Longest Winter

For fans of The Kite Runner, Girl at War and The Cellist of Sarajevo, The Longest Winter is Kevin Sullivan's inspiring and authentic debut novel about life in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. 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.

Sullivan's writing is at its best when he is describing sights and the atmosphere of a country at war - the ducking under stray bullets as well as the visual effect on the landscape . . . His sense of detail is also finely honed, clearly drawn from his own memories, This is the most thought provoking book I have read in a long time. 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, This is a heart-breaking, disturbing story set in a world that is thankfully unrecognisable to most of us, but one it is important that we learn about. War, Sullivan tells us, is brutal - particularly when that war is between fellow countrymen - but there is also hope here, not least in the bravery of people who risk their lives for others and never allow evil to defeat them, His sense of detail is finely honed, drawn from his own memories...the story is engaging..., The author paints a very vivid description of the atmosphere in Sarajevo during the war. The author has done a very good job here. Take my advice - read it

Kevin Sullivan covered the siege of Dubrovnik in 1991 and the war in Bosnia in 1992/93. He was seriously wounded in a land-mine explosion in early 1993. While recovering, he wrote an early draft of The Longest Winter. He now lives in Sarajevo with his wife and daughter.