SYNOPSIS
Sara hasn't seen or heard from Lejla in years. She's comfortable with her life in Dublin, with her partner, their avocado plant, and their naturist neighbour. But when Lejla calls and demands she has come home to Bosnia, Sara finds that she can't say no.
What begins as a road trip becomes a journey through the past, as the two women set off to find Armin, Lejla's brother who disappeared towards the end of the Bosnian War. Presumed dead by everyone else, only Lejla and Sara believed Armin was still alive.
Confronted with their limits of memory, Sara is forced to reconsider the things she thought she understood as a girl: the best friend she loved, the first experiences they shared, but also the social and religious lines that separated them, that brought them such different lives.
MY THOUGHTS
Bastašic's EU Prize-winning debut follows a Yugoslav-born woman's journey through Bosnia after returning home. Sara now resides in Dublin with her partner, until she receives a desperate call from her childhood best friend Lejla. After twelve years of not being in contact with one another, the two women set off on a road trip to Vienna to help find Lejla's older brother, Armin.
Along the way, Sara reflects on memories back in school, birthday parties, a white rabbit, and encounters with boys. Sara grew up in a very different household to Lejla, her father was a police officer and life was easier than Lejla's, where her family life was shaped by the politics of identity, and where she spent all her time at home confined by her troubled mother. As they unravel the events of their pasts, are they're fragmented memories a lie? If so then we don't know who to believe. Bosnia is Sara's rabbit hole, a confusing, disorientating place she has loathed to visit.
As they travel into the desolate regions of Bosnia that are still bearing scars from the war, Sara realises that Lejla has designed a 'better' version her, while Sara is still holding onto the childhood Lejla she once knew. With every new adventure and disturbing realisation for their search for Armin, the more the old Lejla slips away.
Both Sara and Lejla were equally relatable. With Lejla I understood her almost envious feelings towards Sara for being able to move away from Bosnia to start a new life. Lejla has had to take care of her mother and be in the constant shadow of her brother instead of creating a home of her own. In terms of my friendships it felt close to the feeling of my friends going off to university and me staying in my parental home because I hadn't decided on what career path I wanted to pursue.
Sara on the other hand, its more of her holding onto her friendship with the 'old' Lejla that I found familiar. I think we've all had a friend who we want to cling onto forever, but the more time you spend apart and discover new things, you begin to realise how much you both have grown into different people. You can see glimpses of them and your memories of the past with them, but ultimately you've outgrown each other. It's not a bad thing to happen, but I know it can be upsetting to lose someone who you were once inseparable with. What you have left is the memories of them and you from a different time.
With Lejla and Sara, we can see that Sara has put Lejla in such a high regard all of her life, for example Lejla appears to 'do' things before Sara, like kissing a boy or getting her period first. Sara constantly shares how jealous she is of Lejla and how badly she wants to keep up with her, be her even. Again, I think we've all had similar experiences like this with our friends growing up.
Catch The Rabbit brilliantly captures the complexities of female friendships, reconsidering what we understood in our past, and watching those we love to fall off the high pedestals we put them on. This is an instant classic and must-read debut from an incredibly talented author.
*gifted. I received a proof copy of this title from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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