October 2015- The Trigger by Tim Butcher

[Jennifer W]

Welcome to October's group read of The Trigger: Hunting the Assassin Who Brought the World to War by Tim Butcher.

Enjoy!

[Nigeyb]

I loved it.


It's a fascinating investigation into the life and times of Gavrilo Princip, the Serbian student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914, and which was the catalyst for World War One.

This concise, accessible, compelling book is part history, part travelogue, and part memoir, which explains the history of the Balkans and why, despite his momentous action, Princip is now all but airbrushed out of the history of the region.

Tim Butcher also weaves in some of his own memories as a young reporter sent by the Daily Telegraph to cover the Bosnian War, during which he chanced upon Princip’s tomb being used as a toilet.

Not only did I come away from this book with an understanding of the complex recent history of the region, but also how the role of certain players can be celebrated or ignored according to the prevailing narrative in which the history is written.

Princip’s primary motivation was to rid his land of the occupying Habsburgs who, like the Turks before them, presided over an almost feudal system that perpetuated the grinding poverty of his own family and which was shared by most from the three major communities in Bosnia: the Orthodox Serbs, the mainly Catholic Croats and the Muslim Bosniaks.

To better understand how Princip came to assassinate Franz Ferdinand, Tim Butcher makes the same journey Princip made, a walk from vukojebina, Princip's desolate rural home, to Sarajevo, negotiating minefields left over the Bosnian War of the 1990s.

If you're interested in World War One, twentieth century European history, travel writing, or finding out about the area previously known as Yugoslavia, then I feel sure you’ll find lots to enjoy and appreciate in "The Trigger: Hunting the Assassin Who Brought the World to War”. It’s taut, well written, very atmospheric, engaging, provocative and, as I said at the outset, fascinating.

One of the most extraordinary facts I discovered was the numberplate of Archduke Ferdinand’s car was A111118. A numberplate that had no resonance at the time of the assassination but which also happens to be the date of Armistice Day - the moment when, after four bloody years, World War One ended - or the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918.

In the last year or so, and particularly as part of our 2014 WW1 challenge, I’d read 12 books about World War One and can confidently state that this one is up there with the very best.

I can't wait to find out what my fellow BYTers make of it.

[Jennifer W]

I'm through chapter 3, where the author met the remaining members of Princip's family. How accurate do you think their stories are?

You know, I don't think I knew the name of the assassin prior to this book

[Nigeyb]

I'd say the family's stories must have got exaggerated and slightly distorted however they're not really saying anything that sensational, and as you'll learn as you read on, a lot of the book is about the version of history that suits the prevailing narrative. It was different in the Communist era to the current nationalist era.

[Jennifer W]

I wonder if (or even assume) they're remembering him with rose colored glasses. Yet, I kind of like this view. In todays 24-7 news, up to the second tweets, etc, when someone commits an extreme act of violence, it seems like we find and latch onto, "well, he kicked a dog once," and ignore that the same person used to have tea parties with their little sister.

How much do you think his family knows what's been said about him?

[Nigeyb]

^ I'm sure that's right Jennifer. The tales have probably been repeated endlessly within the family the last 100 years or so.

At the time a revolutionary act against an occupying foreign oppressor would have been perceived by many of the locals as a good thing, or at the least not necessarily a bad thing. You'll learn later that Sarajevo was a hotbed of revolutionary ideas at this time - as was much of Europe.

I suspect his act would have been a source of some family pride when it happened and this version would have been the one told by family.

I would also guess that his family know that his assassination is now viewed less favourably. Indeed as I recall it's not so much that it's viewed negatively as no longer celebrated and is all but forgotten now.

[Mike]

I've just read this book on the strength of your review Nigeyb, and enjoyed it a lot. Yes, I got the impression that the family knew the assassination was now seen as something appalling rather than heroic, as it was in the time of the FYR; that they were a little defensive; and that the way they opened up to Tim Butcher sort of revealed that.

I'm intrigued by the view that Butcher seems to come to, though he is not always explicit about it - that Princip belonged to the era of anti-colonial freedom fighters, not the nationalist militias of later years. I also warmly appreciated the way he brought the guy alive. For me he's hitherto just been a cog in the wheel of history; not any more.

[Nigeyb]

^ Thanks Mike. I'm very gratified that I inspired you to read it, and relieved that you enjoyed it so much.

I completely agree with you concluding comments...

