Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War by Peter Maass
Summary:
Love Thy Neighbor chronicles the account of Peter Maass, who was a journalist for the Washington Post during the Bosnian war. His structures the novel in a series of vignettes which chronicles his experience in the war. His writing is laid-back and relaxed, yet also serious and to-the-point. He has a way of making the reader feel at ease and comfortable with Maass so that when he begins to discuss the horrific events of the genocide, we feel as though we can approach the events and handle the serious nature of the subject. He meets with Bosnian Muslims who were persecuted in their homes in safe areas, in death camps, and on death marches. He also meets with war criminals and officials who work high up in the government. He both humanizes and demonizes the main players of the event by bringing us readers into their homes and private offices, but also showing how ruthless they can be. Maass tells personal stories of his own family life, the friends he made along the way, and his own emotional and physical reactions to the events. Maass also includes specific historical events of the Bosnian genocide with his own personal experiences, so the novel informs us of these historical events in an approachable manner.
Themes:
Personalization -The major theme in this novel is Maass' ability to take a gruesome historical event and make it personal in a very real way.
War-time atrocity: Through his time as a journalist in Bosnia during this horrific genocide, Maass discovers and describes the use of rape as a torturous strategy and gives a number of accounts from wartime victims.
Castration and Power: He also shares traumatic accounts of men who were castrated in the time of war as a mode of control and dominance.
Religious Persecution: Though Muslims were a majority in Bosnia at the time, there was severe religious persecution. In the novel, religion is brought up on a number of occasions as a cause and result of the war.
Avoid Appeasement: In Maass' conclusion, he explains that the appeasement to terrorists and dictators is not acceptable as a means to success. He concludes by saying "peace is not guaranteed by a thick treaty or enforcement troops; it is guaranteed by justice" (272).
Characters:
Peter Maass: Story is told from his perspective. Journalist for the Washington Post. Most of the characters that he meets are involved in the story for a short period of time. Throughout the novel, he refers to a number of people.
Allan: A fellow journalist from Britain who lost his cameraman in the war.
Tuna: Allan's cameraman, a young and handsome Croat who was killed by Serbs while driving to shoot refugees in "no man's land."
Radovan Karadzic: Leader of the Bosnian Serbs. Used propaganda techniques to blame the Muslims for the damage done to themselves. He claimed that they would bomb themselves.
Zelja: A sniper that worked for the Serbian army.
Kevin Sullivan: British reporter who worked many international wars and drove Maass into danger.
Karlo and Janja Pelzl: Catholic family living in Sarajevo who took Maass in for Christmas.
Quotes:
"humans are animals, with the ability to stink like pigs, and kill like wolves" (3). -on the stench of humans in refugee centers
"peace is not guaranteed by a thick treaty or enforcement troops; it is guaranteed by justice" (272).
"what intrigued me most about Bosnia was the question it posed about human beings - how could they do such monstrous things? How could a man wake up one morning and shoot his neighbor in the face and perhaps rape the neighbor's wife for good measure. How could this happen on a massive scale, and how could good people like Vladimir Radjen go along with it?" (14).
Love Thy Neighbor chronicles the account of Peter Maass, who was a journalist for the Washington Post during the Bosnian war. His structures the novel in a series of vignettes which chronicles his experience in the war. His writing is laid-back and relaxed, yet also serious and to-the-point. He has a way of making the reader feel at ease and comfortable with Maass so that when he begins to discuss the horrific events of the genocide, we feel as though we can approach the events and handle the serious nature of the subject. He meets with Bosnian Muslims who were persecuted in their homes in safe areas, in death camps, and on death marches. He also meets with war criminals and officials who work high up in the government. He both humanizes and demonizes the main players of the event by bringing us readers into their homes and private offices, but also showing how ruthless they can be. Maass tells personal stories of his own family life, the friends he made along the way, and his own emotional and physical reactions to the events. Maass also includes specific historical events of the Bosnian genocide with his own personal experiences, so the novel informs us of these historical events in an approachable manner.
Themes:
Personalization -The major theme in this novel is Maass' ability to take a gruesome historical event and make it personal in a very real way.
War-time atrocity: Through his time as a journalist in Bosnia during this horrific genocide, Maass discovers and describes the use of rape as a torturous strategy and gives a number of accounts from wartime victims.
Castration and Power: He also shares traumatic accounts of men who were castrated in the time of war as a mode of control and dominance.
Religious Persecution: Though Muslims were a majority in Bosnia at the time, there was severe religious persecution. In the novel, religion is brought up on a number of occasions as a cause and result of the war.
Avoid Appeasement: In Maass' conclusion, he explains that the appeasement to terrorists and dictators is not acceptable as a means to success. He concludes by saying "peace is not guaranteed by a thick treaty or enforcement troops; it is guaranteed by justice" (272).
Characters:
Peter Maass: Story is told from his perspective. Journalist for the Washington Post. Most of the characters that he meets are involved in the story for a short period of time. Throughout the novel, he refers to a number of people.
Allan: A fellow journalist from Britain who lost his cameraman in the war.
Tuna: Allan's cameraman, a young and handsome Croat who was killed by Serbs while driving to shoot refugees in "no man's land."
Radovan Karadzic: Leader of the Bosnian Serbs. Used propaganda techniques to blame the Muslims for the damage done to themselves. He claimed that they would bomb themselves.
Zelja: A sniper that worked for the Serbian army.
Kevin Sullivan: British reporter who worked many international wars and drove Maass into danger.
Karlo and Janja Pelzl: Catholic family living in Sarajevo who took Maass in for Christmas.
Quotes:
"humans are animals, with the ability to stink like pigs, and kill like wolves" (3). -on the stench of humans in refugee centers
"peace is not guaranteed by a thick treaty or enforcement troops; it is guaranteed by justice" (272).
"what intrigued me most about Bosnia was the question it posed about human beings - how could they do such monstrous things? How could a man wake up one morning and shoot his neighbor in the face and perhaps rape the neighbor's wife for good measure. How could this happen on a massive scale, and how could good people like Vladimir Radjen go along with it?" (14).