Ghosts Beneath the Surface

In the misty hills of Eastern Bosnia, a general's arrest is imminent, but his memories of war crimes and the ghosts of his victims linger. The narrative opens with the general's orderly habits, his haunted dreams, and the brutal efficiency of his men during the war. The past is not dead; it is buried just beneath the surface, waiting to be unearthed. The general's sense of inevitability and the weight of history set the tone for a story where the crimes of the past refuse to stay hidden, and the search for justice is fraught with moral ambiguity and personal cost.

Exile's Unexpected Visitor

In Berlin, Vlado Petric, a Bosnian war refugee and former homicide detective, toils in construction, haunted by memories of Sarajevo. His family's fragile peace is shattered when Calvin Pine, an American investigator from The Hague, arrives with a proposition. Pine's visit is both a reminder of Vlado's past and a harbinger of new dangers. The offer: return to Bosnia undercover to help capture a long-hidden war criminal. The request stirs old wounds, marital tensions, and the lure of meaningful work, forcing Vlado to confront the unresolved traumas and loyalties that exile cannot erase.

Old Wounds, New Crimes

Vlado's decision to consider Pine's offer is complicated by personal guilt and unresolved relationships. He seeks out Haris, a man connected to his wife's wartime loneliness and to a recent act of vigilante justice: the murder of a notorious war criminal hiding in Berlin. Vlado's involvement in covering up the crime binds him to the cycle of violence and retribution that the war has left behind. The past is not just history—it is an active force, shaping choices and threatening to destroy the fragile new lives built in exile.

The Last Honest Cop

As Vlado prepares to leave for The Hague, his wife Jasmina voices her fears and hopes. Their daughter Sonja, a child of two worlds, embodies the cost of displacement. The family's conversation is filled with longing for home, anxiety about the future, and the unspoken knowledge that the past is never truly past. Vlado's sense of duty and the promise of redemption through meaningful work pull him toward the mission, even as the risks to his family and his own soul become ever more apparent.

A Mission Reborn

In The Hague, Vlado is swept into a world of international justice, where idealism collides with bureaucracy and realpolitik. He meets Pine's team, including the brash Benny Hampton and the enigmatic Janet Ecker. The mission: lure Pero Matek, a Croatian war criminal and profiteer, into the open by offering him a lucrative demining contract. The operation is a diplomatic balancing act, designed to appease multiple factions and to provide a "consolation prize" for the failed pursuit of a more recent Serb general. Vlado's personal connection to the case is both an asset and a liability.

Shadows of Jasenovac

Vlado delves into Matek's history, discovering his role as a brutal guard at the Jasenovac concentration camp during World War II. The investigation reveals the complicity of local collaborators, the Catholic Church, and Western intelligence in helping war criminals escape justice. The lines between victim and perpetrator, justice and vengeance, become increasingly blurred. Vlado is forced to confront the possibility that his own family history is entangled with the crimes he is investigating, and that the pursuit of truth may come at a devastating personal cost.

The Past Never Sleeps

At a tribunal dinner, Vlado navigates a minefield of diplomats, lawyers, and intelligence operatives. The alliances and rivalries among Americans, French, and others mirror the fractured politics of the Balkans. Harkness and LeBlanc, shadowy figures with their own agendas, hint at deeper secrets and the dangerous intersections of personal and political histories. Vlado's sense of being manipulated grows, as does his determination to find answers—not just for the tribunal, but for himself and his family.

Homecoming and Hauntings

Returning to Sarajevo, Vlado is overwhelmed by memories of war and loss. The city is both familiar and alien, its wounds still raw. He reconnects with old friends and with Amira, a woman who once sheltered him and whose own losses are a testament to the war's enduring cruelty. The encounter is a painful reminder that survival often comes at the expense of others, and that the search for justice is inseparable from the need for personal atonement and forgiveness.

The Bait and the Trap

Vlado and Pine travel to Travnik to meet Matek, using the promise of a demining contract as bait. The meeting is fraught with tension, as Matek's charm and cunning mask a deep wariness. Vlado's cover as the son of Matek's old comrade is both a key to the operation and a source of personal anguish. The plan is to lure Matek into a public place where he can be safely apprehended, but the risks are high and the outcome uncertain. The ghosts of the past hover over every move.

The General and the Gold

As the operation unfolds, the narrative shifts between Matek's preparations, the failed French raid on the Serb general Andric, and the growing realization that multiple players are pursuing their own agendas. The hunt for Matek is not just about justice—it is also about secrets, gold, and the unresolved legacies of war. The lines between hunter and hunted blur, and the cost of betrayal becomes painfully clear when Benny is killed by a booby-trapped safe, a casualty of Matek's ruthlessness and the operation's half-baked planning.

Family Ties Unravel

In the aftermath of Benny's death and Matek's escape, Vlado is confronted with the truth about his own father's past. Documents reveal that his father, Josip Iskric, was also a guard at Jasenovac, but that his file was manipulated by Western intelligence for their own ends. The revelation shatters Vlado's sense of self and forces him to question the meaning of justice, loyalty, and redemption. The personal and the political are inextricably linked, and the search for truth becomes a quest for personal absolution.

