‘The Harvesters’ is a contemplative, meditative novel following the interweaving stories of Mira and her nephew Bernard, as they each chase their own respective ghosts across the streets of Paris while en route to Croatia.
For Mira, she reminisces about her childhood, particularly thoughts of a former sweetheart, Mirko, who fought in the Yugoslav Wars and came back, scarred by his experiences. Mira’s section of the story explores the impact of emigration and post-war effects, as she cycles through a series of ‘what ifs’, inspired by her life so far.
For Bernard, he is retracing the steps of a holiday spent with his ex-girlfriend, simultaneously a study in grief and shame.
The novel highlights how each person, and perhaps their respective generation, deals with their memories and feelings.
The book has a pleasant, dream-like quality to the writing – as others have mentioned, not an awful lot happens, the action is primarily introspective and results in a well-rounded, somewhat bittersweet snapshot of two lives toiling together in a few moments in time.

Thanks to Freehand Books, via NetGalley for the eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 28%

Unfortunately I didn’t finish this book since I found it difficult to follow. Character-led, The Harvesters follows Mira and her nephew Bernard as they visit Paris. What ensues is a journey in addressing the losses in their life.

I really like the idea of this book, but it was hard for me to sink my teeth into as it moved slowly, had no defining chapters, and the character unravelling was perhaps a touch too slow for me as well. One for lit fic readers that love a character study.

Thank you netgalley and freehand books for the advance copy.

I requested this because I'm nostalgic for Paris, and it sounded interesting. It delivered on both.

There are descriptions of Paris all throughout the book, but really it's about these two characters, their failures relationships, and how living through a war and being a refugee affects people.

Mira is very philosophical as she wanders Paris thinking about her life, starting over and what that means, and her family. Bernard is a pretty messed up young adult and I wonder how much of that was supposed to come through from his childhood or as generational trauma as a child of refugees.

Both characters end up admitting a out of their own flaws as they spend 3 days in Paris reflecting on those failures relationships. This is the kind of book that just meanders along and strange things happen that are kind of dreamlike, so if you're looking for a fun quirky read about Paris you should look elsewhere.

Multilayered and engrossing. A story of aunt and nephew bumbling about Paris trying to come to terms with losses in each of their lives and seeing memories of younger days and simpler understandings all throughout the city. The author has an innate understanding of the human experience and all the questions and pain love brings forth. There was a lot of storyline and some references to even further past happenings but I did not feel it weighted the story down and my interest was held. Overall a very interesting, moving and satisfying read.

This didn’t work out for me. The writing was uncomfortable and felt like a bad translation from Google Translate or an AI device. The story did not flow well at all and it felt stilted and uncomfortable.

3.5 🌟 I have to admit this wasn’t for me, but I still found myself appreciating the story. It’s a thoughtful and character-driven slice-of-life with themes of belongingness and self-discovery. I can’t exactly pinpoint a plotline of sorts, but what this book did was take us deep into the introspections and musings of both characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Freehand Books for the ARC! :>

The Harvesters by Jasmina Odor is a beautifully written novel that asks the reader to slow down and examine the power of memory and the desire to harness the future. Odor creates a character study dealing with immigration, what it means to belong, and the role we play in our lives.

Mira and her grown nephew, Bernard, are taking a short trip to Paris on their way to Croatia to visit their mother/grandmother after her ministroke. Their pasts threaten to derail the trip as each wrestles with the role they played in the disappointments of their own lives. Mira is divorced and untethered. Is she looking for an old flame, seeking something new, or nothing at all? Does she belong with her mother in Croatia, the country she left behind during the Yugoslav Wars? Bernard struggles to understand his role in losing his first love. Can these characters break through their pasts to see each other now? To see themselves as they really are?

The true delight of this novel lies in the author’s writing style. Crafted in a captivating blend of stream-of-consciousness and dual POV, the narrative draws the reader into an intimate connection with one character at a time. The following quote serves as an example of Jasmina Odor’s keen writing prowess:

“She backs up and dismounts too and leans over to look. One of the pigeon’s wings hangs funny, like a part has come loose. What small parts do pigeons have under their feathers?
Bones, of course, get a grip.”

The author not only has a way with words, but a powerful ability of storytelling by absence. There is as much reading to be done in the white spaces as in the words on the page. Mira and Bernard are unable to communicate successfully, each aggravating the other without any real understanding of what they did wrong. It is the reader’s privilege to filter through these miscommunications and dive into the hurts that each character carries.
The novel isn't plot-driven, so is unlikely to appeal to readers looking for "a lot to happen." The focus is on character and memory. The Harvesters is for readers willing to engage with the writing and who enjoy diving into the characters' inner lives while wandering around the less glamorous parts of Paris.

