to survive in these areas and interview people at the same time. It is not an easy feat.
It is quite a sad read overall.
Terry Bard, a doctor, who volunteered to cover for another doctor, went to Sarajevo to save a child. She went to the war-torn country without any preparation of what she is going to go through. Dr. Bard thought that it would be as easy as meeting the child, Miro, and his mother, and be out of the country with the letter in her hand. Little did she knew that it is not going to be a smooth sailing.
Dr. Bard met with the journalists - Anna & Brad - whom at the end, saved her and the child. It was brave of what Anna & Brad did. I would think that journalists, especially those who cover war-torn areas, are firm, tough and hard as they need to survive in these areas and interview people at the same time. It is not an easy feat.
It is quite a sad read overall.
August 9, 2019
A great book. It actually gives you the feeling of being there, during the war, in those desperate and heartbraking day, having to struggle do stay alive during the siege of Sarajevo.
Without romanticising the war, the book gives us tons of info but the main aspect surely is the study of Humanity, through these war times. The book as well is very interesting thanks to its characters, each of those deeply studied, with their own background and feelings, very different but still united, in the tragic context of war.
Kevin Sullivan, the author, embarks us n this travel through time and space, with his precise, economical, and very realistic writing, leaving aside no morbid details.
I really liked the book, and can only warmly advise you to read it !
Without romanticising the war, the book gives us tons of info but the main aspect surely is the study of Humanity, through these war times. The book as well is very interesting thanks to its characters, each of those deeply studied, with their own background and feelings, very different but still united, in the tragic context of war.
Kevin Sullivan, the author, embarks us n this travel through time and space, with his precise, economical, and very realistic writing, leaving aside no morbid details.
I really liked the book, and can only warmly advise you to read it !
March 8, 2017
This is a novel based around events in war-torn Sarajevo. I am ashamed to say that I knew very little about it and, from that point of view, the book was very informative. However, it was far more than that. Not only was it a gripping, well-written story, I strongly suspect it was a frighteningly realistic account of what everyday life is like in a war zone. Quite frankly, I can’t even begin to imagine how I would cope if I was thrown into the same situation – constantly living in fear, losing loved ones on an almost daily basis and surviving on what we would consider to be subsistence levels of all the basic commodities that we take so much for granted.
It is explained at the beginning of the book that, for the purposes of the narrative, two real events which actually happened weeks apart have been condensed into the same time frame. Other than that I can only assume that the author is portraying life as it really was during those harrowing times.
The only problem I had with the book (and it was a minor one) was that I seemed to be constantly muddling up the characters. I’m not sure if this was because there were quite a lot of characters to come to terms with or because many of their names were unfamiliar to me. In actual fact, I suspect that the most likely explanation is the way in which the book is formatted. It jumped around quite a lot, which could be quite confusing as each chapter contained one storyline, the narrative of which would then be resumed in a later chapter. Intervening chapters contained different, but interconnected storylines and I often found myself having to take a break at the beginning of a chapter to review the current status of that particular situation.
I would thoroughly recommend this book for many reasons. It is a great story with a well constructed plot, it is a page-turner and a good read. On top of that it took me out of my comfort zone into the realities of what it is really like to live through a war and lastly if, like me, you missed out on much of the Balkan conflict at the time when it was happening, this will fill in some of the gaps.
It is explained at the beginning of the book that, for the purposes of the narrative, two real events which actually happened weeks apart have been condensed into the same time frame. Other than that I can only assume that the author is portraying life as it really was during those harrowing times.
The only problem I had with the book (and it was a minor one) was that I seemed to be constantly muddling up the characters. I’m not sure if this was because there were quite a lot of characters to come to terms with or because many of their names were unfamiliar to me. In actual fact, I suspect that the most likely explanation is the way in which the book is formatted. It jumped around quite a lot, which could be quite confusing as each chapter contained one storyline, the narrative of which would then be resumed in a later chapter. Intervening chapters contained different, but interconnected storylines and I often found myself having to take a break at the beginning of a chapter to review the current status of that particular situation.
I would thoroughly recommend this book for many reasons. It is a great story with a well constructed plot, it is a page-turner and a good read. On top of that it took me out of my comfort zone into the realities of what it is really like to live through a war and lastly if, like me, you missed out on much of the Balkan conflict at the time when it was happening, this will fill in some of the gaps.
