Book Jacket

 

rank 5464
word count 26684
date submitted 24.06.2009
date updated 01.07.2009
genres: Young Adult, Non-fiction, Biography...
classification: adult
incomplete

Damages

Bazhe

Damages is a saga of a young man caught in the political crossfire of a country torn apart by Communism, Christian nationalism, and Islamic fundamentalism.

 

DAMAGES is a memoir about one man’s fight to overcome the psychological wounds created by his peculiar upbringing as he struggled to find his true identity and freedom. The story begins with the death of his abusive father, a Communist official. His mother is diagnosed with cancer, and he immediately returns to Macedonia to take care of her. Meanwhile, his more than thirty-year search for his biological mother ends, and he tells her his life story, starting with his lonely childhood and adolescence. After finding his “new mother” to be very understanding, he reveals his first gay experience in the army, his desire for self-realization that caused scandals in the College of National Security, his escape to Turkey where he transformed into a stunning transvestite after meeting a handsome wealthy man, and his return to Yugoslavia where he wandered in the underground world of a country that was falling apart. As Christian nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism rose, he experienced them directly, almost losing his life, but he eventually succeeded in immigrating to America. Although he finds his biological mother, he ultimately discovers that it is his adoptive mother’s devotion that is irreplaceable.

MORE INFO at: www.BAZHE.com

 
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tags

adoption, balkans, bazhe, christian nationalism, civil war, coming of age, crisis, europe, family, freedom, gay, gay rights, human rights, immigration...

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13 comments

 

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mn73 wrote 1032 days ago

Gritty stuff, with an excellent, involving narrator and a plethora of fascinating characters. You write beautifully and fit dialogue, descriptions of character and place and back story all together in one whole that flows so naturally. I loved the convoluted family dynamics and emotions and having read the opening chapters I read your pitch and am so intruiged as to where this story will go. Shelved.

BK Bazhe wrote 1060 days ago

Wow. Talk about a opening hook grabbing the reader. Loved the fact that nothing is black and white with this family, no matter what it looks like to the outside POV.
We don't often get a chance to read about the immigrant experience, particularly through the eyes of Macedonia. What a rare and unusual treat.
As writers, we often have to pare down our words, overwriting, editing, writing/overwriting again. You have a knack for the spare. Congratulations. Well done and Shelved.



This is for you:

WHITE HORSES AND I

White horses are coming, and You are arriving in hasty gallop.
In the stable reigns desolation, and in my room the same.
The lawn with dense pallid Loneliness and I are all that is left.
Because you didn’t stop—you just passed by, and ran away.

kgadette wrote 1060 days ago

Wow. Talk about a opening hook grabbing the reader. Loved the fact that nothing is black and white with this family, no matter what it looks like to the outside POV.
We don't often get a chance to read about the immigrant experience, particularly through the eyes of Macedonia. What a rare and unusual treat.
As writers, we often have to pare down our words, overwriting, editing, writing/overwriting again. You have a knack for the spare. Congratulations. Well done and Shelved.

soutexmex wrote 1061 days ago

wow - a horror memoir; I got into it but I fear reading more and it disturbing my dreams. Plz read/comment/back my book if you have done so already - cheers!

JC
The Obergemau File

setondan wrote 1062 days ago

It is obvious from the background in your profile that you a talented writer. This gift is accentuated in the writing in your book that I was very happy to put on my shelf. Your unique experience quickly shows itself in your first chapter. So I was quickly hooked. I concur with the previous comments. Not a single word is wasted. It won't be long before you move up the charts quickly here on authonomy. Best regards.

Zeta Pi wrote 1062 days ago

You hook the reader instantly with the unusual exchange between mother and daughter.

A criticism would be the info dumping towards the end of Ch 1.

You can certainly write though so I’m shelving this.

scottishrose45 wrote 1063 days ago

I appreciate concise writing. This certainly fits the bill. Not a single word is wasted. It is how I try to write, but don't always manage. An interesting story, strong characters and effective writing. I think you've hit this one out of the ball park, my dear. Shelved with pleasure.

Cheers!
Jamie (The Unlikely Witch)

JD Revene wrote 1064 days ago

Bazhe,

I've seen this shooting up the charts and thought I'd give it a lool.

The short pitch is to the point and interesting enough to encourage me to read on, the long pitch is intriguing--so much to tell--but perhaps you might consider breaking it into shorter paragraphs? I always feel that white-space makes things easier to read.

The chapter opens on an ominous note, first the death of the MC's father, than the mystery around his mother's words. From here you move into a recounting of the MC's father's past. This is essentially information dump, but it's fascinating. There are many Macedonian migrants in Australia, where I live, but I've never known much of the recent history of their country. Your short first chapter ends with a hint of more to come.

Chapter two brings thing back to the present with the MC--still nameless--flying home. You paint a vivid picture of this small south-western Macedonian town, history mixed with detail (water snakes for example).

Ah, his name is Bazhe, I should've known, the pitch did say this was a memoir.

Your prose is spare but the descriptions are vivid and the dialogue natural. You tell an interesting story well.

I'm giving this a spin on my shelf.

Monique O'Connor James wrote 1065 days ago

Your writing has a way of biting at the soul. Your ability to be open with the reader so they can see things the way you do draws them in and allows them to experience the beauty and the pain.

Well Done. Shelved.

Monique O'Connor James
Jamais Vu

Dania wrote 1065 days ago

Great opening, good premise and your writing is very confident. Unfortunately I wasn't' t able to read more than the first chapter and a half but shelving it on the strength of that. Very curious to come back and see how it all goes. Good luck!

BK Bazhe wrote 1065 days ago

Wow. First, let me say that this is a very difficult review for me to write...I find myself so conflicted! Your writing style is very raw, and by raw, I don't mean unsophisticated at all (quite the opposite), but rather that this is a no-holds-barred assault on my senses! It's very dark. It's very good, but I find it rather excrutiating to read because the misery of the characters involved seems to seep off my monitor and into my brain! I feel rather like I did 20 years ago when a friend made me watch 'A Clockwork Orange' by Stanley Kubrick. YES, I can appreciate the brilliance of the movie, but NO, I can't continue to watch it. So I guess what I'm saying Bazhe, is...I suspect you are a brilliant writer, but you've overwhelmed me. That said, I think this may be due to a deficiency on my part rather than yours! lol! And, I suspect that you are not the type of artist that is content with blase praise, so I've tried to reciprocate with a no-holds-barred HO. I hope some of this rambling is helpful. You are going to be (if not already) alot of people's favorite writer, of this, I am certain. I'm backing you because your work is obviously brilliant and original. However, I wouldn't personally buy your book (so, this is very weird for me)...but then again, I wouldn't buy a Picasso either....My bad? Probably. Best, Shoshanna



Thank you. I am so touched. And I love your honest review;
Your support, and all that. I am just finishing my 3rd book;
Pure Americana. I am an American now.
To me that is an achievement as well.
I love this beautiful country, and I have been to many
But the freedom smells the best here.

BK Bazhe wrote 1065 days ago

I am so touched; People like you make me go on.
I thank you for your time and looking forward to be your friend.
And This Poem is for You:

MAGNITUDE
The stars tonight are for your eyes.
Yes, for no one else except you in this moment.
In this moment, dizzy, crazy, mad, heavenly mad.

Stay in touch! All the best.
Cordially,
B.K. Bazhe


Good Grief! I was going to say *WOW* but I saw beneath that it had been done already.

Fantastic stuff, really powerful and complex with layers of subtlety delivered in this prose. I'm going to watch your dust.

With delight, Shelved.

Cass
(The Long Road)

cara_ruegg wrote 1065 days ago

wow intense beginning...i've only read the first chapter and i'll get back to it later
it's defiantly interesting and you really have a way with words. good job,
-Cara

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