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Escaping with only their lives, a young immigrant couple flees Sarajevo, their war-torn city. With hope for a new and better life, they arrive in America with their infant daughter. But while the wife struggles for survival, her husband, lured away by dreams of easy money, falls into a world of crime and violence.
christinalove
Posted August 30, 2012
Startling perspective of American immigrants! Lee Fishman's novel, Edge of a Dream, provides an account of a family who immigrated to America from Bosnia, outlining their struggles and providing insight into a world most U.S. citizens could never imagine. The author did an excellent job portraying the constant confusion and miscommunication that occurs in everyday life for immigrants with dreams that typically fall by the wayside to a disparaging reality.
The storyline was fascinating, with constant suspense and drama intertwined throughout the book. The main character, Rija, also experiences painful flashbacks from the past she came to the U.S. to escape from, enhancing her depth and creating a "root-for-the-underdog" type of connection with the reader.
Fishman manages to throw the reader into the thick of the plot, forcing you to feel the same emotional dilemmas that the characters do, specifically Rija: a mix of anger and devotion toward her estranged husband, endearment and joy towards her elderly mother, utter grattitude and attraction toward her "friend" from class.
There are a few moments throughout the book where the broken English distracts from the storyline, but that simultaneously creates credence to that perspective, so it's easy to look past.
I recommend this book to anyone who is willing to immerse themselves into a culture they may not be entirely comfortable with, as it was completely unfamiliar to me, but can open their eyes to the tribulations that occurr all around us without us noticing. Fabulous read!
PBrien1224
Posted August 18, 2012
What a wonderful read. The difference in the characters of Rija and
Josef is well developed and believable. It makes the book feel
sometimes as though it was written as a treatise of good over evil,
however, it moves quickly and is quite a thriller. I loved the ending.
I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys good character development
in a book and wants to read a thrilling story. My only advise is make
sure you set aside plenty of time to read this book, as once you start
you will not want to put it down until the last twist of the ending.
HarrietE
Posted August 18, 2012
Books have the ability to immerse one in another's life. Such was the
case with Lee Fisherman's Edge of a Dream, which told the story of Rija,
a single mother, relatively new immigrant, and survivor of the Bosnian
conflict. She'd come to America with her husband, Josef, their child,
Lili, and her mother, Elena, but was unexpectedly deserted by Josef and
left to survive all alone in the foreign land. Edge of a Dream gives an
interesting perspective from the mother and absentee father, showing
their desires for a better life and their different methods of seeking
out the ever so elusive American Dream. The novel is filled with warm,
likable characters, but also has an undertone of heaviness, mostly from
Rija's struggle to balance being a mother, worker, and student while not
crumbling from thoughts of the past (the terrible conditions/encounters
experienced while enduring the Bosnia war) and the stress of Josef's
instability. Yet the book also makes an effort to show a side of Josef's
anxieties and dreams in the midst of his smooth talking and intricate
hustling. I love how the novel gives a good account of the immigrant
experience, how it often entails hard work at menial jobs, homesickness,
culture shock. Edge of a Dream impressed me with its combination of
elements often seen but rarely spoken about, such as xenophobia and the
deliberate blind eye America turns to international events. There are
also traces of workers' rights (or the lack of them), with the job Rija
has as part of the cleaning staff and the inappropriate (yet
disregarded) behavior of the boss. I also liked the realistic account
of life during wartime. It is easy to feel detached from the sting of
war while living in America; Edge of a Dream brought struggles
encountered in war to life. The flashbacks of life in the war-ravaged
Bosnia were heartbreaking and so telling of the conditions often
overlooked during the conflict. While the novel touched on many
important topics, I was a bit discontent with the character development.
Rija's plight was realistically portrayed and drew sympathy, but some of
her actions deviated from how she was originally portrayed. Fisherman
did a good job justifying them (so that they weren't totally
unexpected), but I felt like it never added to her character. The
direction of the novel also seemed a bit off, how the pieces fit
together at the end was unanticipated and seemed to lack a solid
foundation to make it work. Some details seemed disjoint in their
presentation/position and at times there seemed to be unnecessary drama,
but Fisherman excelled at presenting the gritty realness of life, what
is often not broadcast. I appreciate Fisherman for writing this novel
about the immigrant experience, one often overlooked in society and
found this to be an engrossing read.
marciascozyplac
Posted August 17, 2012
This is really good book. I was very impressed how the book had 2 text
and would talk about back in the day . Also how the Wife Rija was
working has cleaner and going to school as Lawyer. Also How she was in
USA on VISA, as all the right paper work. How her husband left her
shortly after they came to the USA.How she did search’s on her husband
and couldn’t find anything on him when she wanted to find him. Then out
of the blue he comes to their house. Also how her mom gets hurts and she
finds a similar case and talks to attorney but nothing more seems to get
done from there. The grandmother lives with them and she speaks very
little English but learning it from the TV shows. She is also a really
good cleaner the landlord is very impressed with how tidy of person she
is. The landlord understands that they are tight on $ and makes
arrangements with them to help them pay him back. I love the research
work that Rija does with her classmate to see what her husband is up to.
