I see that Angelina Jolie is in town.
Tonight she will be screening her latest movie ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey‘ at a Foreign Office function that will mark the launch of the new UK initiative to try to prevent sexual violence crimes in war zones.
This news had me rummaging through my bookshelves trying to find the above book with a similar title and wondering if it had been turned into a movie.
Apparently not.
Ms Jolie’s film (released last Dec in the USA) focuses on the ‘blood’ aspect, chronicling the grisly fate of Muslim women in Bosnia & Herzegovina set in the context of a love affair between a Bosnian Serb soldier and a Bosnian woman.
The book (published in Spring 2011) focuses on the ‘honey’ aspect and is altogether a gentler ride.
It is written by an English woman, Elizabeth Gowing, and tells of her life changing move to Kosovo after the war to start a beekeeping apprenticeship.
It’s full of encounters with extraordinary characters and liberally sprinkled with local recipes. If you are interested in food and culture, it’s an excellent read.
I have no connection with her or Amazon so this link to her book is at ‘face value’!