January 31, 2020
I had high expectations for this but feel a bit sad. The seige in bosnia was an important time in history and the people who lived and died protecting their homes and loved ones are the most important parts of that story because theres so much we could learn from them. Sadly i spent a lot of time pre-occupied with the numbers of characters that made this hard to follow as i’d have liked. Powerful and poignant but something was missing for me
October 16, 2017
Well written but not my usual style. Found the style a little disjointed.
They got the little boy out though.
They got the little boy out though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2020
Interesting story about Sarajevo during the war in the 1990s. Written by someone who obviously had experience in being there.
I learned a lot about the situation and the story was quite good too.
I learned a lot about the situation and the story was quite good too.
September 14, 2023
The awfulness of the Bosnian war was clear but for me there was a disconnect with the characters for some reason.
March 31, 2019
The Longest Winter is beautifully written and incredibly moving.
Kevin Sullivan is an ex-journalist who experienced the Bosnian war first hand and that understanding and experience is evident in his writing. This is not a book that could have been written by somebody without that experience.
There are three main characters: Terry a British doctor who has come to Bosnia to escort a sick child back to London for urgent treatment, Brad, an American journalist dealing with his own demons from past conflict zones and Milena, a Bosnian woman who turned her back on the hatred and brutality that had taken over her own town.
When Terry’s flight lands in Sarajevo, her arrival has not been well organised and she is left to fend for herself. It is easy to have sympathy for her, however, like Terry herself, the reader gradually begins to see that her trials pale into insignificance in comparison with the real problems that those in Sarajevo, particularly the hospital, face every day.
This is the most thought provoking book I have read in a long time. The speed with which ordinary towns like those we live in descended into chaos and death is shocking, as is the nature of combat in civil war. The story takes place in the centre of Sarajevo, where civilians live only 500 yards from the front line with gun fire and shells exploding around them.
Despite this the people try to carry on living a normal life. The televised annual song contest goes ahead, even though hardly anywhere has electricity, and friends still gather for parties. And when the pre-war normal is no longer possible, a new kind of normal is created, there is an acceptance.
Another striking feature for me was the merging of civilian and military: the geeky, bohemian Zlatko, a university student just months earlier was now a translator and escort for foreign journalists, helping government and military officials, while government soldiers are dressed in jeans and trainers. The only difference between them is that the soldiers carry guns.
The Longest Winter would make a great book for a reading group as there are so many potential talking points: the recurring theme of difficulty with communication, the parallels that Sullivan draws between the individual relationships and the war, and how the simplicity of the language he uses emphasises the awfulness of the events.
I can’t recommend this book enough.
Kevin Sullivan is an ex-journalist who experienced the Bosnian war first hand and that understanding and experience is evident in his writing. This is not a book that could have been written by somebody without that experience.
There are three main characters: Terry a British doctor who has come to Bosnia to escort a sick child back to London for urgent treatment, Brad, an American journalist dealing with his own demons from past conflict zones and Milena, a Bosnian woman who turned her back on the hatred and brutality that had taken over her own town.
When Terry’s flight lands in Sarajevo, her arrival has not been well organised and she is left to fend for herself. It is easy to have sympathy for her, however, like Terry herself, the reader gradually begins to see that her trials pale into insignificance in comparison with the real problems that those in Sarajevo, particularly the hospital, face every day.
This is the most thought provoking book I have read in a long time. The speed with which ordinary towns like those we live in descended into chaos and death is shocking, as is the nature of combat in civil war. The story takes place in the centre of Sarajevo, where civilians live only 500 yards from the front line with gun fire and shells exploding around them.
Despite this the people try to carry on living a normal life. The televised annual song contest goes ahead, even though hardly anywhere has electricity, and friends still gather for parties. And when the pre-war normal is no longer possible, a new kind of normal is created, there is an acceptance.
Another striking feature for me was the merging of civilian and military: the geeky, bohemian Zlatko, a university student just months earlier was now a translator and escort for foreign journalists, helping government and military officials, while government soldiers are dressed in jeans and trainers. The only difference between them is that the soldiers carry guns.
The Longest Winter would make a great book for a reading group as there are so many potential talking points: the recurring theme of difficulty with communication, the parallels that Sullivan draws between the individual relationships and the war, and how the simplicity of the language he uses emphasises the awfulness of the events.
