As someone who has been living here for 15 years, I can assert with confidence that the person who penned this book is truly an asshole.

It is blatantly evident that this is a mere cash grab. The author dramatizes the misery of others to satisfy her own superior complex. She takes advantage of the Serbs' renowned hospitality, despite the fact that it was repeatedly and painfully clear that she was unwanted and unwelcome. Somehow, she manages to depict them as backward-thinking, moonshine-drinking sheep who only chant a collectively delusional love for their acting president.

What she will never fathom, and what I gleaned from her painfully poorly written 340-page tome, is that she has no respect for others' mourning. She shows no regard for others' religion and mocks their beliefs, such as the Mary statue myth of granting a wish.

She pursues people who want nothing to do with her. She drinks excessively and consumes the rations of a starving nation that the hosts have sacrificed from their own mouths and those of their families in a war-torn country where people queue up in front of grocery stores for basic necessities like sugar, flour, and washing powder.

She has no qualms about eating meat, cheese, and deviled eggs (which we, by the way, only consume on red holidays like Easter and Christmas) in front of a fasting family just before Easter. She sneaked into the country under false pretenses of visiting friends, even though it was prohibited for journalists to enter precisely because of this sensationalization of the national uproar.

She omits the crucial element of why Serbians detested the Kosovo refugees. The whole picture is as follows: they arrive here with nothing but a goat strapped to their backs, yet they receive a fully furnished house, a car, and a monthly allowance from the government, funded by taxpayers' money, which has still not been replenished and is merely a temporary fix for the worst holes in our national blanket. They are uncultured, loud, obnoxious, and arrogant. They tear up the flooring and use it as firewood, for which we, the tax-paying citizens, have to save three months' worth of a full paycheck. And they got all of this for free. Naturally, the people were furious when they received only an expired Hershey bar in the America care package, while the refugees were cared for, did not work, and had no intention of working in their lives, and the average Serb was expected to simply accept it at face value.

We have a bakery owner from Kosovo who, ever since I have lived here for the past 15 years, has made no effort to integrate into the community. He doesn't even greet anyone outside of his bakery when he has to, solely for business reasons.

His bakery is constantly moldy, and not many people purchase goods there, so it's all smoke and mirrors as to how he makes his money.

Coming back to the book, the author has a very petulant and degrading undertone. Considering how much she ate and rode around when petrol was a precious commodity in the entire country, if I were in her position, I would not have published this trash.

This book took me a solid two weeks to read, whereas normally I would finish a book of this length in four days, meaning it was a struggle. I have researched everyone in this book, and the closing "art" is very much like modern art of slapping butter. Altogether, the vibe of reading this book was like slapping butter modern art.

A cross section of Serbian society is interviewed before, during, and after Milosevic is arrested and tried at The Hague for mass murder during the Serbian/Croatian war.

These interviews provide a unique opportunity to gain personal perspectives on a complex and often confusing place and history.

Before the arrest, the interviewees offer their thoughts and feelings about Milosevic and the situation in Serbia.

During the trial, their reactions and opinions are captured, shedding light on how the proceedings are being received by the Serbian people.

After the trial, the interviews explore the impact of the verdict on Serbian society and the country's future.

I truly appreciate having access to these personal accounts, as they help to clarify and humanize a topic that has long been a source of confusion for me.

They offer a more nuanced understanding of the events and the people involved, and allow for a more in-depth exploration of the complex issues at play.

Overall, these interviews provide a valuable contribution to our understanding of Serbian history and society.

One of the things I noticed in common in all her books is how Seierstad talks about sisterhood. Her fellow reporter Bojana in Serbia, or in Iraq.

Back to “With their backs to the world”, the book came to life after three visits to Serbia between 1999 and 2004. She wanted to understand: “I couldn’t stop wondering about the Serbs, these outcasts of Europe. This people that started one war after the other, and lost them all.” And so she does and helps us understand.

I have to say that whenever I met Serbs, my brain was full of stereotypes from both western and eastern media. The book broadened my perception and I will look with a lot more compassion and empathy at anyone coming from a Serbia governed by Tito, Milošević and other subsequent governments. Seierstad talks to people and listens to them. She does not judge and offers no personal views. So that we take it unaltered from Serbs of different background, genders, age, social status, regions and income. By sharing their daily bread, she teleports us into their lives, dreams and regrets.

The lines I found insightful about the way Serbs think:

‘The bombing was the worst thing the West could do to us – it only validated Milosevic’s rhetoric about the West hating the Serbs. The West has committed a series of blunders in its dealings with Milosevic,’ Bojana explains.

‘I can’t let them down. I’m their voice, and I have to go after those in power, the new and the old.’ - a Serb journalist.

‘The media is another problem – journalists here have been taught to repeat what they’ve been told and have grown up in a culture of self-censorship. Most of them do what they’ve always done – they just have different bosses. And the new power base is happy to exploit the situation.”