The Web Tightens

The trail leads to Rome, where Vlado and Pine seek out Robert Fordham, a former U.S. counterintelligence officer. Fordham's memories and confessions reveal the complicity of Western agencies in helping war criminals escape, the theft of Croatian gold, and the tangled web of betrayals that have shaped the postwar world. The pursuit of Matek and Andric becomes a race against time, as other players—Harkness, LeBlanc, and their unseen masters—close in, each seeking to control the narrative and the spoils.

The Price of Justice

In Castellammare di Stabia, the search for Matek and Andric reaches its climax. The gold stolen from Croatia, hidden for decades, becomes the focal point of a final confrontation. Harkness, revealed as a ruthless American operative, is willing to kill to keep the secrets buried. Matek, wounded and desperate, is undone by his own greed and the ghosts of his past. Vlado, caught between justice and survival, must make impossible choices, risking everything to prevent further bloodshed and to reclaim a measure of truth.

Truths Buried, Truths Found

The gold is found, but so are the documents that reveal the full extent of the postwar betrayals. Lia, Vlado's father's Italian wife, emerges as a figure of resilience and forgiveness, her story a counterpoint to the cycles of vengeance and loss. The confrontation in the cemetery is both a reckoning and a release, as Vlado and Lia find a measure of peace in the face of so much sorrow. The past cannot be undone, but it can be acknowledged, and the possibility of redemption remains.

The Rome Connection

The aftermath of the operation is a tangle of diplomatic maneuvering, cover-ups, and personal reckonings. Harkness escapes justice, but his career is ruined. The gold becomes a symbol of the unresolved legacies of war, claimed by many but belonging to none. Vlado and Pine, disillusioned but wiser, reflect on the limits of justice and the enduring need for truth. The documents are leaked, ensuring that the secrets will not remain buried, and the possibility of real accountability flickers on the horizon.

The Well of Secrets

Matek, wounded and desperate, flees to the well where he once hid his share of the gold. Vlado, guided by Lia's memories and his own intuition, finds him there. The confrontation is both physical and symbolic—a struggle for the last remnants of the past, and for the possibility of closure. Lia's quiet strength and forgiveness offer a path forward, even as the cycle of violence claims its final victim. The well, once a hiding place for secrets, becomes a place of reckoning and release.

Redemption and Reckoning

In the aftermath, Vlado returns to Berlin, where he confesses his role in the vigilante killing and finds unexpected mercy. The cycle of violence is not broken, but it is acknowledged, and the possibility of healing emerges. Lia's letter and photographs offer a bridge between past and present, and the promise of new connections and understanding. Vlado's family, once fractured by war and exile, is reunited, and the story ends with a sense of hard-won peace—a small boat of great sorrows, finally finding its way home.

Characters

Vlado Petric

Vlado is a Bosnian homicide detective exiled in Berlin, marked by the trauma of war and the loss of his homeland. His sense of justice is deeply personal, shaped by the betrayals and violence he witnessed. Vlado's relationships—with his wife Jasmina, daughter Sonja, and the ghosts of his past—are fraught with longing and guilt. His journey is both an investigation and a quest for self-understanding, as he confronts the possibility that his own family is implicated in the crimes he seeks to expose. Vlado's psychological depth lies in his struggle to reconcile duty, love, and the burden of history.

Calvin Pine

Pine is an American legal officer for the war crimes tribunal, driven by a desire to make a difference but often frustrated by bureaucracy and realpolitik. His Southern charm masks a sharp intelligence and a deep sense of responsibility. Pine's partnership with Vlado is marked by mutual respect and growing trust, but also by the awareness that they are both pawns in a larger game. Pine's own past—his family, his career, his failed relationships—mirrors Vlado's in its search for meaning and redemption. He is both a guide and a fellow traveler on the journey through the moral labyrinth of postwar justice.

Jasmina Petric

Jasmina, Vlado's wife, embodies the strength and adaptability of those displaced by war. Her ability to build a new life in Berlin, to care for Sonja, and to support Vlado even as he is drawn back into danger, speaks to her resilience. Jasmina's relationship with Vlado is complex, marked by love, frustration, and the scars of separation. She is both a reminder of what has been lost and a symbol of the possibility of renewal. Her psychological depth lies in her capacity to forgive, to endure, and to hope.

Pero Matek

Matek is the embodiment of the opportunist who thrives in chaos. A former Ustasha officer and concentration camp guard, he is both charming and ruthless, able to adapt to any circumstance. His survival is a testament to his cunning, but also to the complicity of those who enabled him. Matek's relationship with Vlado's father, and his role in the theft of gold and secrets, make him both a mirror and a nemesis for Vlado. His psychological complexity lies in his ability to rationalize his actions, to see himself as a victim even as he victimizes others.

