Montenegro
by Starling Lawrence
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Description
English traveller, Auberon Harwell happens upon a remote valley in the mountains of Montenegro with World War I a dark prophecy on the horizon. Posing as a botanist, but in reality a confidential agent of an English peer, he becomes involved in the regions' tangled politics and passions.Tags
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Member Reviews
An historical thriller set prior to World War One in the mountainous world of the Montenegran Serbs. A young British agent sent on a covert mission becomes involved with the fortunes of the Serbian family. The agents’ position becomes further complicated when he falls in love with his host’s wife.
It's good to have some knowledge of world affairs and the Balkans is one of those perennial trouble-spots whose history has had lasting effect on the course of modern history. Years ago when I first read it, the subject matter was particularly topical. At the time I had a number of immigrant friends from all sides of the Bosnian conflict who had fled from the warzone. Reading this novel, I found my limited interpretation of the Serbian show more character somewhat confirmed, somewhat challenged, and considerably added to. I also enjoyed the romance. It was all delivered via an evocative writing-style – which I found quietly reminiscent of Joseph Conrad. show less
It's good to have some knowledge of world affairs and the Balkans is one of those perennial trouble-spots whose history has had lasting effect on the course of modern history. Years ago when I first read it, the subject matter was particularly topical. At the time I had a number of immigrant friends from all sides of the Bosnian conflict who had fled from the warzone. Reading this novel, I found my limited interpretation of the Serbian show more character somewhat confirmed, somewhat challenged, and considerably added to. I also enjoyed the romance. It was all delivered via an evocative writing-style – which I found quietly reminiscent of Joseph Conrad. show less
An exciting novel that is refreshingly different. Set in 1908 in Montenegro, Auberon Harwell is an English man travelling and posing as a botanist. After meeting a young teacher he travels to a remote farm house near the Kosovo, Albanian border and stays with a family there. This is the border between the two empires, the Ottomans and the Austro-Hungarians and there is tension. The farm is run by Danilo, a Montengran warrior and hero and he lives with his son Toma and his wife Sofia. Auberon spends his days studying the plants in the remote valleys and helping on the farm and observing. The novel builds to an exciting finale. Excellent read.
Superb setting, characters & plot. And--SURPRISE!--most timely (again) after recent events in Montenegro.
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Author Information
4+ Works 347 Members
Starling Lawrence is the editor-in-chief at the W.W. Norton publishing company. After many years as an editor, he had a chance to see the publishing business from a different perspective, when he became a published author in 1996. Legacies is a collection of short stories, each focusing on an illuminating moment or event that changes the course of show more a character's life. Legacies was followed by Montenegro, a historical novel set in the Balkans, when Montenegro was a small but independent principality. A combination espionage thriller and love story, Montenegro takes place in 1908, against the formation of the "Black Hand", a Serb terrorist group that was responsible for the 1914 murder of the Austrian archduke in Sarajevo, an event that precipitated World War I. Lawrence has received The Sewanee Review's Lytle Prize and the Virginia Quarterly Review's Balch prize for his fiction. He lives in New York City. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1997
- Important places
- Montenegro; Serbia
- Important events
- World War I (1914 | 1918)
- Epigraph
- Let come these things men thought could never be;
Let Hell devour; let Satan swing his scythe:
Still graveyard turf shall bring forth many a flower,
For coming kindreds in Time's later Hour!
---from Gorski Vi... (show all)jenac (The Mountain Wreath)
by Peter Njegoš, Prince-Bishop of Montenegro 1830-51 - Dedication
- For L. C., always
- First words
- "Let there be light," he said, in a tone between mockery and reverence.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Night would have fallen by the time they reached Cetinje, but there would be a magnificent sunset for them somewhere near the top of the pass, and he was now quite familiar with the way.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance
- DDC/MDS
- 813.54 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PS3562 .A9155 .M66 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 1961-
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 165
- Popularity
- 198,338
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.24)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 4