‘The only way for a reconciliation to occur is by knowing the truth about what has happened here. So many atrocities have taken place, but in order to forgive I need to know who I am to forgive, and why. It will be a difficult and painful process, but we have to go through it in order to proceed. We need a truth commission, like in South Africa. If we don’t determine who is guilty of what, the entire nation will be guilty – just of being Serbs.’

“Because no one was ever held accountable for anything, people allow themselves to forget – or, rather, remember only the parts they want to remember.”

“And this is how so many wars have started in the Balkans – through stretching historical facts to fit an emotional state, through lying about everything from statistics to myths. Great wars start out as folk songs and camp-fire stories, and end in genocide and bloodbaths.”

‘The West should be ashamed. The bombing presented the opposition with enormous difficulties. At the last election I urged people to vote for a democracy styled on Western Europe, and then these very same democracies attack us. How am I supposed to justify this? I asked people to put their faith in the EU flag – and the next thing we know, we’re bombed by the EU!’

“The best way to shake people out of their inertia is to put them in debt. Then you give them the power to realise their dreams overnight, while ensuring that they’ll spend years paying for their dreams. This is the principle upon which the stability of the Western world rests.’

These insights provide a deeper understanding of the complex and often tragic history of Serbia and the Balkans. They also highlight the importance of truth, accountability, and reconciliation in moving forward and building a more peaceful and just future. Seierstad's work is a valuable contribution to our understanding of this region and its people.

An interesting group of stories about the Serbian conflict was presented.

At first, I had a great deal of trouble keeping all the people straight. There were so many names and characters involved that it was quite a challenge to distinguish one from another.

However, despite this initial difficulty, I found myself really liking all the different points of view. It was fascinating to see how each side presented their arguments and perspectives.

To be honest, this was not something I followed closely in the papers before. But after delving into these stories, I now feel more educated. I have gained a better understanding of the complex issues and events that took place during the Serbian conflict.

It has been an enlightening experience, and I look forward to learning more about similar historical events in the future.

If you find that you have failed in every other aspect of your life, it doesn't mean that all is lost. There is still one thing that you can always strive for, and that is to live honestly.

A Serbian proverb wisely states, 'If you fail at everything else in life, at least try to live honestly.' This simple yet profound statement holds a great deal of truth.

Honesty is a virtue that can bring a sense of peace and integrity to your life. Even when faced with failure and disappointment, being honest with yourself and others can help you to maintain your dignity and self-respect.

Moreover, living honestly can also have a positive impact on those around you. It can build trust and strengthen relationships, and it can inspire others to follow in your footsteps.

So, if you have experienced failure in life, don't give up. Instead, focus on living honestly and let this virtue guide you on your path forward.

Those who are interested in the history of the media image of the Balkans should take a look at this book, not so much because of its literary success, but rather because of its attempt to present the view of the 'hated other'. For example, someone from Serbia could better understand how certain collective attitudes resonate in the West, while someone from the West could gain an insight into the lively and diverse environment that, although it can hardly keep its head above water, still somehow manages to float. However, the necessity of such books and such research efforts, since the author was in Serbia several times during crucial moments (bombing, 5th October, the assassination of Đinđić), is that, so to speak, the domestic reader will never have the same view and the same implicit knowledge as an outsider. Nevertheless, it is not useless to try to take the position of the other in order to prevent misunderstandings.

Seen from today's perspective, some things in this book are surprisingly relevant, while others, thankfully, have been surpassed. The choice of people is interesting: from the cowardly Ljubiša Ristić, through the young Branko Đurić, who dreams of becoming the foreign minister, to Ramba Amadeus, who pretended to record a song with Osma (for those who are interested, the song is called Laganese). In addition, the conversations with ordinary people, outside the public sphere: priests, grandfathers, students, as well as the attempts to explain to someone from the outside our well-known customs and circumstances, are particularly interesting.

However, it should be noted that this is by no means an academic, anthropological-historical book, but rather non-fiction based on interviews transcribed into prose, which could be classified under the genre of writing about disasters. Hence, it is not surprising that after the book about Serbia, there were also books about Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, the massacre in Norway and Syria. The fact that the tone and approach are primarily journalistic, and only then research and literary, does not mean that what Osma does should be rejected, but rather that it should be seen within the framework in which she creates. This is one of the most important things in the practice of interpretation, which is surprisingly rarely mentioned: one must understand the format of a medium so that it is not misrepresented in the interpretation. If the code is lost, noise is created. Therefore, if someone shouts at the author for bias and personal coloring, they will not be wrong. However, if we read only and exclusively what we agree with, what is close to us and what suits us, this world would become even more sunken than it is.