Janet Ecker

Janet is an American attorney and intelligence specialist, whose skills in languages and cryptography make her invaluable to the tribunal. Her relationship with Pine is tinged with unresolved feelings and professional rivalry. Janet's role is to uncover the hidden connections and to challenge the official narratives. She is both an ally and a skeptic, pushing Vlado and Pine to look beyond the surface. Her psychological depth lies in her ability to navigate the male-dominated world of intelligence with both competence and irony.

Benny Hampton

Benny is the team's brash, streetwise American, whose humor and toughness mask a deep commitment to justice. His death is a turning point in the story, a reminder of the real dangers and the cost of pursuing the truth. Benny's relationship with Vlado and Pine is one of camaraderie and mutual respect. His psychological depth is revealed in his willingness to take risks, to speak truth to power, and to pay the ultimate price.

Paul Harkness

Harkness is the quintessential spook, a State Department operative whose charm and erudition conceal a ruthless pragmatism. His role in orchestrating the operation, his willingness to kill, and his efforts to keep secrets buried make him both a formidable antagonist and a symbol of the moral compromises of power. Harkness's psychological complexity lies in his ability to justify any action in the name of national interest, and in his recognition that the line between justice and expediency is always shifting.

Lia DiFlorio (Lea Breza)

Lia is the Slovenian woman who survived Jasenovac, married Vlado's father, and built a life in Italy. Her story is one of endurance, forgiveness, and the search for meaning in the aftermath of atrocity. Lia's relationship with Vlado is both maternal and redemptive, offering him a connection to his father's better self and a model of how to live with the past. Her psychological depth lies in her ability to hold pain and hope together, to remember without being destroyed by memory.

Marko Andric

Andric is the Serb general whose escape sets the plot in motion. His ability to evade justice, his connections to Matek and the gold, and his ultimate fate at Matek's hands make him a symbol of the unfinished business of the Balkans. Andric's psychological profile is that of the survivor who believes in his own righteousness, even as he is haunted by the ghosts of his victims.

Haris

Haris is the man whose quest for justice leads to the vigilante killing in Berlin. His story is one of trauma, loss, and the corrosive effects of vengeance. Haris's relationship with Vlado and Jasmina is fraught with guilt and longing, a reminder that the personal and the political are inseparable. His psychological depth lies in his inability to escape the cycle of violence, even as he seeks closure.

Plot Devices

Dual Timelines and Interwoven Histories

The novel's structure weaves together the aftermath of the Bosnian war with the unresolved crimes of World War II. The use of dual timelines—Vlado's present-day investigation and the flashbacks to Matek's and his father's past—creates a sense of historical continuity and moral ambiguity. The narrative is driven by the search for truth, but the truth is always layered, contested, and incomplete. The interplay of personal and political histories, the use of documents, photographs, and confessions, and the gradual revelation of secrets all serve to blur the boundaries between victim and perpetrator, justice and revenge.

Undercover Operations and False Identities

The plot hinges on undercover work, forged documents, and the manipulation of identities. Vlado's role as the son of a war criminal's comrade is both a key to the operation and a source of personal crisis. The use of false names, hidden pasts, and secret agendas is mirrored in the larger political context, where nations and agencies pursue their own interests under the guise of justice. The motif of buried secrets—literal and metaphorical—recurs throughout, culminating in the discovery of the gold and the documents.

Foreshadowing and Moral Ambiguity

The narrative is rich in foreshadowing, from the opening scenes of the general's haunted memories to the repeated references to ghosts, graves, and unfinished business. The use of dreams, flashbacks, and symbolic settings (bunkers, wells, cemeteries) reinforces the sense that the past is never truly past. The story's moral ambiguity is heightened by the shifting alliances, the compromises of the tribunal, and the personal costs of pursuing justice. The reader is constantly invited to question who is guilty, who is innocent, and whether redemption is possible.

The Small Boat of Great Sorrows

The title, drawn from a Serbian epic, serves as a recurring motif—a metaphor for the journey through history, loss, and the search for meaning. The "small boat" is both the individual and the collective, adrift on the currents of violence and memory. The novel's structure, with its interlocking stories and shifting perspectives, mirrors the boat's passage through treacherous waters, always seeking but never quite reaching safe harbor.

Analysis

Dan Fesperman's The Small Boat of Great Sorrows is a masterful exploration of the ways in which history, violence, and personal identity are intertwined. Set against the backdrop of postwar Bosnia and the lingering shadows of World War II, the novel interrogates the possibility of justice in a world where truth is always contested and the past refuses to stay buried. Through the character of Vlado Petric, Fesperman examines the psychological toll of exile, the burden of inherited guilt, and the longing for redemption. The novel's intricate plot, with its layers of deception, betrayal, and revelation, serves as both a gripping thriller and a meditation on the limits of justice and the necessity of forgiveness. The story's resolution—ambiguous, hard-won, and deeply human—suggests that while the wounds of history may never fully heal, the act of bearing witness, of telling the truth, and of seeking connection across the divides of war and memory, remains essential. In the end, the "small boat" of the title is not just a vessel of sorrow, but also of hope—a fragile, enduring testament to the possibility of finding one's way home.

Last updated: January 9, 2026