I was in between three and four stars.
Very complex and interesting story, we follow each character through its own parallel path and in the end their path is intertwined. Between main character stories there are short stories from museum.
I live in Zagreb and this museum does exist and is actually great.
The challenging issues of identity struggles, belonging, war and trauma are tackled in a good way. I think the author is very aware of many layers that each of those topics consists of. I didnt like the writing style however. It was a little impersonal and distanced, I could feel the story was invented and that is not what I want to feel in the book.
All in all would recommend, especially for people uninformed about the war in Bosnia.

intrigantna i potencijalna polazišna ideja ne daje, na koncu, puno više... ostaje okus dobre ideje koja se izjalovila. nije loše u smislu lošeg/nevaljalog teksta.. tek nedorečeno, površno, neuvjerljivo i klišeizirano. čitljivo, ali bez dubine. drame kroz koji likovi prolaze, u stvarnosti su puno žešće, a u tekstu se relativno laganini prelazi preko njih (npr. silovanje, ubojstvo, smrt djeteta, preljub..). čita se brzo, a to je šteta... od početnog materijala mogla je ispasti solidna, napeta, humana, kompleksna priča.

“The Museum of Lost Love” is a love story and being vulnerable enough to let love in even when it seems like love will just bite you back. This is a story about Katie, a woman who knows little of her background, and Goran, who constantly seems to be running from his background and from the horrific experiences that he had as a young child during the Yugoslav Wars. It’s also the story of Tyler, a veteran of the Afghanistan War, who is back home and very much still trying to get used to what life looks like after war where things may be even more difficult.

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to see how the stories intertwine with each other. They mesh together in some really unexpected ways. I was definitely drawn to both stories. We get to see Katia and Goran grapple with their pasts in order to define their futures. We see Tyler figure out what really matters when it comes to his son and how they move together as a family.

The writing of the book is really good. I loved how the story lines were interspersed with stories from the Museum of Lost Love. These little vignettes cover all sorts of different story lines and some of them are really poignant. I was amazed with how much the author was able to pack into such a small amount of space. The vignettes cover all different types of love. The author is at his best when he’s showing the inner motivations of each character. All the characters feel very real and the mauIn characters are ones I will be thinking about for a long time!