This was a library book that proved to be an interesting read. Camille de Toledo is the nom de plume of Alexis Mitral a french essayist and writer now based in Berlin. This book is described as a novel, but the majority of it is set out in poetical form with some short chapters in prose. The narrater is on a train journey travelling in Eastern Europe and he is accompanied by a twelve year old boy Elias. The narrater wants to be a father figure for Elias who speaks a different language to him. The countryside flashing past the window is described and so is an old woman a mother figure sitting opposite Elias. The narrater looks down the carriage and sees a man who is causing his fellow passengers to recoil in apprehension, it is at this point that the reader starts to realise that this is perhaps not a real train journey. The narrater talks to Elias and the theme of his conversation is the war in Europe after the break up of Yugoslavia, he impresses on the boy that he is a man of the 20th century with guilt and blood on his hands, but the boy Elias has a chance to live peacefully in the 21st century.

They get off the train in Mostar now in the federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the scene of fierce conflict in the Yugoslav wars, they visit the famous bridge "Stari Most" that crosses the Neretva river and watch the children making the dangerous jump into the water to collect coins thrown in by tourists. They then walk to the life size statue of Bruce Lee erected in 2005 in a nearby park. The narrater suggests that this crazy statue of an American actor exemplifying a Chinese martial arts tradition was the only compromise possible for the Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks after the wars. There are martial arts schools in Mostar popular with the young, but this is hardly a statue that looks forward to a peaceful existence. In the conclusion to the book the narrater seems to be recalling his own childhood and the two faces of his father always hard at work at his desk, whose only words of wisdom seemed to be that his son should create his own world. The narrater remembers filling his bedroom with figures from American super hero comics.

The book although not always easy to grasp spoke to me in some moments. I remember standing on the original Bridge in Mostar before the wars (it was destroyed and has since been rebuilt). The narrater also talks about climbing the Buddha statues at Bamien Afghanistan, which I also did before they were destroyed by the Taliban. There was also another reference to Robert Musil who I keep coming across in my reading:

"un histoire du vertige de Robert Musil à Bruce Lee"

A book that has put down a marker for me for the work of Camille de Toledo and so 3.5 stars. ( )