Mike wrote: "I also warmly appreciated the way he brought the guy alive. For me he's hitherto just been a cog in the wheel of history; not any more."

Although I'd add that he also brought the whole region alive for me. No mean feat in such a relatively short book.

[Jan C]

I have started this but have been short of available reading time lately.

[Nigeyb]

^ Great news Jan. I look forward to your thoughts and ideas (same applies for last month's Haw-Haw).

I hope things calm down and you get a bit of reading time soon.

[Jan C]

I should have more time soon. My brother is going home tomorrow. It has been a hectic week

[Nigeyb]

^ Great news Jan. I look forward to your thoughts and ideas (same applies for last month's Haw-Haw).

The 20th century began in earnest in Sarajevo and ended there too: bookends of history stained in blood.

By going in search of an individual legacy, Tim Butcher casts light on those two bloody bookends.

Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian student, stepped into history on June 28 1914 when he assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand - the act that triggered the First World War.

Princip’s primary motivation for wanting to rid his land of the Habsburgs was the fearful poverty which he saw among all three major communities in Bosnia: the Catholics, Orthodox and Muslims as they are often referred to in the former Yugoslavia. It is ironic, then, that Butcher finds Princip’s descendants almost as poor today as the assassin was 100 years ago.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/bo...

[Susan]

Do you know, I haven't looked in on this group in a while and I almost forgot I'd read this!!!

As a read, it was good - but I wasn't totally enthralled. I did enjoy it, but perhaps I would have enjoyed a straight forward history, rather than part travel memoir, part history of the country, etc. However, it filled in the other side of the story for me, as I had read a book about the assassination from the perspective of the Archduke and his marriage. So, in that sense, I was glad I read it.

[Susan]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This is a link to the previous book I read in case anyone is interested.

[Nigeyb]

Susan wrote: "...perhaps I would have enjoyed a straight forward history, rather than part travel memoir, part history of the country, etc."

Interesting. I thought the mix was part of what make the book work so successful.

Susan wrote: "However, it filled in the other side of the story for me, as I had read a book about the assassination from the perspective of the Archduke and his marriage. So, in that sense, I was glad I read it. "

Thanks for that review.

The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance that Changed the World by Greg King sounds like a good companion read - and another book that would have fitted in well with last year's BYT WW1 reading challenge.

[Roisin]

Susan - 'Do you know...I forgot that I read this!!!'

Hehehe! I forgot once that a P K Dick book that I read about two years ago was a second visit. : ) The book was good though.

[Roisin]

Might see if I can get hold of this book.

[Susan]

I think I am too optimistic about the number of books I can take on sometimes. I did enjoy it, Nigeyb, but not quite a 5* for me.

[Roisin]

Well, I'm not trying to add anymore to my 'to read' list. Not working! : )

[Barbara]

I'm about a third of the way through The Trigger and so far I'm loving it. I think the history/travel/memoir combination is just perfect.It must have been fascinating to meet Gavrilo Princip's living descendants and hear their version of events. I'm also really appreciating the parts about the war of the 1990s. It has never been completely clear to me what the issues were, and this is clarifying it for me. Very glad to be reading this.

[Nigeyb]

Barbara wrote: "I think the history/travel/memoir combination is just perfect."


Great to learn that you're enjoying it so far - I also enjoyed the hybrid nature of the book.

Barbara wrote: "I'm also really appreciating the parts about the war of the 1990s. It has never been completely clear to me what the issues were, and this is clarifying it for me."

That also echoes my reaction too. Not only did I come away from this book with an understanding of the complex recent history of the region, but also how the role of certain players can be celebrated or ignored according to the prevailing narrative in which the history is written.

Thanks again Barbara

[Nigeyb]

I love this...


Princip is the focal point of Butcher's book, but its true protagonist is a Bosnian memoryscape that shimmers between past and present.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014...

This is quite interesting...

The long-term consequences were dire. Stalin’s murderous ideology would undermine Balkan and east central Europe’s ethnic diversity with grey, monocultural nation-states that did little to recognise their minority populations. For all its oppressive tendency, the Austro-Hungarian empire at least respected the kaleidoscopic variety of its subjects.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/19c593a4-c6...

…not just the most original of First World War centenary books; it is a travel narrative of rare resonance and insight… In perhaps the book’s most affecting section, he joins a group of young Bosnians on a painfully moving pilgrimage to the mass graves of Srebrenica, reawakening his “persistent sense of shame” that, as a reporter, he saw the horrors of war at first hand, but could do nothing about them.

