So far, this has been one truly fabulous read.

I ordered it from Amazon after coming across an amazing sentence from it that was quoted in Francine Prose's "Reading Like A Writer".

Little did I realize that it was the size of a cinderblock. When I hoisted it up, I couldn't help but wonder to myself, how on earth could an author manage to hold someone's interest for a whopping 1200 pages?

The answer lies in the masterful combination of history, travel writing, and warm, clear-eyed descriptions of people.

It is extremely beautiful.

As I read, I feel as if I am embarking on a journey through a beautiful country, accompanied by a charming and knowledgeable companion.

The author's ability to bring the story and the settings to life is truly remarkable.

Each page is filled with vivid details and engaging narratives that keep me hooked from start to finish.

This book is not just a read; it is an experience that transports you to another world.

I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good story and wants to be swept away by the power of words.

Wow! I think this has been my biggest "reading project" so far.

It took me almost 10 months to get through it. But, there's just so much to it.

A great view of how things were, why were they that way, all intertwined with the personal experience of the writer going through it. This book truly is a gem, at least for someone coming from the area.

It was a long journey for Rebecca through Yugoslavia in the 40's, and it's a long journey going with her while reading this book. However, it's a journey that is richly rewarding. There is so much to pick up from it.

We get to witness the historical events unfold through her eyes, understand the cultural and social context of that time.

The details she provides are so vivid that it's as if we are right there with her.

It's not just a story of her travels but also a reflection on life, love, and the human spirit.

This book has opened my eyes to a world that I knew little about before, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to have read it.

A truly phenomenal travelogue and history of the Balkans awaits within the pages of this remarkable work. Spanning well over 1000 pages, it is an absolute delight that never once allows the reader to become bogged down by an excess of detail. In all honesty, I highly doubt I could ever come across a better travel book. Rebecca West was an incredibly brilliant writer, her words painting vivid pictures of the Balkans. It is such a great shame that she hardly ever gets a mention in contemporary times. There is so much more to discover and explore within this captivating account, and I look forward to delving deeper into its rich tapestry of stories and history.

I am writing this comment in French because there are already many excellent reviews in the English language available on Good Reads.

During her lifetime, Rebecca West was considered one of the most important writers in England. For this reason, Queen Elizabeth named her Dame Commander (DBE) in 1959, which is the female equivalent of Sir.

Rebecca West's novels had their merits, but her masterpiece is undoubtedly this strange book that is a history of Yugoslavia disguised as a travel book and which also contains a very striking analysis of the social and political reality of Europe on the eve of the Second World War. West's thesis, which has aged very well, is as follows:

-1- The greatest danger for Europe is the omnipresent idea among the Germans that the Germans were the natural masters of the Slavic peoples. Therefore, the desire of the Slavs to live freely without German yoke was an outrage.

-2- It was the right to rule over the Slavs that the Germans believed they possessed that was the fundamental cause that led to the outbreak of the First World War.

-3- Because the attitudes of the Germans towards the Slavs had not changed since the First World War, a Second World War was inevitable. Once again, the fire would have to start in Yugoslavia.

-4- The English should quickly arm themselves in order to prepare for an inevitable war.

-5- The attitudes of the Germans towards the Jews had greatly deteriorated in the past five years. Therefore, the Jews were also likely to pay a high price when the war broke out.

This is a rather good analysis and prediction. Her only mistake was not to predict that the war would break out in Poland rather than in Yugoslavia.

One reads this extraordinary book for the praise of Yugoslavia, which should have been a great country but which was destroyed by the twists and turns of history.

That was a long one.

It felt like an eternity had passed during that particular event or experience. The minutes seemed to stretch into hours, and the hours into what felt like an endless period of time.

Every moment dragged on, and it was as if time itself had decided to play a cruel trick.

The anticipation, the waiting, or perhaps the task at hand was so arduous that it made the whole thing seem interminable.

There were times when one might have thought it would never come to an end.

But finally, as all things do, it did conclude.

Looking back, it's hard to believe how long it actually was, but the memory of that extended duration still lingers, serving as a reminder of just how challenging or significant that particular "long one" truly was.

Good gravy, this author truly has an amazing gift for writing!

The prose in this book is some of the finest I've ever come across. It's not only beautiful but also makes perfect sense.

Just listen to this:

"Proust has pointed out that if one goes on performing any action, however banal, long enough, it automatically becomes ‘wonderful’: a simple walk down a hundred yards of village street is ‘wonderful’ if it is made every Sunday by an old lady of ninety. Franz Josef had for so long risen from his camp bed at four o’clock in the morning and worked twelve or fourteen hours on his official papers that he was recognized as one of the most ‘wonderful’ of sovereigns, almost as ‘wonderful’ as Queen Victoria, though he had shown no signs of losing in age the obstinacy and lack of imagination that made him see it as his duty to preserve his court as a morgue of etiquette and his Empire as a top-heavy anachronism. He was certain of universal acclamation not only during his life but after his death, for it is the habit of the people, whenever an old man mismanages his business so that it falls to pieces as soon as he dies, to say, ‘Ah, So-and-so was wonderful! He kept things together so long as he was alive, and look what happens now he has gone!’"

