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Hotel Sarajevo
“A haunting, masterful work.”— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Plain but precocious Alma has taken up residence with a group of teenage war orphans in the abandoned Hotel Sarajevo.
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 8, 2021
Hotel Sarajevo reminds me of several other books – everything from Zalata’s Diary to Westside Story. Like Zalata’s Diary, it takes place in the city of Sarajevo in what used to be Bosnia during the civil war there. Like Westside Story it involves a group of kids – many of them still actually children in this case – who fancy themselves a gang in competition with another gang. This gang activity is not really related to the war and is not even very violent in comparison. But still…
It is, however, its own book telling its own story that, despite its similarity to other stories is not really the same as any of them. As far as I know, none of the events in this book actually happened, yet it seems to be very true nevertheless.
The main character is a fourteen-year-old girl named Alma who doesn’t consider herself very pretty and doesn’t seem to be outstandingly bright in the intellectual sense. However, living in war conditions has given Alma an acute sense of what is really important.
Though her parents – at least her mother and the mother’s boyfriend – were still alive when Alma mostly moved into the otherwise vacant Hotel Sarajevo with a group of other kids near her age, when she returns to their apartment later, they seem to have disappeared. Alma is relieved not to find their bodies in the apartment, but after that, she doesn’t know whether they are alive or not.
The kids in the Hotel Sarajevo are led by a boy named Luka who seems to have elected himself the leader of the group. He decides who can live there and tells them what to do. They compete with a similar group of kids who live in the Hotel Central not far away. This is where the gang activity comes from. They raid each other, stealing food and whatever else they can find and aiming mostly for bragging rights. Next to the war that surrounds them their hostility to each other seems rather tame but can still erupt into dangerous situations from time to time.
Alma is an incurable romantic. She has a crush on Luka, although she sees his faults and his increasing disintegration pretty clearly. She becomes obsessed with two lovers who were found dead in a field having been shot trying to escape the city and brought back to lie in state in their coffins in the old Town Hall. Alma goes to see them, and while she is there she meets a Muslim boy, Omar, whom she continues to see from time to time around town. The image of the dead lovers comes back to her over and over as time passes and becomes a major theme in her musings.
This is a very sad book. Though the kids in the Hotel Sarajevo manage to hold out for over a year, even managing to have some good times during that time, the persistent sniping and shelling keeping on and on eventually take their toll. As might be predicted in a city at war.
It is, however, its own book telling its own story that, despite its similarity to other stories is not really the same as any of them. As far as I know, none of the events in this book actually happened, yet it seems to be very true nevertheless.
The main character is a fourteen-year-old girl named Alma who doesn’t consider herself very pretty and doesn’t seem to be outstandingly bright in the intellectual sense. However, living in war conditions has given Alma an acute sense of what is really important.
Though her parents – at least her mother and the mother’s boyfriend – were still alive when Alma mostly moved into the otherwise vacant Hotel Sarajevo with a group of other kids near her age, when she returns to their apartment later, they seem to have disappeared. Alma is relieved not to find their bodies in the apartment, but after that, she doesn’t know whether they are alive or not.
The kids in the Hotel Sarajevo are led by a boy named Luka who seems to have elected himself the leader of the group. He decides who can live there and tells them what to do. They compete with a similar group of kids who live in the Hotel Central not far away. This is where the gang activity comes from. They raid each other, stealing food and whatever else they can find and aiming mostly for bragging rights. Next to the war that surrounds them their hostility to each other seems rather tame but can still erupt into dangerous situations from time to time.
Alma is an incurable romantic. She has a crush on Luka, although she sees his faults and his increasing disintegration pretty clearly. She becomes obsessed with two lovers who were found dead in a field having been shot trying to escape the city and brought back to lie in state in their coffins in the old Town Hall. Alma goes to see them, and while she is there she meets a Muslim boy, Omar, whom she continues to see from time to time around town. The image of the dead lovers comes back to her over and over as time passes and becomes a major theme in her musings.
This is a very sad book. Though the kids in the Hotel Sarajevo manage to hold out for over a year, even managing to have some good times during that time, the persistent sniping and shelling keeping on and on eventually take their toll. As might be predicted in a city at war.
March 16, 2018
I've kept this book around and I've read it three times now, and still not tired of it. The characters are alive for me, and I am in the midst of Hotel Sarajevo with them.
September 3, 2014
There is some marvelous prose in this one. It actually manages to have the same kind of force that the horror of the situation has. That's tough to do, impressive. Definitely enjoyed this one.
July 4, 2019
Tragic but beautiful story about a sad time in history.
September 16, 2020
This is a brutal book. I didn't love it, but I can't deny the accuracy of it. Alma is the perfect narrator to the bleak surrounds of the city under siege.
April 6, 2021
I had to really persist with this book. I was ready to give up on it many times. It really only got better towards the end. The start of it was a lot of nonsense.
December 8, 2012
The book begins deceptively simple - in fact, I nearly put it down after 50 pages. However, it is told through the eyes of a young teen, and the simplicity reflects her innocence to the war raging around her. And as that innocence is peeled away, her story becomes all the more stunning. Obsessed with the usual teenage pursuits - romance, acceptance, self-discovery - the protagonist, Alma, accepts the war only as a background to her own burgeoning sense of self. But over the course of the novel, the war slowly bleeds into her consciousness, leaving us to helplessly witness as the bright spark of youth slowly drains from her, and the emptiness left in its place is heartbreaking . Stunning novel, don't give it up when it seems too simple at the start.
September 27, 2008
A little reminiscent of British war-era children's fiction in its portrayal of the bonds forged between kids under extraordinary circumstances, but much grittier and more sexually charged. It's a joy to follow the thoughts and insights of its main character, Alma, but the author fails to render her friends with the same clarity or believability. In spite of the tragic storyline, Alma's original, poetic perspectives and her sturdy sense of hope amidst all the horrors around her make it worthwhile to follow the book to its conclusion.
May 3, 2010
very readable (and a short read at that) but as much as there were specific moments or even sentences i liked, i found the entire story a little hard to embrace and believe. not the devastation. mostly, the sexuality. i had a hard time believing in the authenticity of alma's voice, especially in her feelings and relationships with two other boys in the book. not to mention her reaction to some trauma. not a bad book - but not a book i'd make a point of recommending.
June 25, 2012
This book took me a month to finish, so that should tell you it was really a page-turner. It was a decent read about a adolescent girl who lives in an abandoned hotel with a bunch of other kids during the war in Sarajevo. There is definitely some good writing in here, but it definitely wasn't worth the month it took me to read.
January 24, 2013
It was ok, could have been so much more. Weak start, stronger finish. I believe the author was trying to show, in such tragic circumstances the human spirit craves human contact and a sense of belonging. This was depicted as sexual obsession in a 13 yr old child? It was out of place and disturbing to me.
March 5, 2009
Finished ...A very intense and sad book. I liked the writing style; an example is this description of one of the character's death "Sandra finished coughing today."
October 21, 2009
Intense and sad story of children's lives during the Bosnian war.
September 11, 2011
Hated it. Self indulgent, whinging, badly written and didn't give me an insight into the place, the people, the war or anything other than an annoying character!
April 9, 2012
I honestly did not enjoy this book. The whole thing is Alma talking about sex, her love for luca, and having flashbacks. I just did not find it enjoyable.
July 30, 2017
Gave it a good effort...made it to page 50 or so before deciding not to waste any more of my time
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews