9 Must-Read Books Before Traveling to the Balkans

The Balkans are often referred to as the “hub of Europe”. It is a region where East and West, Islam and Christianity, empires and nations meet. Turkish mosques stand next to Orthodox monasteries, Catholic cathedrals next to socialist monuments. It is fascinating to see it with your own eyes, but sometimes it is difficult to grasp the hidden meanings.

Today, the Balkans attract travelers not only for its culture and history, but also for its unexpected contrasts of modernity: everything from traditional spice markets to discussions of innovative topics like blockchain or how cryptocurrency casinos are developing in Europe: https://norwaykryptocasino.com/.

This is why books become an indispensable guide. Fiction novels help you understand the character of the people and their traditions, historical studies explain where conflicts come from, and travel notes allow you to look at everything through the eyes of a curious traveler. Below are nine books that will help you not just travel to the Balkans, but live them more deeply.

1. Black Lamb and Grey Falcon – Rebecca West

This book is a true colossus. English writer Rebecca West traveled to Yugoslavia in 1937 and recorded her impressions. The result was a work of more than a thousand pages that intertwined personal observations, historical digressions, and philosophical musings.

Why it’s worth reading:

• This is not a dry chronicle, but rather a travel novel. The author talks to peasants, officials, priests, observes everyday life and holidays.
• Through her notes we see the Balkans just before World War II, when the old world was already beginning to crack.

For the twenty-first century reader, this is an opportunity to “live” the region in its complex beauty and contradictions.

2 The Bridge on the Drina – Ivo Andrić

Nobel laureate Ivo Andrić has written perhaps the most famous Balkan book. The novel is about the bridge in the town of Višegrad (modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the people who lived around it for four centuries.

• The bridge here is a symbol of eternity and at the same time a witness of changing epochs: Turkish rule, Austrian administration, wars, revolutions.
• The destinies of the characters are connected with politics, but in the center always remains a man with his small joys and tragedies.

This book helps to understand how history “seeps” into everyday life.

3. The Scent of Rain in the Balkans – Gordana Kuic

A family saga based on a true story. The novel tells the story of a family of Sephardic Jews from Sarajevo in the early twentieth century. We see how the sisters marry, argue, search for their happiness – and how wars and new regimes fall on their fates.

• There are no global politics here, just the life of one family, but through it a whole layer of multicultural Sarajevo is revealed.
• This is a story about the fragility of the world and how quickly the usual reality can change.

The book helps to look at the Balkans through the eyes of ordinary people who did not choose politics, but had to live with its consequences.

4 Imagining the Balkans – Maria Todorova

If you want to understand why the West often looks down on the Balkans, this book is a must. Bulgarian researcher Maria Todorova analyzes the stereotype of “Balkanism”.

• In the West, the region was often portrayed as “wild,” “backward,” and “conflictual.
• Todorova shows that this is not an objective truth, but a construct that was formed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Reading her book, you begin to notice how media and politics still use these clichés. This makes the journey more conscious: you realize that behind the familiar images are other people’s narratives.

5. Through the Embers of Chaos: Balkan Journeys – Dervla Murphy

Irish traveler Dervla Murphy is known for always choosing “difficult” routes. In this book she describes her travels in the Balkans in the late 90s and early 2000s – already after the wars in Yugoslavia.

• Her view is honest and sometimes harsh: she writes about poverty, corruption, and trauma, but also about hospitality and the beauty of nature.
• It is a contemporary account of how the region recovered from terrible events.

For the traveler, the book is useful in that it helps to see not only the tourist facades, but also real life.

6. The Balkans: Nationalism, War, and the Great Powers, 1804-1999 – Misha Glennie

Journalist and historian Misha Glennie has written a comprehensive study of two hundred years of Balkan history.

• He explains how national movements destroyed empires and created new states.
• Shows what role was played by the great powers – Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Britain.
• Makes it clear why the war in Yugoslavia in the 90s was not an accident, but the continuation of a long process.

This book is not for light reading, but it will provide a solid foundation if you want to really understand the political context.

7. The Balkans: A Short History – Mark Mazower

Unlike Glennie, Mazower writes in a compact and accessible manner. His book is a kind of “synopsis” of the history of the region from the Ottoman era to the end of the 20th century.

• The author knows how to explain complex things in simple language.
• The book is suitable for those who do not have time for thick volumes, but want to get a holistic view.

If you have a trip coming up in a month, start with Mazower and you will have the necessary base.

8. Serbia: A Modern History – Marko Attila Hoare

Serbia plays a special role in Balkan history, and this book helps us understand why. Hoare describes the country’s journey from the nineteenth century to World War II.

• He analyzes national movements, conflicts with neighbors, and domestic politics.
• He explains why Serbia has been at the center of major European events, from the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand to the Yugoslav Wars.

For those going to Belgrade or Novi Sad, this is a great “dive” into the context.

9. Royal Fraud: The Story of Albania’s First and Last King – Robert Austin

Albania is rarely on the traveler’s radar, but it is a fascinating country with a dramatic history. The book tells the story of King Ahmet Zogu, who tried to turn Albania into a modern state in the 1920s and 30s, but ended up in exile.

• It is a story of political ambition, international intrigue and attempts to hold on to power.
• Through the figure of Zogu, the complexity of Albanian identity, the balance between East and West, is seen.

After reading it, you will get a different perspective on a country that often remains a “white spot” for tourists.