You could base an entire business book around this quote, yet she just throws it out there as if it were nothing and continues on for another twelve hundred pages.

Listen to this as well:

"The conspirators blew open the door of the palace with a dynamite cartridge which fused the electric lights, and they stumbled about blaspheming in the darkness, passing into a frenzy of cruelty that was half terror. The King and Queen hid in a secret cupboard in their bedroom for two hours, listening to the searchers grow cold, then warm, then cold again, then warm, and at last hot, and burning hot. The weakling King was hard to kill: when they threw him from the balcony they thought him doubly dead from bullet wounds and sword slashes, but the fingers of his right hand clasped the railing and had to be cut off before he fell to the ground, where the fingers of his left hand clutched the grass. Though it was June, rain fell on the naked bodies in the early morning as they lay among the flowers."

Rebecca West takes nothing for granted. Everything she reads about or sees during her years of studying and visiting the Balkans, she examines with such intensity that she seems to enter into the person, place, or thing and explore it from all angles, both external and internal, before picking out the most interesting details and presenting them on the page.

Now listen to this about some Germans she met who were complaining about the Nazis raising their taxes:

"It was disconcerting to be rushing through the night with this carriageful of unhappy muddlers, who were so nice and so incomprehensible, and apparently doomed to disaster of a kind so special that it was impossible for anybody not of their blood to imagine how it could be averted. Their helplessness was the greater because they had plainly a special talent for obedience."

And this quote about Yugoslavia:

"A State which fights and believes it has a moral right to fight, and would give up either fighting or religion if it felt the two inconsistent."

Or this quote about a church service, which is objectively existentially terrifying yet also so, so beautiful:

"From this divided congregation came a flood of song which asked for absolutely nothing, which did not ape childhood, which did not pretend that sour is sweet and pain wholesome, but which simply adored. If there be a God who is fount of all goodness, this is the tribute that should logically be paid to Him; if there be only Goodness, it is still a logical tribute. And again the worship, like their costume, was made astonishing by their circumstance. These people, who had neither wealth nor security, nor ever had had them, stood before the Creator and thought not what they might ask for but what they might give. To be among them was like seeing an orchard laden with apples or a field of ripe wheat endowed with a human will and using it in accordance with its own richness."

This is the tone of the entire book: A masterful observer and writer who has either happened upon some of the world's most fascinating people during one of the most interesting times in history, or who is so talented that any people and time she chose would seem just as extraordinary. Good gravy.

Well, it's been several months, and I still haven't managed to pen a review that can fully encapsulate this incredibly insightful, powerful, and complex (yes, and sometimes problematic) reading experience. However, I did jot down notes as I read, mainly for my own benefit. So what follows isn't a traditional review per se, but rather a collection of jumbled impressions and quotes. (For more quotes, check out all the status updates below this review). Hopefully, these notes will prove useful to someone else as well.

The Prologue sets the stage, providing essential background information and history leading up to the region, including the preconditions of WWI. It's fascinating stuff, and spending extra time understanding this (perhaps by reading other accounts of these same events) will be well worth it. West's opinionated, thoughtful, and deeply personal interpretation of history is far more engaging than any history textbook, although it can be a bit challenging to follow at times as she doesn't always explain everything.

In Part 2: Croatia, we are introduced to several characters. Constantine, a 46-year-old Serb, Jew (although the combination of being Serb and Jew is somewhat confusing), poet, and government official from Serbia, is a talkative, fat man who is pro-Yugoslavia. Valetta, a 26-year-old lecturer in mathematics and a Croat from Dalmatia, is described as "archaic" and statue-like, likeable and charming, but also capable of being severe and martyr-ical. Marko Gregorievitch, a 56-year-old tall, gloomy man, is a fervent pro-Yugoslavian who fought for Croat rights.

The book then takes us through various regions, including Dalmatia, where West and her husband travel from coastal town to coastal town, sharing their history and her impressions. In Part 4: Expedition, they visit Tsavtat (Cavtat, Croatia) and Perast (Montenegro), among other places, and encounter interesting people and landscapes. The description of the landscape in Tsavtat is particularly vivid: "and where there were some square yards of level ground there were thick-trunked patriarchal planes, with branches enough to cover an army of concubines. The sea looked poverty-stricken, because, being here without islands, it had no share in this feast served up by the rising sap."

Part 5: Herzogovina delves into the history and culture of the region, including the story of Jeanne Merkus and the Republic of Dubrovnik. West also comments on the treatment of Muslims in the Balkans, sometimes coming across as a bit harsh. In Part 6: Bosnia, the book reaches a高潮 with three chapters on the assassination of Franz and Sophie, their burial, and the fate of the conspirators. These chapters are some of the most interesting and well-written history accounts I've ever read, providing a detailed and nuanced look at this momentous event.