I can’t recommend this book enough.
December 7, 2016
The horrors of civil war, in Europe, in our lifetime.
Sarajevo, winter 1992. In the midst of civil war, a young British doctor, Terry Barnes, arrives to take a sick child back to London for urgent medical attention. She encounters both hostility and friendliness as she struggles to come to terms with the chaos all around her.
A government minister is killed while under the protection of the U.N. and this unleashes all sorts of accusations and counter-accusations.
The press are here in force, of course, and all desperate for a “scoop”. Some of them are also hiding from their personal demons and trying to cope in the toxic atmosphere of war.
Will Terry be able to rescue the child with all this going on around her?
The author paints a very vivid description of the atmosphere in Sarajevo during the war. He is able to bring in characters and describes their life before the hostilities, when everybody got along, to neighbours and lifelong friends turning on each other with abject hatred. The book’s main concern is Terry and he cleverly weaves the press, the locals and the U.N. military into her story.
At first, I found the book a difficult read. Once I was able to grasp the characters, I was up and running. I cannot possibly imagine the horror of living in a civil war situation where your every day is a fight for food and your very life, with snipers around corners.
The author has done a very good job here. Take my advice – read it.
Mr Bumblebee
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
Sarajevo, winter 1992. In the midst of civil war, a young British doctor, Terry Barnes, arrives to take a sick child back to London for urgent medical attention. She encounters both hostility and friendliness as she struggles to come to terms with the chaos all around her.
A government minister is killed while under the protection of the U.N. and this unleashes all sorts of accusations and counter-accusations.
The press are here in force, of course, and all desperate for a “scoop”. Some of them are also hiding from their personal demons and trying to cope in the toxic atmosphere of war.
Will Terry be able to rescue the child with all this going on around her?
The author paints a very vivid description of the atmosphere in Sarajevo during the war. He is able to bring in characters and describes their life before the hostilities, when everybody got along, to neighbours and lifelong friends turning on each other with abject hatred. The book’s main concern is Terry and he cleverly weaves the press, the locals and the U.N. military into her story.
At first, I found the book a difficult read. Once I was able to grasp the characters, I was up and running. I cannot possibly imagine the horror of living in a civil war situation where your every day is a fight for food and your very life, with snipers around corners.
The author has done a very good job here. Take my advice – read it.
Mr Bumblebee
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
January 12, 2017
I spent so much of this book with a lump in my chest, a twist of anxiety in my stomach, or a tear or two running down my face. The ferocity and unpredictability of the siege of Sarajevo was so vividly portrayed that I almost felt myself duck at times to avoid a shell or a bullet. Quite simply, it was devastating – yet illuminating and breathtakingly inspirational at the same time. The core story centres around a British doctor who arrives in the city to evacuate a seriously ill young boy. The ‘will-they won’t-they make it’ narrative keeps you on tenterhooks throughout, but it’s the back-stories and hourly battle for survival of the ensemble cast that really touches the heart: the press, the medics, the Bosnian people, ravaged, distorted and displaced by the war. Kevin Sullivan paints an achingly vivid portrayal of life, and death, in the besieged city, and his triumph is in creating a dusting of hope through the darkness of war, and an array of characters who prove that human spirit will prevail. I loved it!
January 6, 2017
A moving novel about the siege of Sarajevo - but more than that, about the astonishing ability of humans to remain humane in the face of chaos, genocide and hatred.
Kevin Sullivan writes warmly and poetically of the individuals who lived and died in the bitter chill, real and metaphorical, that enveloped Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s.
If you enjoy literary and historical fiction this is a lovely story, although at times emotional and disturbing, and highly educational about a war whose lessons for the world are sadly and rapidly being forgotten.
Kevin Sullivan writes warmly and poetically of the individuals who lived and died in the bitter chill, real and metaphorical, that enveloped Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s.
If you enjoy literary and historical fiction this is a lovely story, although at times emotional and disturbing, and highly educational about a war whose lessons for the world are sadly and rapidly being forgotten.
September 21, 2016
Interesting detail about the war & set up of the city, but the characters weren't as gripping as they should have been considering the story.
December 21, 2016
This was a Goodreads Giveaway. You get a strong feeling of what it must be like trying to live and move around with bombs going off constantly.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews