The spare prose of this succinct novel is deceptive. On the surface, it reads like the shell-shocked voices of survivors (specifically, of the almost four-year siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s) enduring unimaginable fear and horror in their own homes and streets. As the story moves swiftly and compellingly to its conclusion, it’s clear that the plainspoken voices are those of people conserving and doling out their spirit just as they ration water, bread, cigarettes and daring to hope. Those moments of still vibrant spirit are incredibly moving.