Cirkus Columbia - Danis Tanovic

A film set in Bosnia just before the war between Serbs, Bosnians and Croats.  Essentially a (somewhat stereotypical) love story set against the background of looming conflict.  It touches on themes of the return of the immigrant, the cultural difference between developed Europe and the Balkans, the subculture of violence and machismo, the various self-interested forces that work towards creating this sort of disastrous conflict.  Not as much depth and thematic consistency as Esma's Secret.

Esma's Secret - Jasmila Zbanic

A film set in Sarajevo several years after the war in Bosnia, focusing on a single mother and her daughter.  The story is very well-told with a rich subtext touching on a number of issues - the effects of war on women and families, the culture of brutality and machismo that lingers, the lasting pervasive influence of violence and intimidation on social relations at all levels in all age groups.  It also highlights the different approaches between men and women - men continue the culture of violence, women work towards some kind of collective support and healing.

Earthly Remains - Donna Leon

Mystery/detective novel by a new author who sets her stories in Venice.  Well-written, enjoyable evocation of the outers islands of Venice and the lives of the people there.  The mystery builds slowly.  Like Rankin, it is built on a real current issue or problem - the pollution and illegally dumped toxins that are killing the Laguna and surrounding waters, as well as some of the low lying lands.  Must try some more by her - very prolific.

Istanbul - Thomas F. Madden

A history of Istanbul.  Well-written.  Unlike some of the other histories I have read, this one spends quite a bit of time on the period from the earliest establishment of the settlement by the Greeks through the Byzantine period.  He also gives some background about the Roman Empire and its relationship to Constantinople.  Madden also take it up to the period of Erdogan as mayor.  Some of the early history gives you a different perspective on neighbourhoods in the city, the main streets, and also some of the historical monuments and buildings.

Je m'appelle Bosnia - Madeleine Gagnon

Un roman qui trace la vie d'une jeune femme à Sarajevo durant la guerre, et qui ensuite suit son exile en France et finalement au Québec.  Je l'ai lu en vitesse comme il me semblait un peu long et divaguant.  Une histoire à la fois racontée trop de surface et trop intériorisée.  Les pensées et monologues intérieures de la jeune femme me semblaient un peu trop stéréotypées, comme les moments dramatiques de l'histoire.

C'est un style que je reconnais d'autres romans québécois, comme celui que raconte la guerre à Kigali, et aussi celui qui se déroule à Asbestos et à Val d'Or - mais ils sont plus réussis, du moins à mon goût.

The Nest - Kenneth Oppel

A children's novel by a well-known author.  In some ways a typical children's novel with uplifting, affirmative theme - disability positive, accept your imperfections.  The interesting thing in the book is the relationship the author builds between the main character and the queen of a wasp nest.  The communication is cleverly handled, as well as the initial establishment of contact.  The image of a nest of wasps slowly building a replacement baby for the family is quite bizarre.  That little mix of horror/ Hitchcockian nightmare is what makes the book interesting.

Utopia for Realists - Rutger Bregman

This book opens with a set of surprising statistics that make you realize how much the world has changed in a positive way since 1900 - deaths from all causes are way down, wars are less common, major infectious diseases are disappearing, extreme poverty is down, hunger is down, literacy is up.  Such a contrast to the picture you get reading the daily news media.
His central argument is how we need to rethink our relationship to work and income in this age of plenty, especially as machines become a progressively more productive part of our economy.  One idea is that the time has come for a guaranteed minimum income for everyone - this includes a look at two surprising experiments with this idea back in the 60s in the US (associated with Nixon!) and Canada.  The other idea is that we need to look beyond work to give meaning and purpose to our lives - the kind of socially positive activities that can be engaged in when work doesn't eat up all your time.
There are lots of other threads attached to this central idea - it is a rather dense book.  Worth a reread.

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami

A strange book that you shouldn't want to bother reading, but somehow it keeps pulling you along.  A man's wife disappears and he thinks about how to find her again.  His mind and his life wander through a variety of strange ideas and situations -  mysterious houses, bottoms of wells, psychic women that come and go inexplicably, threatening men lurking in the background, bizarre locations.  In the end the story doesn't really resolve itself.
Somehow it is all woven together in a way that keeps you chasing after what will happen next.

1177 B.C. - The Year Civilization Collapsed - Eric H. Cline

An interesting overview of the late Bronze age and the mysterious collapse of most of the powerful Bronze Age civilizations/states over a relatively short period of time - Cyprus, Minoans, Mycenae, Hittites, Mitanni.  Egypt struggled, but managed to hang on.   This book is essentially an overview of what is known about the last stages and final collapse of each of these civilizations.  At the time, they created a tightly woven set of interdependent centres, trading food and other essentials (especially tin and other metals used for the creation of weapons) as well as luxury goods for the elites.   They all used some form of writing for record-keeping, for letters and other communication both for government and for business - in fact, Akkadian was the Latin or English of the day.Within a hundred year period though, all of them collapsed, followed by a 300 to 400 year period of reorganization and renewal or establishment of new centres and cultures.

Cline also provides an overview of the various causes that have been considered by various academics.  His conclusion is that the collapse was caused by the interaction of several factors over time.  Earthquakes - the whole area was shaken by numerous earthquakes over a period of several decades, and "earthquake storm", which destroyed several key cities.  Climate change - around 1177 B.C. the whole Mediterranean basin seems to have entered a drier period, which would have lowered ground water and affected agriculture.  Internal revolts - in some places, the elites and power centres within cities seem to have been destroyed.  This may have been related to famine and economic hardship.  Economic disruption - as these centres had developed a highly interdependent economic trade system, disruptions in one part could have serious economic effects on other centres, especially the centres that relied largely on trade for their economy - leading to rebellions also.  Warfare - there is some sign of invasion and destruction of some major centres by marauding bands, perhaps pushed to migrate by drought or economic failure.  These sites are usually not resettled after the destruction.

After this period of collapse, writing systems seem to have fallen out of use, states became much smaller, and economic activity more local and more limited.  As the author points out, this is a pattern that repeats itself in history in every part of the world where large empires come and go.  Interesting to think of ourselves in this cycle...