Rija never wanted to come to America, but when her husband Josef finds a way to get her, her mother, and their daughter out of war-torn Sarajevo, she knows coming along is better than staying behind. Unfortunately, Josef ditches them in less than a year, forcing Rija to figure things out in a country she still has much to learn about.

Edge of a Dream officially begins two years after Josef's disappearance.

Though Rija doesn't want to become a cleaning lady, her rent is too far behind for her to be too picky about where she works. Plus, she has a six-year-old daughter and a mother to provide for. Fowler hires her as an independent contractor on the spot. As long as she avoids him in any private area where he can easily get his hands on her, the job is a great way for her to start her new life - a life where she can get by without Josef and the welfare checks.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, Josef and Sergei are working a shady job for a man named Nick. Nick gets the twelve-thousand, they get a cut. The first part of the mission, collecting 12k from the Japanese businessman, goes well. Things don't get really bad until Sergei and Josef split apart and Sergei makes the unfortunate mistake of leaving the money with Josef.

All Josef had to do was hold the money for an hour. Instead, he sees a pretty girl at a second-rate casino, takes out five-thousand from Nick's money in order to impress her, and then promptly loses that money almost instantly.

This is when my hatred for Josef shot through the wall and my toleration hit the bottom. Sure, readers should pretty much detest him the moment they learn he's the type of scum who takes his family to America and ditches them without a word. That bothered me, but not as much as his carelessness. Seriously, why couldn't he have waited until after Nick gave him his cut to chase a pretty girl? Why put his and Sergei's lives in danger for something so very stupid? Even if he was feeling confident, that was a move that reminded me of that scene from Pulp Fiction when Vincent leaves his gun on the kitchen table and gets shot with his own gun as a result.

Stupidity on that scale seems earned. From that point forward, I felt like any terrible thing that happened to Josef was earned. I wanted to feel sorry for Josef. As the story went on, there are a series of flashbacks that explained all the bad experiences Josef (and Rija) lived through in Sarajevo - the war, the death of his mother, sending his beloved sisters off to a place he wouldn't be able to see them...

I understand that not all characters can be careful or intelligent. I understand that characters, like people, are varied. Regardless, I just couldn't grasp Josef's thinking process.

Josef was my main problem with the story. I really liked Rija's point of view. Through the tribulations she faces, we readers get a great view of what it's like for an immigrant to live and cope in America. I felt like I learned a lot about the war in Bosnia, a war I never gave much thought to beforehand, and I enjoyed the important role love and willpower played in the plot. Rija, her mother, and her daughter go through a lot, but they never stop trying or supporting one another.

Up until Josef takes revenge on Rija for changing the locks on him, the story doesn't feel like it has much of a plot. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Edge of a Dream excels as a Slice of Life tale, a story generally dedicated to what it's like being an immigrant in America and trying to cope. Plus, the sentences flow easily, and the book itself is an interesting read. ( )

Edge of a Dream
by: Lee Fishman

I won this book from a LibraryThing giveaway

The story is about 2 immigrants from Sarajevo, Rija and Josef. They come to America with their daughter. They want the American Dream, but shortly after coming here, Josef leaves his family to take up a life a crime to pay for his gambling debts. After he crosses some people he shouldn't, he decides to go home, but that isn't so easy either after a couple of years have gone by.

This book is a great read. It keeps you hooked from the beginning. I would highly recommend it. ( )

Overall I thought that this book was pretty good. The main character, Rija, a recent immigrant from Sarajevo works hard just to make ends meet after her husband leaves her and her child. After working so hard during the entire book, the ending wraps up too well. I enjoyed the book a lot, but found the ending to be a bit too convenient. ( )

Well-Written, Enjoyable Read, - Liked It!

This is the story of a couple who fled war-devastated Sarajevo to make a new life for themselves in Philadelphia, PA. The marriage soon founders, though, as Josef takes off for Las Vegas, abandoning his family in search of easy money. This leaves Rija, her mother and their young daughter to fend for themselves, encountering hardships common to the immigrant experience. Rija takes a job cleaning offices. Money is tight, but she's determined to provide for her family and improve herself. When she isn't at work, she's attending classes to become a paralegal, and cares for her mother and daughter.

One day, Josef shows back up at the door, driving a stolen car and on the run from some gambling debts. Rija reluctantly takes him back, but the tenuous peace is soon shattered as Josef searches again for easy money, this time working for the Russian Mafia. Josef weaves together an assortment of lies and half-truths that doesn't fool his wife, who eventually realizes that she must make a choice between the much-needed money and support that Josef provides versus the peace of mind and her own chance at the American dream that she could attain without him.

I had trouble putting this book down! I felt that I was right alongside this family, in their apartment and involved in their decisions. The character development is excellent. I wanted to hold Rija's hand and yell at Josef. This is a very impressive first book and the author shows real writing talent. It's even well-edited with almost no grammatical errors - impressive for an indie book. I will definitely be watching for more books from this author.

Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book to read and provide a fair and honest review. ( )