The book then moves on to Serbia and Macedonia, exploring their complex histories and cultures. In Serbia, we learn about the various rulers and dynasties, while in Macedonia, the focus is more on Constantine and Gerda, and a rite of fertility that has been performed for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. The final part, Old Serbia, deals with the history of Kosovo and the battles lost there, as well as the introduction of the gray falcon, which represents a continuation of the concept of the Black Lamb.

Overall, this book is a tour de force, filled with rich historical detail, powerful insights, and beautiful writing. It's not an easy read, but it's well worth the effort. Like the author, I find myself torn between admiration and criticism, but I can't deny the impact this book has had on me. It's a book that I will continue to think about and revisit for years to come.

Well, I finally managed to make my way through "Black Lamb and Grey Falcon", and it feels somewhat like concluding a political campaign; it was grueling, had its moments of fun, seemed never-ending... and once you've accomplished it, you don't desire to think about it again for an extremely long time.

The book is truly remarkable in its scope. As a resident of the former Yugoslavia, I typically found it quite interesting. Her explorations into history were very engaging (albeit unreferenced and lacking any footnotes), and her cultural overviews were often entertaining.

However, a few aspects of this opus really got on my nerves. Firstly, there was almost nothing about Slovenija! I truly don't comprehend this, especially in a book as comprehensive as "BLGF". Next, she gets overly fixated on Gerta, a "rival" and an apparent representative of the German people. I almost become angry when I consider how many pages I had to endure reading about this inconsequential woman and why Rebecca West didn't like her.

West is also certain that she can precisely identify the qualities that define a Slav, or a Serb, or a Montenegrin, or a... you name it. I suppose it was beneficial to her when writing such a book, but it doesn't sit well (at least for me) when I read it now.

Overall, there are too many positive aspects to completely pan the book, and I indeed plowed through all 1150 pages. But at the end, I was just relieved to have finished it. I can't say that I would recommend it to anyone who isn't already deeply interested in the former Yugoslavia, but it does have some value.

In a nutshell, I learned an abundance of things from this book.

Since English is not my native language, certain parts were not overly straightforward to understand. However, I did not skip a single sentence, and it truly was worthwhile.

Moreover, I will, without a doubt, follow in her footsteps at some point and travel to all the places she has been.

This book has not only broadened my knowledge but also kindled a sense of adventure within me.

The detailed descriptions of the various locations have made me eager to experience them firsthand.

I am excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and look forward to embarking on this journey of exploration.

It is my hope that through this adventure, I will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of different cultures and ways of life.

Overall, this book has had a profound impact on me and has inspired me to pursue my dreams of travel and discovery.

This is truly one of the most remarkable books I have ever had the pleasure of opening. However, it presents a rather daunting challenge with its whopping 1200 pages!

I couldn't help but think that I might still be engrossed in reading this hefty tome when they come to wheel me away to the nursing home, assuming, of course, that I am still capable of reading by then.

But, against all odds, I finally managed to finish it! And let me tell you, it was absolutely amazing! Now that I'm done, I'm afraid I'm going to experience some serious withdrawal symptoms.

I find myself longing for more of Rebecca West's brilliant writing. In fact, I wish she had written a history of every single region of the world. Alas, that is not the case.

So, I guess I'll just have to content myself with reading this one again, even if it means spending another three years poring over its pages. But it will be well worth it, I'm sure.

Great book!

This remarkable work offers clear and profound insights into the reasons why the Balkans have persistently been a troubled area. It delves deep into the complex historical, cultural, and political factors that have contributed to the region's turmoil over the centuries. Moreover, it explores why all of this matters in today's world, highlighting the far-reaching implications and connections that the Balkans have with the global stage.

To truly understand and tie it all together, one must read "Balkan Ghosts" by Kaplan. This book serves as a comprehensive guide, unraveling the mysteries and providing a holistic view of the Balkan region. Kaplan's detailed research and engaging writing style make it an essential read for anyone interested in history, politics, or international relations. It offers a unique perspective that helps to shed light on the often misunderstood and overlooked aspects of the Balkans, making it a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of this fascinating and troubled area.

Just Wonderful!

In the period between the two world wars, Rebecca West and her husband embarked on extensive travels through the Balkans. This detailed account of their journey is truly fascinating from start to finish. It is presented from the perspective of a woman who was well aware of the horrors of The First World War. Although she suspected that the next war would be even worse, she didn't know for sure. The book is rich with historical references, which made me realize how little I know about Balkan history and how deeply the author had delved into its study. Additionally, the book is dotted with observations that I assume were rather typical of the English educated classes at that time. For instance, the desperately poor peasants she encountered seemed to be "noble savages," their nobility remaining untouched by the corruption of modern life. Rebecca West was a complex woman, and this book, perhaps her finest work, vividly showcases that complexity.