Sophia C. reviewed on + 289 more book reviews
I emerged from The Exchange-rate between Love and Money not entirely sure what I just read. The Frito-Bannerman-Clare love triangle wasn't as prominent as the blurb makes it out to be. Instead, the narrative seemed like a roving camera capturing raw footage of the expat scene in 2003 Sarajevo. That historical moment, with hints of mysticism at how the city survived the long siege, horror at what had happened during the Bosnian war, and a bit of the Wild West as an alphabet soup of international organizations tends to Dayton-funded reconstruction, seems like the actual protagonist. There were some brilliant turns of phrase, and real moral questions raised in almost absurd circumstances, but also a slight lack of cohesion. I started to find Leveritt's style in writing dialogue slightly grating. Some familiarity of the history of the former Republic of Yugoslavia and knowing there's a glossary to the abbreviations at the back will help. I think this debut novel would suit readers who enjoyed Gary Shteyngart's Absurdistan.
