Official Review: Benemorphoses by Bozz Dreamtton
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Official Review: Benemorphoses by Bozz Dreamtton

2 out of 4 stars
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In Sarajevo city, known as the cultural melting pot of the Balkan Peninsula, there is a young child named Muhamed, who spends his childhood participating in make-believe sword fights with his friends, learning how to use a hand drill, and listening to stories about the cunning fox and the gullible dog. Little Muhamed has a big dream of becoming a writer. Unfortunately, all sunlit days must come to an end. The red sky brings on the Bosnian War, an event his young mind cannot fully comprehend until the bombs, the snipers, and the destruction come to his front porch. His home is under siege, and the only way to survive is to trap himself in the shelter with no light and no freedom. He yearns to go to America to be a free man and retells the tragedy of wars. Benemorphoses is Muhamed’s coming-of-age story. The brutal war may transform a boy into a man with a tough exterior, yet the passion of an artist is still burning in his heart.
Muhamed’s story can be separated into three parts: his serene childhood, the horrific war, and his journey to America. Overall, the book’s main theme is the loss of innocence. Muhamed’s schooldays are completely different from the modern kids’: he freely roams the streets, scavenges for mushrooms on the forest floors, and fights head-on with wild bears. Every single day is filled with friendship, jovial laughter, tender care, and puppy love. This makes the abrupt transition to war becomes even more unbearable. The natural growing-up stage is cut short. There is no home or safety left. For Muhamed, the only way to be free of burdens and sadness is to lose everything and retreat into his mind with just a small dream gleaming. I love the first half of the story for its authenticity, the beautiful yet comprehensible use of language, the insightful wisdom cleverly communicated through bedtime stories, and plenty of subtle advice on how to help your kids mature and toughen up in drastic situations.
Bozz Dreamtton paints the Bosnian War vividly in its horrid nature. It is interesting that Muhamed usually avoids dealing with his emotions and chooses to ignore or suppress them instead. This is an understandable defense mechanism, but when the impact hits him, it hits him hard, and we can see how truly broken he is. In my opinion, the destruction of war can be felt in this simple yet truthful comment: “I have not seen an apple in years, Grandma, is this real?”
On the downside, the book loses its momentum gradually. The writing becomes too wordy for my liking. One example is “We persisted in our efforts of continually walking, irrelevant of the elements, unrelated to the exerted strain, and driven by nothing but an untainted resolve to persevere.” The wisdom is shoehorned into the story for literary value, thereby becoming forced and preachy. There are some redundant details that can be trimmed, for example, Muhamed mentions his dog once, but the poor creature never reappears or influences the story whatsoever. The final part is supposed to be the long-awaited reward for Muhamed’s perseverance, yet it feels rushed. The book has some punctuation mistakes, but fortunately, they never negatively affect my reading. My biggest complaint regarding the editing process concerns the overuse of semicolons. It is grammatically correct but unnecessary.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I honestly want to give it a higher score since the story has such a beautiful rhythm and sincere intent. However, I ask myself whether it leaves me with the terror of war, anger, and sadness. Yes, it obviously does, but the impact isn’t resonant enough for the story to be truly memorable among many other war testimonies. The wordy writing style does not help either. I understand that the author wants to write a literary work reminiscent of poetry, but this style somehow undermines the reality of war and makes the flow become less natural.
Benemorphoses is still a worthwhile read, especially if you are in search of a war story from a youngster’s perspective. The book will provide you with a candid account of a rarely mentioned Russian war. On a warning note, it features many war atrocities, including children’s deaths, bombing, rape, and kidnapping, which can trigger sensitive readers.
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Benemorphoses
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