A BOWL OF SOUR CHERRIES

by Yelena Franklin ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 30, 1998

A Yugoslavian-American writer debuts with the story of Anka, who returns from America to her native country--despite evidence of approaching civil war--to rescue her stubborn father from the ""old-folks home"" he has defiantly entered. Anka's journey triggers discordant (and, too often, disorganized) memories of her family and their culture that dominate an essentially shapeless narrative redeemed by intermittent vivid detail and especially by Franklin's affectionate portrayal of Anka's stoic father: A former socialist resistance fighter, he's a feisty, ribald survivor whose hot-blooded mixture of ""extreme romanticism with stubborn idealism"" gives the otherwise baggy first novel revivifying focus and strength.

Pub Date: March 30, 1998

ISBN: 1877727814

Page Count: 240

Publisher: White Pine

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998

Categories: FICTION