Searching for Sofia: A Tale of Obsession, Murder and War

Authors: Nadler, John
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
BISAC/Subject: BIO000000, BIO008000, FAM029000, POL035010
ISBN: 9780385672191, Related ISBNs: 0385658230, 0385658249, 0385672195, 9780385658232, 9780385658249
Classification: Non-Fiction
Number of pages: 416,
Audience: General/trade
Synopsis: From journalist John Nadler comes a real-life Romeo and Juliet story set in war-torn Kosovo.

Nadler has stumbled upon a bitter epic romance in the ashes of inter-ethnic strife in the former Yugoslavia. The cast: a pair of star-cross’d lovers, a young Kosovar man and a Serb woman; the girl’s father, a local militiaman who is determined to crush the relationship; and a war correspondent in the role of Friar Lawrence, entrusted with the commission of reuniting the lovers.

Gjorg escapes the slaughter of his village by feigning death and fleeing while Serb troops invade his town. His fiancée Sofia disappears -- whisked away to Serbia, Gjorg believes, by her father, who is later implicated in a massacre. Gjorg, languishing in nato-held Kosovo, despairs of ever seeing his Sofia again. Until Nadler agrees to help find her.

Always just a step behind, Nadler follows Sofia’s trail from her village through the flashpoints and tinderboxes of the Balkans: Mitrovica, the Presovo Valley, Macedonia, and, finally, Belgrade. He witnesses the sickening decay of Yugoslavia -- once a dynamic, cosmopolitan and prosperous nation -- manifested in the endemic suspicion, the burnt and shell-pocked buildings, the ravaged communities, and the broken lives.

Searching for Sofia is a Balkan odyssey, a quest through dangerous terrain for an ever-elusive goal, a campaign for justice and, ultimately, an exploration, through the eyes of its victims, of the madness of internecine war.
Sign up for our literacy platform for reading at home

LightSail includes up to 6,000 high interest, Lexile aligned book titles with every student subscription. Other titles are available for individual purchase.

Watch the power of

Lightsail in action

×

SUPPORT GROWING READERS

Immediately Engage Students
Immediately Engage Students
Simple intuitive design has classrooms reading within minutes.
Exponentially Grow Reading Time
Exponentially Grow Reading Time
Students love the LightSail experience and naturally spend more time reading.
Accelerate Literacy Development
Accelerate Literacy Development
Students reading 25 minutes a day on LightSail are seeing 2+ years of Lexile growth in a single year.

LightSail Education is a comprehensive Lexile and standards-aligned, literacy platform and digital e-book library. Including multimodal learning functionality and featuring books from leading publishers, LightSail holistically assesses and nurtures each student on their reading and writing-to-learn journey, throughout elementary, middle, and high school.

*LightSail offers a 2,000 or a 6,000 title bundle with its student subscriptions. Other titles are available for individual purchase.