Reader response
Thinner Than Hair
Mahmutović, himself a Bosnian refugee, paints a raw, intimate portrait of Bosnian village life and of the seething ethnic tensions that tore it apart. He writes prose that’s sometimes subtle and delicate—“she gave the impression of a half-asleep fox from Russian stories, sly and ready to bite even when she looked tame and kind”—and sometimes sensuous and earthy, words that manage to be both psychologically acute and lyrical. Fatima’s longing for a life of warmth and vibrancy as her reality grows cold and desolate makes for an imaginative rendering of the damage wrought by racism and war.
A fine, moving debut from a talented writer.
It is an extraordinary book describing the experiences of a young woman coming of age during the conflict in the Balkans. … The book is well-paced and highly satisfying, as well as an excellent page-turner.
— CLARE DUDMAN, award-winning author of A Place of Meadows and Tall Trees and Wegener’s Jigsaw.
[Thinner than a Hair] is narrated in the convincing voice of a young Bosnian Muslim woman.
— TABISH KHAIR (author of The Bus Stopped, Filming and A Thing about Thugs.) From Livemint.com The Wall Street Journal.
[Thinner than a Hair] shakes you, it shows you things you may never have seen, it is deeply human and utterly unsentimental. Adnan’s prose is both poetic and grittily real. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is first and foremost a gripping story, with the added benefits of an insight into a time and a culture I had very little knowledge of.
– TANIA HERSHMAN (Orange Prize Commended author of The White Road and editor of The Short Review).
in its own peculiar, particular and compelling way this book is a masterpiece of contemporary literature.
– NORMA PENFOLD, GWALES
Mahmutovic is an extraordinary and gifted writer. … Thinner Than Hair is an engaging and extraordinary first person narrative, written from the point of view of Fatima – a very interesting character – a feisty Bosnian girl, displaced to Germany due to the war. The narrative starts in Munich where she is a refugee, working as a prostitute, and her memories take the reader on a journey through her life to this point. I was particularly struck by Mahmutovic’s ability to create a totally believable female narrator who I cared about. He inhabits the female psyche extremely well, enabling the reader to sink with no problem at all into the fictive world he weaves. Fatima’s first real love, Aziz, is a most memorable character as well. Mahmutovic explores Fatima’s complex relationships with not only the man but with his family and her own, as the clouds of war loom ever closer.
The narrative is controlled, and straight. At no time does he drop the reader into scenes or descriptive byways unless they are strictly necessary to the plot. This is Fatima’s story – Mahmutovic never intrudes. And it is an important story. The poignant themes of displacement and non-belonging echo through his work, and Fatima carries these themes well, opening the eyes of this reader to the very real issues behind what it is to be in her position. It is an impressive debut novel.
— VANESSA GEBBIE (author of Words from a Glass Bubble and Storm Warning)
Sometimes there are just unique and lovely writers who stand out, and Mahmutovic is one of them. He is a multi-talented creative whirlwind. I do not know why he is not better known yet, but that is coming – it has to . . . how can the literary world ignore such a talent?
This story could be said as a “coming of age” story, but that would be like calling cheesecake a “thing made with cream cheese.”
Fatima has taken hold my heart and guts: she is a tough girl, but inside lies the heart of a child and an innocent naivity despite her seemingly worldly stance.
There are instances of such lovely and unique prose that I want to stop and savor, but I did not, for I was compelled to keep going–I had a hard time putting down this book, turning page after page. Lovely lovely lovely.
I will say it again: Mahmutovic is one to watch–keep your eyes on him, and mostly, read his work to see for yourself.
— KATHRYN MAGENDIE (author of Tender Graces, Secret Graces, and Sweetie)
Mahmutovic’s novel is a truly gripping read. Beside a lyrical quality, it so well paces the dolling out of information to the reader, by a selective narrative design, that the reader will quite easily read it in one sitting. Packed into a short space we have here a study of character slowly disintegrating under horrid external pressures. And yet the plot is judicious. When one has finished the book and thinks it over, one realises that this is not narcissistic work or therapeutic work, which chooses a cynical mode to portray change in character,but rather the latter is necessitated by the public political setting. In other words, Mahmutovic shows, rather than tells, the logic behind the story and due to his powers of empathy and negative capability, we believe everything we’ve read. This novel is not only beautifully written but tactfully written as well. We don’t have purple passages gushing over loss and war, but just enough to touch us and let us do the rest of the work in our imaginations. A true tour de force, in the same way Tariq Ali’s novels are. I look forward now to reading more Mahmutovic.
OMAR SABBAGH (author of My Only Ever Oedipal Complaint)
`Thinner than a hair’ is a gripping, poignant story of ordinary lives overturned by war. I quickly became immersed in the plight of the two believable and sympathetic protagonists. Mahmutovic hints at horrors without ever being gratuitious. Instead we see the stringencies that change people and force them to compromise in ways they never anticipated. Fatima’s choices are credible and conveyed without judgment. Aziz with his strange `secret’ is also a victim of circumstance. How sad that their love is de-railed by events.
Mahmutovic writes with a unique and fresh voice, reflecting the jumble of old and modern cultures his characters inhabit.
This book conveys the boredom, frustration and aimlessness of being a refuge: an unusual and powerful observation. `Thinner than a hair’ reminded me how quickly conflicts are forgotten by the world, although the people caught up in them are changed forever.
A memorable page- turner.
JO CANNON (author of Insignificant Gestures)
I could almost smell and taste the deliciousness. Mahmutovic tells the story of the Bosnian war, a story of love, loss, doubt, and sacrifice. I was astonished at how Mahmutovic made me love Fatima, respect her. In most cases the story of a Muslim girl raised on rigid Muslim ideologies in a small conservative society, turning to prostitution for a living would be received with resentment or shame, but Fatima is a true survivor a realist. The author does not only try to justify Fatima’s fallen fate, he actually succeeds.
— FATIMA AL MATAR (author of The Heart and the Subsidiary), April 15th, 2010
[Refuge]e
Adnan Mahmutović’s [Refuge]e looks unassuming, with its plain black cover holding only the author’s name and the title, and within, there are but ninety-five pages from cover to cover. Yet, inside this small dark book bursts a kaleidoscope of characters, simmering emotions ranging from loss, fear, love, hate, revenge, displacement, regret, humor, and hope, and in the middle of it all the author’s life hidden.
— KATHRYN MAGENDIE (author of Tender Graces and Secret Graces), February 3rd, 2007
Illegitimate
Illegitimate was powerful. It broke down paradigms — ones that needed breaking. I really enjoyed getting into the head of Fatima. I wrote about it here & I hope that I was able to capture at least one or two of the vivid themes that ran the course of the story. Great work!
— LORI GORDON (author of Degrees of Freedom), May 27th, 2009
As I was reading Illegitimate, feelings of disgust filled me from top to toe, knowing that stuff probably took place somewhere. The book and everything in it was like music. Some parts were violent, others moving, and a few were even silent. Now, silence is a key force in writing a symphony, ask any conductor. It’s just as effective as a whirlwind of sound (or words, in this case) and maybe even more so.
— JASENKO DERVIšIć, April 27th, 2009
I bought Illegitimate after reading [Refuge]e. I recommend this book to everyone who enjoys works of Michael Ondaatje and J. M. Coetzee.
— Micke Johansson, April 15th, 2009