'And I Knew Them All': A Study of Trauma in Two Bosnian Books

Abstract

This thesis seeks to examine the portrayal of trauma in the two Bosnian books Safe Area Goražde (2000) by Joe Sacco and The Bosnia List (2014) by Kenan Trebinčević and Susan Shapiro. Both books are set to and revolve around the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992-95. The books depict individual struggles with coming to terms with traumatic experiences of war, devastation, and betrayal. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how trauma is portrayed in the two different genres, as well as looking into how different literary tools have been employed in the narrative and how they affect the reading of the books. The reading of the texts is conducted through the frames of trauma theory, and the analyses focus on identifying these elements of trauma in the books. This thesis will also show that even though the characters experience individual trauma, the element of collective trauma is also present in the narratives.