The Rooster by Sibel Roller is the utterly gripping and heartbreaking true story of her father, Dragan, who as a Yugoslav Youth movement member (illegal under the Ustaše) and was taken along with others intellectuals to Jasenovac death camp in Croatia. He miraculously survived three horrendous years subsisting in the midst of pure evil and was regularly beaten, starved to under 50 kg, humiliated. Those in charge were merciless and barbaric. Years later, Dragan testified against the commandant in court. At that time he was married with a family and highly educated which is evident in his writing. His voice is matter of fact and gracious, smart and wise. He was a survivor who had to live with the repercussions, physical and mental, until his death.

Sibel grew up in an unusual family and moved several times as a child due to her father's job as an economist. Her father seldom mentioned his past as he was desperate to forget it. They lived in fascinating places and were particularly enamored with Uganda but her parents always returned home to Zagreb. Sibel found a manuscript written by her father as she cleared the storage room after his death which changed her life completely. I am very grateful such documents and journals exist as this information is crucial to know about. She includes this manuscript here as well as photographs of her family. Her writing is poignant and exquisite with echoes of her father and her own life experiences. Terrible details are not glossed over and are difficult to read. I was in tears several times at the raw and beautiful writing, in awe of Dragan's perseverance and sickened at the capacity of humans beings. But there is also determination, love and hope.

I live part time in Croatia and know places mentioned in this book well. Of course it is impossible to comprehend the black aspect of Croatia Dragan experienced. Learning more about this dark time really pulled at my heart. I am so grateful that Dragan recorded his story and that his daughter wrote it. If you have even the slightest interest in the topic, please do not miss this.

My sincere thank you to Rowman & Littlefield and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this truly astounding book, one I will never forget.

I found The Rooster to be an interesting look into the life of Dragan Roller from before his time in the Jasenovac Concentration Camp through his life after and how it impacted him, and how he worked to move on with his life.

At times, I felt like I was a fly on the wall in Sibel’s real and imagined interactions with her father. The book is thoughtfully written with inclusions of Dragan’s own writings, adding to depth of it all.

I think this work is tragically informative and educational, while also giving a deep look into the discovery of father’s past by his daughter.

This is a truly educational experience and perfectly captures how failure to come to terms with the past will continue to cause problems for future generations. The book covers an often overlooked aspect of the genocide of World War II, exposing the part played in the then styled independent state of Croatia. The post war inaction to reconciliation and accountability then flows through to the horrific events in the 1990s. This is a fascinating memoir of someone who lived through the WWII concentration camp experience but it is also a very important social commentary,