Catch the Rabbit

By: Lana Bastašic

Narrated by: Tanya Cubric

Sara hasn't seen or heard from her childhood best-friend, Lejla, in years. She's comfortable with her life in Dublin, with her partner, their avocado plant and their naturist neighbour. But when Lejla calls and demands she come home to Bosnia, Sara finds that she can't say no.

What begins as a road trip becomes a journey through the past, as the two women set off to find Armin, Lejla's brother, who disappeared towards the end of the Bosnian War. Presumed dead by everyone else, only Lejla and Sara believed Armin was still alive.

Confronted with the limits of memory, Sara is forced to reconsider the things she thought she understood as a girl: the best friend she loved, the first experiences they shared, but also the social and religious lines that separated them, that brought them such different lives.

Translated into English by Lana Bastašic, Catch the Rabbit tells the story of how we place the ones we love on pedestals, and then wait for them to fall off, how loss marks us indelibly and how the traumas of war echo down the years.

©2021 Lana Bastašic (P)2021 Macmillan Publishers International Limited

Critic reviews

"Two young women plunging into post-war Bosnia like two Alices into Wonderland...smart, energetic, passionate, announcing a major talent." (Aleksandar Hemon)

Lovely tale of two best friends

Loved the descriptions, it’s a story about two best girl friends in a somewhat surrealistic setting. If you are from Bosnia it’s especially recognisable but I think it’s very interesting for everybody to hear this story.