Mothers and Daughters

By Dubravka Zivkovic

Mothers and Daughters is a historical semi-fiction based on the lives of three Croatian women during the first half of the 20th century: Yelka Maisatz, Eka Crnjanin and Sonia Suchich.Croatia is a small European country, which in 1918 became a part of Yugoslavia, a discordant union which throughout its existence remained a notorious European hotspot. Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, but it took another five years of bitter war before occupying Serb armies were cleared from Croatia's territories.Mothers and Daughters follows the period and the circumstances that lead to the creation of Yugoslavia, as well as its demise. The novel begins in 1907 with the story of Yelka Maisatz, a thirty two year old high school teacher living in Croatia's most eastern province, Srem. It then continues with the story of seventeen year old Eka Crnjanin, the daughter of a wealthy merchant from the same area. Both women have just received marriage proposals and are on the verge of embarking on their new lives. Throughout the years that follow, the personal lives of the characters, as well as the life of their country keeps changing, and as the World War II ends and the communists take over, the horrors that follow bring their stories to unexpected culminations. The fates of the characters change almost overnight as their lives are suddenly interrupted with arrests, concentration camps, disappearances, mass executions, and the most painful of all, loss of the loved ones. Set in a small European country at the heart of the Balkan Peninsula, this unique story possesses many lovely characters, but none quite so imposing as the country around them. Following the enormous social, cultural, and world changes at the time, this fantastic novel takes readers down an exciting historical path while showing the power of one group's efforts to make the best of life. A touching, imposing, and entertaining read, this unique novel is an enjoyable experience through the history of a family, a culture, and a country.Dubravka J. Zivkovic-Breitenberger was born and raised in Zagreb, Croatia. In her twenties, she moved to the United States, and currently lives and works in Miami, Florida.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1480224529
• ISBN13: 9781480224520
• Release Date: February 2013
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 460 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 1.0" x 5.3"