A review by bashsbooks
Underground Barbie by Maša Kolanović

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Underground Barbie is a crazy-cool book. Can't say I've read much like it, although from the publisher description at the back, it sounds like Sandorf Passage publishing does a lot of books in a similar vein. 

I don't know a ton about the Yugoslav Wars, and while this book makes me want to learn more, I don't think familiarity is needed to get a strong sense of the messages regarding war, class, and consumerism threaded through this book. In fact, I felt like I was right alongside the unnamed narrator as she struggled to understand the rapidly-changing political landscape around her.

The medium of writing about this fraught cultural and political conflict through children playing with Barbies is a stroke of genius. It creates a poetic sort of intimacy that is kind of rare in novels, but that I tend to think makes serious writing more impactful. These children are victims, yes, but they are also children, still playing and living and using their imaginations to understand the world. And it's fascinating how well Kolanović replicates how the world around them would seep into this play.

All around fascinating book that has so many layers to peel back. I would like to reread it after learning more of the historical and cultural context.
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