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War novel / Literary Fiction
Publication Date: July 25, 2024
Page count: 320 pages
Maka, a young Bosnian soldier, has survived three years under siege. When the enemy forces launch their final attack on his hometown, he must escape to the hills. But traversing the vast woods is a task against all odds: to stay alive, and to find his infant son and his wife, he is soon forced to make a desperate move.Set against the harrowing background of raging guerrilla warfare and the genocide in Srebrenica, Father of One is, at heart, a story of deep humanity, compassion and love. It is the account of one man’s desire to reunite his family, separated by war, and of bonds unbroken by trauma, sustained by loyalty and tenacity. Writing in a voice that rings with clarity and authenticity, Jani Anttola lays open a dark moment in Europe’s recent history.
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This is it.
He would shoot some of them, then kill himself with the last one.
Maka counted his rounds. One in the chamber, four in the magazine. That was enough. And he had the grenade. He clipped off a cartridge and put it in his pocket. How many could he get? One? Two? More? He decided on three. A good number. He’d kill two on the road, then at least one more with the grenade when they stormed the house.
Three lives for his. It sounded like some sort of a deal.
He placed the muzzle of the automatic rifle into the rugged hole and took aim at the nearest soldier. He was about thirty metres away. Maka would drop him with a single slug. But when he looked at the man through the sights, over the blued metal of the gun, he felt bitter about dying this way. He knew the man outside was there to kill him and his kin, but what if he, too, was somebody’s father? He was probably in his forties and distantly resembled a clerk who had worked in the post office in Srebrenica. This Chetnik also wore a šajkača, with its V-shaped top making his head look like a pig’s hoof. He had a messy stubble and a moustache that seemed to hang from his long, thin nose, as he stood under the sun with weary eyes.
So, you’re here to kill me?
It’s you who’s going to die now. But I don’t do this because I like it.
If there were a way to leave this situation without killing anybody, let alone himself, Maka would do so. Just it was too late. It was far too much, and nothing could get it undone. He positioned the sights in the middle of the man’s chest and calmed his breathing down. He took the slack out of the trigger, until he felt the tiny resistance of the firing mechanism in his fingertip.
Raw, emotional, and suspenseful! Readers will be on the edges of their seats!
Father of One by Jani Anttola is the story of a young Bosnian soldier’s desperate struggle as he journeys across war zones and enemy territory to return to his wife and the toddler son he’s never met, after surviving the massacres in Srebrenica, the Srebrenica genocide, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Maka Delic was a soldier in the army, retreating before the Chetnik guerillas. Facing overwhelming numbers of men, weaponry, ammunition, and supplies, it is not long before his company is decimated; the survivors hunted like animals through the forested hills and mountains and executed. In the chaos, Maka manages to escape and decides to trek on foot across the border to a major city, where he can get help to reunite with his wife, Amelia, and son, Dino.
Maka is single-minded in striving to attain his goal and to accomplish
it without having to kill anyone. The descriptions of what he encounters along
the way, sure death around every bend in the track, trail, or river, are raw
and emotional. He meets others in similar circumstances as he hides and works
his way through the countryside as well as regular folk. Some are determined to
bring him in, while others are compassionate Serbians who help him as much as
they dare. His journey is filled with suspense and setbacks, “two steps forward
and one step back” each and every day.
I recommend FATHER OF ONE to readers of historical fiction.
The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
(Click the link below to enter!)
The book sounds very interesting and intense. I love books that hit my emotions.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like an awesome read. Thanks for sharing.
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