I read the English translation. It would be interesting to see what changes there are in the Serbian translation. One can already be seen in the title, which precisely shows the attitude: Turning One's Back on the World: Portraits from Serbia. The Serbian translation has only a subtitle.

Asne delves into the Serbian perspectives regarding the conflict in the former Yugoslavia.

There are valid justifications for the Serbs to believe that the world is arrayed against them.

The complex web of historical, political, and ethnic factors has contributed to this perception.

The Serbs have endured significant hardships and losses during the conflict, which has led them to feel isolated and unjustly targeted.

Moreover, the international community's actions and responses may have, in their eyes, further compounded their sense of being under siege.

Asne's exploration aims to shed light on these Serbian views and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the conflict and its aftermath.

By examining the Serbian perspective, we can gain insights into the complex dynamics that shaped the events in the former Yugoslavia and perhaps work towards a more just and peaceful resolution.

A good narrative of many regular citizens who have lived through the Balkan mess.

Not having a thorough background of the atrocities that have taken place in that part of the world, I was truly surprised to hear of the reverie projected in Milosevic and Tito's way.

This account provides a very insightful look into the experiences and perspectives of those who have endured the turmoil.

It allows readers to gain a better understanding of the complex and often tragic history of the Balkans.

The stories of these regular citizens add a human touch to the historical events, making it easier to empathize with their struggles.

Overall, this narrative is a valuable contribution to the literature on the Balkan mess, offering a unique and engaging perspective.

It serves as a reminder of the importance of learning from history and working towards a more peaceful and just future.

3.5 stars

This book is a captivating collection of portraits of Serbians during the era around the fall of Milosevic. Seierstad's remarkable talent is evident as she managed to engage individuals from all corners of the political spectrum in conversations.

It offers a fascinating, yet somewhat melancholy, perspective on Serbia in the early 2000s.

Undoubtedly, this is a journalist's account rather than a historian's in-depth analysis. While it provides an interesting snapshot of life during that time, I still feel that I am not much closer to truly understanding the complex factors behind the outbreak of the war in the Balkans.

I yearn to explore this topic more deeply and perhaps need to seek out more comprehensive resources to fill the gaps in my knowledge. Any suggestions would be most welcome!

I look forward to delving further into this important and thought-provoking subject.

This book presents a series of portraits of individuals in Serbia, amassed during three visits spanning from 1999 to 2004. The protagonists encompass an elderly rural farmer, a priest, an émigré, and a rock star. It depicts a melancholy image of a nation relying on perhaps fictional past glories, floundering after the loss of robust leadership, and incapable of surmounting recent atrocities to commence rebuilding a healthy society.

Yesterday, I chanced upon a brief news excerpt regarding the fact that Belgium has endured without an elected government for 9 months yet is managing quite well. This prompts me to question whether we would all fare better without centralized political controls.

So much of what Serbia deems insurmountable is the consequence of political meddling by the British and Americans during WW2, as well as that of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires. All of these empires carved up the Balkan states in entirely arbitrary manners to conquer and divide their peoples. The movement of diverse ethnic groups and different religious factions, among other things, has transformed this into a Gordian knot that defies any effort to untangle and permit the area to progress constructively. I yearned for there to be some glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel, but I discerned none within the pages of this book. I was left with the heart-wrenching pleas of one Serb who had established a new life in Germany but had to set aside her longing to return home and any mention of her nationality in her new abode.

One does not obtain a clear understanding of how the interviews were carried out, nor how proficient the author was in the language. Moreover, there is little more than a very sketchy notion of the overall situation, aside from 7 pages at the beginning of the book.

This is a portrait of approximately a dozen Serbians as disclosed through interviews carried out from 2000 to 2004.

These individuals embody a diverse spectrum of economic, political, professional, educational, and generational demographics.

Some come from affluent backgrounds, while others struggle financially.

Politically, they hold a variety of views, from conservative to liberal.

In terms of profession, they span different fields such as medicine, law, business, and the arts.

Educationally, they have attained different levels of qualification, from high school diplomas to advanced degrees.

Generational differences are also evident, with some being part of the older generation and others belonging to the younger generation.

Together, they provide a rich and complex picture of Serbian society during that particular period.

While I truly enjoy Asne's long-term coverage of her wide-ranging subjects, I find myself deeply troubled by what appears to be a distinct bias against Serb beliefs. In my personal experience, it is inaccurate to assume that all Serbs hold such extremely strong or crystal-clear thoughts regarding the politics or the direction of their country. In fact, a significant number of Serbs do not conform to this one-sided stereotype. Some Serbs, without a doubt, have more Western-oriented views. They may have different perspectives on various aspects of life, including politics, culture, and society. It is essential to recognize and respect this diversity within the Serb community and not simply generalize or pigeonhole them based on a supposed bias. We should strive to understand the complexity and individuality of each Serb and avoid making unfounded assumptions that can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations.