The remains of What Remains is still echoing for me. I was sure that this was a memoir, so sure that I read it as such and marvelled at the revelations of the characters, the awe of the events and the chaos of war. I relished every description and revelled in the tension that was so evident between the two protagonists. Kate and Pete, Pete and Kate – they are the delicate pulse that drives this narrative through ravaged Bosnia and war torn Iraq. They are friends and later lovers, and later still … well, you will have to read the book to know.
Leith has so clearly captured the essence of trauma and conflict in this book that it is hard to believe that it is fiction. She has clearly done an awesome volume of research to recreate the intensity of conflict and I loved the way that she explored the impact of being witness to trauma and what people do with the weight of that burden.
Justine