I was in total shock when I read what the father did next wow that
shocked me .. I was very surprised when the husband took the daughter
and the wife found her and got her back. That really impressed me. All
the work she did to find her daughter that takes a lot. Then when she
found out what she already knew that working for the mob. this book was
really good book keep me on my toys I had to read it all in 1 day. WOW .
Thanks for such a great book. I really wanted to know what happened
next I was curious what going on next. I highly recommend this book
to other people
Rija never wanted to come to America, but when her husband Josef finds a way to get her, her mother, and their daughter out of war-torn Sarajevo, she knows coming along is better than staying behind. Unfortunately, Josef ditches them in less than a year, forcing Rija to figure things out in a country she still has much to learn about.
Edge of a Dream officially begins two years after Josef's disappearance.
Though Rija doesn't want to become a cleaning lady, her rent is too far behind for her to be too picky about where she works. Plus, she has a six-year-old daughter and a mother to provide for. Fowler hires her as an independent contractor on the spot. As long as she avoids him in any private area where he can easily get his hands on her, the job is a great way for her to start her new life - a life where she can get by without Josef and the welfare checks.
Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, Josef and Sergei are working a shady job for a man named Nick. Nick gets the twelve-thousand, they get a cut. The first part of the mission, collecting 12k from the Japanese businessman, goes well. Things don't get really bad until Sergei and Josef split apart and Sergei makes the unfortunate mistake of leaving the money with Josef.
All Josef had to do was hold the money for an hour. Instead, he sees a pretty girl at a second-rate casino, takes out five-thousand from Nick's money in order to impress her, and then promptly loses that money almost instantly.
This is when my hatred for Josef shot through the wall and my toleration hit the bottom. Sure, readers should pretty much detest him the moment they learn he's the type of scum who takes his family to America and ditches them without a word. That bothered me, but not as much as his carelessness. Seriously, why couldn't he have waited until after Nick gave him his cut to chase a pretty girl? Why put his and Sergei's lives in danger for something so very stupid? Even if he was feeling confident, that was a move that reminded me of that scene from Pulp Fiction when Vincent leaves his gun on the kitchen table and gets shot with his own gun as a result.
Stupidity on that scale seems earned. From that point forward, I felt like any terrible thing that happened to Josef was earned. I wanted to feel sorry for Josef. As the story went on, there are a series of flashbacks that explained all the bad experiences Josef (and Rija) lived through in Sarajevo - the war, the death of his mother, sending his beloved sisters off to a place he wouldn't be able to see them...
I understand that not all characters can be careful or intelligent. I understand that characters, like people, are varied. Regardless, I just couldn't grasp Josef's thinking process.
Josef was my main problem with the story. I really liked Rija's point of view. Through the tribulations she faces, we readers get a great view of what it's like for an immigrant to live and cope in America. I felt like I learned a lot about the war in Bosnia, a war I never gave much thought to beforehand, and I enjoyed the important role love and willpower played in the plot. Rija, her mother, and her daughter go through a lot, but they never stop trying or supporting one another.
Up until Josef takes revenge on Rija for changing the locks on him, the story doesn't feel like it has much of a plot. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Edge of a Dream excels as a Slice of Life tale, a story generally dedicated to what it's like being an immigrant in America and trying to cope. Plus, the sentences flow easily, and the book itself is an interesting read.
twlite
Posted May 19, 2012
Edge of a Dream
by: Lee Fishman
I won this book from a LibraryThing giveaway
The story is about 2 immigrants from Sarajevo, Rija and Josef. They come to America with their daughter. They want the American Dream, but shortly after coming here, Josef leaves his family to take up a life a crime to pay for his gambling debts. After he crosses some people he shouldn't, he decides to go home, but that isn't so easy either after a couple of years have gone by.
This book is a great read. It keeps you hooked from the beginning. I would highly recommend it.
Overview
Escaping with only their lives, a young immigrant couple flees Sarajevo, their war-torn city. With hope for a new and better life, they arrive in America with their infant daughter. But while the wife struggles for survival, her husband, lured away by dreams of easy money, falls into a world of crime and violence.