Book Review of The Illyrian Way by Dearta Logu Fusaro

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By Edward Ahern

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      I picked up this book expecting a pleasant travelogue and was blown away.

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      Firstly, by the physical book. ‘Fine’ books these days are mostly leather bindings, gilt lettering and shaded paper. Not this one. The in-your-face front and back covers each have four differently sized cut out circles emblematic of the different cultures and cuisines involved in the Balkans. The spine is clear and reveals, in addition to the stitching, color shades again symbolizing the differing regions.

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      The book is quite literally a page turner, with a surprise at every turning. I could not guess what would show up when I turned- probably a hundred pictures, including two-page spreads, poems in original language and translation, recipes, text in various type faces and sizes, and vibrant colors with reverse text. Just enough of the native languages are sprinkled through to provide authenticity and a reader’s sense that he or she is there.

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      The book isn’t a wrist straining heavy weight. With 278 pages and a roughly seven inch by eight-and-a-half-inch size it’s literally an easy read.

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      Once I got past the book’s physical presence the writing– clear, intensely personal and immersive took over. Dearta Logu Fusaro is Albanian by ancestry, attuned to the region before making several trips to it. The writing and descriptions are homey in the best sense of that word. No pretentious tours of castles or visits with prime ministers, rather almost bucolic renderings of villages and customs. She doesn’t ignore the previous warfare and atrocities undergone in these seven countries, but keeps her face firmly in the present, looking at customs and people in restorative ways. The closest I came to this region was big cities in Greece and Turkey, and I envied her the chance to ramble, rediscover her roots, and engage in months-long cultural pilgrimages.

 

      Here are examples, selected at random:

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      ‘The Bosnian and Herzegovina portion of the trail is a route in which massive waves of Islam and Christianity can be experienced by any hiker. These waves are akin to two oceans colliding and sending their ripples into one another, from city to village to katun or selo.’

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      And at another turning of the page, a bright red, textile patterned background with a quote – ‘Kitti se tudim perjem,’ translated below the quote as ‘Dress yourself in borrowed feathers. i.e. Take credit for someone else’s deeds.’ At about $65 the book isn’t a casual purchase, but is an engaging, absorbing portrayal of a little known but often fought over portion of our world. Obtainable through 27-Press.com and Libri Bookstore in Yorktown Heights, NY. 

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      Edward Ahern

 

Ed Ahern resumed writing after forty odd years in foreign intelligence and international sales. He’s had over 600 stories and poems published so far, and twelve books. He works the other side of writing at Bewildering Stories where he squats on the review board, and at Scribes Micro, where he’s the idle figurehead.