Better watch what you dig up on the job. It could be a
metaphor for something bigger. Former cop Vlado Petric of Sarajevo got his
family out of what was left of Yugoslavia and settled in Berlin. Now he works
construction doing site preparation for German builders. On one dig, he comes
across an underground bunker that was a rest haven for SS drivers. Walking
through the bunker brings back some chilling memories of Vlado.
Seemingly
out of nowhere, an American working for the war crimes tribunal in The Hague
contacts Vlado to see if he’d be interested in doing a little undercover work
in Serbia. The tribunal has been on the trail of a World War 2 Croatian officer
accused of genocide. Seems the Croatian sided with the Nazi’s and what was done
to ethnic minorities rivaled what the Nazi’s did. But to get to this guy, the
tribunal has to get to a younger version who also committed atrocities during
the break up of Yugoslavia. This piece of work is to be lured out with the
offer of grants to remove mines and Vlado is tabbed to make contact. If
successful, the tribunal suggests that Vlado and his family would be able to go
back home.
After
agreeing, Vlado and his American contact head to Croatia, but at each step,
Vlado learns bit by bit just how and why the tribunal came to select him to do
this job. And like digging up that bunker in Berlin, one can be quite surprised
at what one digs up when they keep digging, and most of the reasons point to
Vlado’s father who never really addressed the question of “what did you do in
the war, Daddy.” Was his role in WWII what Vlado thought or was it worse? And
why did his dad go to Italy after the war and stay for 15 years? The more you
dig, the more surprises unfold.
Fesperman
is a journalist from Baltimore who has covered a number of hostilities so his
attention to historical detail is critical in setting the scene at both the end
of WWII and after the Balkin war. Each day is like rolling away another stone
hiding some detail of the conflict and just who and what Vlado’s father was.
This book
is Fesperman’s 2nd and I think it would have been better to have
read the first novel, "Life in the Dark," where Vlado is introduced and the
reasons behind why he had to leave his home so suddenly. Despite that, the
circuitous path followed by Vlado is curious enough to keep you tuned
attentively to the details. I’m certain more Fesperman books will be reviewed
here. Thanks again to Jack the Librarian for suggesting Fesperman’s books.
By the way, the slightly pretentious title is actually a line from
an old Slavic poem.
East Coast Don
