A Story of War, Survival and the Unbreakable Spirit of Women ‘People know about the genocide,’ one survivor says, ‘but not many remember the horror that we lived through in the three years that came before.’ — Srebrenica genocide survivor, quoted in the novel. 

Time Kneels Between Mountains is a haunting and heart-stopping new novel by Melbourne-based award-winning author and academic Amra Pajalić. 

Amra transforms one of humanity’s darkest tragedies, the Srebrenica genocide, into a work of fierce beauty, remembrance, and resistance. Srebrenica was surrounded by mountainous peaks, which provided a perfect vantage point for snipers. In the time it took them to shoot once, miss, and correct their target, an innocent bystander would only take one step. 

From Bosnia to Syria, from Rwanda to Ukraine, Gaza and beyond, the places change but the grief is the same — ordinary people caught in the brutal crossfire of power. 

Ramo grabbed my arm and lifted me up. I stumbled and retched, the peaches I’d eaten tasting bitter as I vomited. We ran, crouched low, tripping through the darkness. I looked back and saw Baba and Emir — bright lights chasing them. 

Ahead of me, my uncle Ibrahim fell like a doll dropping to the ground. His arm was bleeding. My parents helped him stand, taking one shoulder each. We staggered forward as bullets and shells exploded around us. After a few hundred metres, Emir’s knees gave out. ‘Leave me,’ Ibrahim said, twisting his hand and pressing something into Baba’s palm. 

On 11 July 1995, the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina made history for the worst of reasons. 8,372 men and boys were slaughtered and buried in mass graves, the largest massacre on European soil since World War II. 

Drawing on Amra’s PhD research in Creative Writing at La Trobe University and her Bosnian heritage, Time Kneels Between Mountains masterfully blends historical fiction and murder mystery to illuminate one of the most devastating and underrepresented chapters of modern history. 

Told through the eyes of Seka Torlak, a young Bosnian Muslim girl, the novel follows her transformation from a carefree teenager into a survivor navigating the horrors of siege, starvation and moral collapse. 

Since the war started, I hadn’t been allowed to leave at all. Babo and Emir went to the black market together to exchange goods for food while I remained home. My parents used to tell me that the war would be over soon. They had stopped believing that. 

In the face of annihilation, it’s the women of Srebrenica who emerge as the moral and emotional anchors of their community — mothers, daughters and survivors carrying the unbearable weight of memory. Closer to town, the buildings were more and more damaged. The sidewalk was pockmarked with craters from the homemade bombs filled with metal and nails that were dropped from aeroplanes. My excitement faded as terror took over. 

‘The Chetniks target the centre of town on purpose, so we admire their might,’ Emir said bitterly. ‘Maybe the pilot miscalculated?’ I whispered. I didn’t want to believe people could be so evil as to really want to kill children. From mothers burying children in fragments, to girls hiding books beneath rubble, to families fleeing through sniper-laced forests, the novel exposes the quiet heroism and endurance of those who refused to surrender their humanity. 

Mama approached and knelt. She opened the bag she’d been carrying and laid down a white sheet she’d brought. She gently lifted the torso and wrapped it. ‘The dogs haven’t reached her, thankfully. You can go home now, Seka,’ she said softly. ‘I’m going to take Minka to the mosque for burial. 

When food and medicine vanish into the black market, Seka risks everything to uncover corruption and seek justice, unveiling both the cruelty and the courage that define human survival. Amidst the devastation, a fragile but radiant love story emerges between Seka and Ramo – a reminder of life’s persistence, even in ruin. He pressed my hand and said, ‘If we ever see peace again, I’ll build you a house with windows that open.’ I laughed, because in that moment the world was burning — but for a second, I believed him. 

Featuring real historical figures – Alija Izetbegović, Ratko Mladić, Naser Orić, and General Philippe Morillon – alongside fictional characters, Time Kneels Between Mountains captures a collective human experience that is both historical and painfully contemporary. 

‘I have decided to stay here in Srebrenica. You are now under the protection of the UN forces,’ Morillon said, his accented English sounding robotic and stilted through the megaphone. Thunderous applause rang out. ‘It means the UN won’t let anything happen to us,’ Mrs Tanović said beside me, tears on her cheeks. ‘We are saved.’ 

Relief filled me — and for a fleeting moment, I believed it. Then a whistle screamed through the air. Ramo pushed me to the ground as a shell landed in the middle of the playground. The sky filled with gravel, wood, and blood. The cheers turned to screams. As images of conflict and suffering emerge daily across the world, Time Kneels Between Mountains serves as both a memorial and a mirror, reflecting not only what was lost, but what humanity continues to lose. 

Balancing terror with tenderness, Amra Pajalić’s powerful novel reveals how, even in the darkest times, love, dignity and truth can survive.