Bradt - My Family And Other Enemies

Beskrivelse

My Family and Other Enemies blends travel memoir with personal history, taking you deep into the heart of Croatia’s Lika region. Mary Novakovich reflects on her connection to this rugged land where her parents were born and shares her family’s extraordinary story.

A vivid exploration of Lika’s turbulent past and a family’s resilience amid history’s harshest trials.

This book uncovers the lesser-known region of Lika in central Croatia, a place often overlooked except for landmarks like Plitvice Lakes National Park and Nikola Tesla’s birthplace. Novakovich describes Lika as a wild and beautiful land scarred by centuries of conflict, once a battleground between the Habsburg and Ottoman empires, and later one of the first flashpoints during Yugoslavia’s breakup in 1991.

Sent to live with distant relatives in Lika during Tito’s era, Novakovich has returned many times to trace her family’s difficult past. Her narrative reveals harrowing events, such as her aunt being the sole survivor of a massacre by Croatian fascists in 1941 and her mother rescuing her grandmother from being mistakenly buried alive during a typhus outbreak.

Despite these hardships, the story is filled with moments of resilience, humor, and warmth. Novakovich introduces a cast of eccentric, entertaining characters who embody the sardonic Balkan wit. Food plays a central role in daily life and features prominently throughout the book.

Interwoven with personal anecdotes are key elements of Croatian history related to Lika, providing valuable context. By sharing her family’s tumultuous experiences, Novakovich shines a light on a part of the Balkans rarely seen outside the region, telling stories that were often overshadowed in the media by later conflicts in Bosnia.

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