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/c...

This book shows how Princip thought he was heralding a renaissance for Europe’s southern Slavs. His actions in fact helped uncork the chauvinistic nationalism that still scars the region. It is little wonder that, throughout his journey, Butcher finds that it is not only Princip’s grave but his memory that is no longer honoured.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ent...

[Jennifer W]

Interesting comments, Nigey. Thanks.

I put this one down for a bit while I finished up something else, but hopefully this weekend, I can get back to it.

[Nigeyb]

Jennifer W wrote: "I put this one down for a bit while I finished up something else, but hopefully this weekend, I can get back to it."


Great news Jennifer. Anyone else got anything to report? Jan, I know you are reading it too. How are you getting on? And, are you still reading the Haw-Haw book? How's that going?

Here's a really interesting interview with Tim Butcher about The Trigger: Hunting the Assassin Who Brought the World to War and Gavrilo Princep.

Here's Tim's concluding point about the hybrid nature of the book which I really like...

Woven threads can make a beautiful kilim (decorative rug). The threads by themselves just look like a string. If you do it well, you can make a collective story better than just a list of component parts. If it was just a military memoir—I was there in Balkans and this is what I did during the 90s—or an academic history of the South Slav people from the mid-nineteenth century to today or a biography of Gavrilo Princip, they won’t have the same narrative arc. It’s not going to have flow, connection, anything to draw you in. If I read an academic paper on, say, the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia from 1878-1913, then it would be exactly that—academic. And I read them. I read a lot of them and they are all valuable and important. But I see myself as a writer who takes complicated, rich stories and makes them accessible. If you weave it right, you can unravel the most amazing stories.

[Jan C]

Well, I'm at the point where the author and Mile and Arnie have started to climb the mountain. I did really enjoy the visit with the remnants of the Princip family. Interesting to see their views about him. Gave up a close-up view of rural poverty.

Lord Haw Haw kind of got put on a shelf for the time being. Trying to get my garage cleared and books shelved. Garage opener is supposed to be installed next week so I have been trying to get it cleared out.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Jan

[Jennifer W]

I've gotten into chapter 6; they've gone to the rock concert. I'm not sure if I find it surprising or not about the fact that the concert goers have no idea who Princip is when the band puts up his picture. It seems that many people they've come across have been much more concerned with communism or the ethnic cleansing that have happened more recently. I think it's completely understandable. Time keeps ticking away.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Jan - I hope your garage gets sorted out soon

Thanks Jennifer. How are you feeling about it so far? How much are you enjoying it? What insights have you had?

[Jennifer W]

I'm liking it. I'm eager to get back to more of Princip's story, but I do like the explanations of the more recent Balkan history, too.

[Susan]

That's interesting, Jennifer. I preferred the parts about Princips himself and found some of the modern history interesting, but slightly distracting. However, it was a different take on it and I liked the style of the author very much.

[Jennifer W]

Susan, I think I would agree with that.

I think Arnie's parting comments about how you can't trust nice people are the most powerful things I've read so far.

I find it fascinating that the author was able to find Princip's school records after all this time. It sounds like he was unsettled and undergoing some strong changes during his teen years just based on those records.

[Jennifer W]

I finished it last night. I liked it, but I can't say it was wonderful. I definitely preferred the parts that focused on Princip. I did like how it pulled together the assassination, which of course lead to WWI, which lead to WWII, which lead to the Cold War and Communism in the former Yugoslavia, which lead to the war of the 1990s, and even lead to some of the radicalization of Islam and current day terrorism. I don't know that I would have put all that together myself.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks for your comments Jennifer, which I enjoyed reading.


You may a good point about Tim Butcher's skill in joining some fairly disparate dots. Like you, I finished the book with a better understanding of the complex recent history of the region.

The other thing that really struck me was how the role of certain players (e.g. Princep) could be celebrated or forgotten according to the prevailing narrative when the history is being written.

[Nigeyb]

I've just discussed this book with my real world book group (not chosen by me) - six of us read it and all loved it.

[Jennifer W]

I just picked up The Butcher's Trail: How the Search for Balkan War Criminals Became the World's Most Successful Manhunt, which is about far more recent history, but I don't think I would have given it a second glance were it not for The Trigger and seeing how those events lead to the genocide of the 1990s.