Wounded Dove in Honor and Disgrace (Paperback)

Set in the sixteenth century Village of Gruica's Bridge in Eastern Herzegovina, near the Adriatic Sea, Wounded Dove in Honor and Disgrace, explores an age long struggle for human understanding in the midst of political and social collision between the Muslim and Christian civilizations. Through the portrayal of a tradition in turmoil, it clearly points to grave sorrow the oppressed women of that time had to endure. It depicts their struggle for survival in the dominant male world and their reaction to overwhelming conditions, imposed upon them by the Ottoman Turks from the outside, and by the outlawed slave-traders from within. It is a moving delineation of poverty and a search for that inner peace rarely found in a ruptured soul. It highlights the brutal truth that violence can only bring more, reactive violence. The main character, Angelina, is a remarkable woman, who refuses to be daunted by the pressures imposed upon her. She is determined to take charge of her life. In order to ensure her husband's release from the Ottoman Turkish dungeons and save her family's honor, she is prepared to take drastic measures by crossing the preset boundaries of convention and that of natural law. It is from this forbidden transgression that Angelina reaches out to touch a cord and make an unmistakably deep connection with the reader. Although the events in this novel took place centuries ago, the author longed to recreate true to life characters that reflect the reality of that time, where both Ottoman Turks and Christians were victims of the circumstances surrounding them.