Thank you to Freehand Books and NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The Harvesters by Jasmina Odor comes out on May 1st!

3.5 stars

'The Harvesters' by Jasmine Odor was a beautiful read. While there's not a lot of plot, it is a character-driven story that follows these incredible characters. If this is your cup of tea, go for it!

Thank you Freehand Books and Jasmine Odor for the ARC!

I wouldn't recommend this title to people who dislike character-driven stories. But I greatly enjoyed it. Odor's illustration of Paris - its beauty and its underbelly - was stunning, and I felt so deeply for her rich characters. Philosophical, elegiac and wise - this book is a treasure.

2.5 Stars
This book is not quite what I was hoping for based on it's description. I was expecting a poignant tale about the connection between and aunt and her nephew as they work to save an injured pigeon and reminisce about their pasts, their heartbreaks and griefs. And I think that possibly, that's what they author wanted this to be as well, however it just... wasn't. This book fell flat for me in so many ways.

The main characters, Mira and Bernard, spent the majority of this book apart from one another, and I didn't feel any connection between the two when they were together. I think, had the story focused more on the two of them talking to one another, I may have been more emotionally invested in this story. But instead, we get separate tellings of the two of them wandering around Paris for a few days. Bernard spends his time meeting up with several different girls, so many in such a short span that the characters begin to blend together and none of their encounters left any lasting impression on me as a reader. He also thinks about his ex-girlfriend, Aisha, who inspired him to want to take this impromptu trip in the first place. It's clear that Bernard is feeling lost, but his lack of direction was often a bit confusing to read. Did he miss Aisha? Did he truly feel any connection with any of the girls he met up with in Paris? His whole journey feels vague and a bit pointless.

Mira spends her trip thinking about her ex-husband, and hoping for a reconnection with a man she had once loved that now lives in Paris. Her narrative tended to split off into long "philosophical" tangents that, to me, felt like they were trying too hard to be deep. She also continuously had conversations with, or visions of, those who were not there, like her ex-husband David or her deceased father. These experiences seemed to muddle the moment near the end of the book when Mira truly does see and speak with her father, and were at times confusing.

The author uses a stream of conscious style of writing that I did not particularly enjoy. The book would occasionally ramble on, or a sentences would be interrupted in a way that I can only describe as pointless. And in all honesty, 'pointless' is really the word I walk away from this book with. Next to nothing happens in this book, and while sometimes this sort of slice of life, small scale story can be very endearing, here it just did not work for me. I was bored with the forced questions about morality, grief and relationships. And the pigeon? The bird and it's broken wing was an incredibly overlooked part of the story that had very little effect, and in the end I just felt that, again, it was pointless.

I hope there are others out there who like this book much more than I did. Perhaps this just wasn't 'for me' and that's okay.I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a free ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was lost from the beginning and not in a good way. The entire story was nonsensical and so badly written that half the time I couldn’t figure out what was going on.

I knew that I wanted to read The Harvesters when I saw that the author was from Croatia as were the characters in this story. I whizzed through this book which follows Mira, a divorcee who comes to Paris with her nephew Bernard for a short trip. Paris with its beauty and charm is juxtaposed by the people who live beyond its beautiful façade- the immigrants, the lost, and the broken. It is this contrast which sparks memories for both Mira and Bernard of their pasts, forcing them to acknowledge their pain, guilt, and loss that they see mirrored around them in the curious and complicated people of Paris. It seems that everyone comes to Paris to start over and to let the parts of themselves that they cannot change and would like to forget, die and fall away from them. Mira and Bernard both try to release their pasts, failures, and memories amidst the magical grandeur of the city of light.

This book reminds me of a French Nouvelle Vague film, with its existential themes, off beat humour, and ordinary people doing ordinary things.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not my cup of tea, but that’s all right, because reading is subjective. I think this book would appeal to other people, so instead of writing a review on what I don’t like, I am writing a review on what type of people might enjoy this book.

This book focuses mostly on characters, and there is very little action/plot, so this is a great book for people who want to delve deep into the psyche of a few characters. It does well at following the thought process of humans, and how their thoughts drift, depending on the different stimuli that they are exposed to. This is the type of book for people who want a literary fiction read that is not too long. You might enjoy this book if you enjoy stories of people who are coming to terms with lost relationships, a lack of home, being a refugee, and coming to terms with your mistakes.