How The Soldier Repairs The Gramophone

How The Soldier Repairs The Gramophone by Saša Stanišić is the fictional story of a boy, Aleksander, growing up in Višegrad in Bosnia as the war begins in 1992. He and his family escape the violence to live in Germany and 10 years later Aleksander returns to see what has changed, find people from his past and capture his childhood memories. The story is told in an unusual way with flashbacks and imagination. As the story begins, Aleksander's beloved Grandpa dies suddenly and through the book there are references to him and to other characters in the town. As a child it is hard for Aleksander to make sense of the changes in his life as the "ethnic cleansing" begins in his town and he learns that your name determines whether you survive or not. Based around real events, the author has written in a beautiful and innovative manner, (sometimes challenging - but stick with it!), whimsical at times, as the reader understands better than Aleksander (as a child) what is happening. When he returns as an adult, he finds change but his love for his town and the River Drina on which it stands, remains constant. 4/5