Novel set largely in GEORGIA (the American South)
Catherine the Great and the Small
Location(s): Montenegro
Genre(s): Fiction
Era(s): 1980s - Present Day
Catherine the Great and the Small opens in Montenegro, in the sundrenched summer of 1978. School’s just let out and our protagonist’s head is full of Boney M lyrics and playing ‘cops and robbers’ with her summer crush. Then tragedy rips the heart from her little family and Catherine’s life takes on a new trajectory.
Told as a memoir, the novel follows Catherine’s journey to find her place in the world, taking us through the turbulent history of the Balkan region along the way.
Catherine the Great and the Small offers insights into the historical, social, political and cultural context of life in Montenegro and Serbia, but above all it is one woman’s story: her choices, her loves, her lessons learnt the hard way, her life.
The dynamic storytelling and realism of the geographic settings make this a memorable and convincing novel. Olja Knežević’s writing creates a strong sense of intimacy for the reader, both with her carefully-crafted, imperfect characters and the region in which they live.
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