The Quiet Librarian

As a single, 47-year-old librarian in Minnesota, Hana Babic leads a quiet life. Until one day when a police detective stops by the library to inform her that her best, and really only friend, Amina, has been murdered. Hana and Amina share a history that extends back to the Bosnian War, when Hana witnessed the rape and murder of her entire family by Serbian soldiers, murders Hana swore to avenge. Joining Bosnian militia fighters, Hana transformed herself into a fierce warrior who became known as the deadly Night Mora—a legend among Serbian troops. But with a price on her head, she eventually poses too much of a risk to her fellow soldiers, and is sent to the Bosnian community in St. Paul to reinvent herself. Amina’s murder decades later does more than just reawaken Hana’s horrible memories. It convinces her that she is being hunted, and to survive, she must reawaken the Night Mora, drawing Amina’s murderer into a trap. Written in chapters that alternate between Bosnia in the 1990s and present day Minnesota, the book eventually merges into one astonishingly powerful narrative that is nothing less than genius. Like Eskens brilliant The Life We Bury, this would make an excellent choice for a book discussion, especially since many participants will know nothing about the Bosnian War. Eskens includes scenes of sexual violence and other war crimes.