SHORT-LISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION. A timeless story of strife and hope set during the conflict in the Balkans in the early '90s--a searing debut novel about a woman who faces the war on her doorstep with courage, fierceness, and an unshakable belief in the power of art. "A reflective novel about dark times that tells us life goes on, love stories develop, humanity remains in the most inhumane of times." --Irish Independent Sarajevo, spring 1992. Each night, nationalist gangs erect makeshift barricades, splitting the city into ethnic enclaves. Each morning, the people who live there--whether Muslim, Croat, or Serb--push the barriers aside. When violence erupts and becomes, finally, unavoidable, Zora, an artist and teacher, sends her husband and elderly mother to safety in England. She stays behind, reluctant to believe that hostilities will last more than a few weeks. As the city falls under siege, everything she loves about her home is laid to waste, black ashes floating over the rooftops. Yet Zora and her friends find ways to rebuild themselves, over and over. Told with breathtaking immediacy, this is a story of disintegration, resilience, and hope--a stirring debut from a commanding new voice.

Black Butterflies: A novel

Literature & Fiction

Morris, Priscilla

Literary

KNOPF

Black Butterflies: the exquisitely crafted debut novel that captures life inside the Siege of Sarajevo

’Chillingly resonant with the scenes unfolding in Ukraine, Black Butterflies is a book for our time’ 
SARAH BURTON\n–––––––––––– 
SAREJEVO. SPRING 1992. 
Each night, nationalist gangs erect barricades, splitting the diverse city into ethnic enclaves; each morning, the residents – whether Muslim, Croat or Serb – push the makeshift barriers aside. 
When violence finally spills over, Zora, an artist and teacher, sends her husband and elderly mother to safety with her daughter in England. Reluctant to believe that hostilities will last more than a handful of weeks, she stays behind while the city falls under siege. As the assault deepens and everything they love is laid to waste, black ashes floating over the rooftops, Zora and her friends are forced to rebuild themselves, over and over. Theirs is a breathtaking story of disintegration, resilience and hope. 
–––––––––––– 
*MORE PRAISE FOR BLACK BUTTERFLIES* 
’Moving, compelling, deeply human' 
EMMA STONEX, bestselling author of The Lamplighters 
'An astonishingly good debut' 
LIZ NUGENT, author of Our Little Cruelties 
’The best contemporary novel I have read for a long while’ 
SARAH BURTON, author of The Strange Adventures of H 
’Intensely evocative and deeply moving… I held my breath as a I read’ 
RUTH GILLIGAN, RSL Ondaatje Prize-winning author of The Butchers 
’Dark and yet starkly beautiful' 
AMINATTA FORNA, author of The Hired Man 
’Beautifully written and hauntingly evocative' 
SAM BYERS, author of Perfidious Albion 
’An elegy to the vibrant and inclusive society' 
KEVIN SULLIVAN, author of The Longest Winter 
’Immersive, incredible, a must-read' 
KAREN ANGELICO, author of Everything We Are

Contemporary

Duckworth

Introducing Shakespeare to Young People

Oberon Books

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