Review of 'Foreign Country' by Marija Pericic
Release date: June 3, 2025
Publisher: Ultimo Press
REVIEW
The Foreign Country's stunning cover first caught my attention. It hints at what is to come. This powerful sibling story by Marija Peričić deals with the effects of emotional pain. Missed opportunities of reconciliation and how sad it is when anger from sorrow puts a wedge between you and your loved one. But as we learn, ‘Grief has its own logic. Its own reality.’ And this story clearly demonstrates that but in a unique poetic prose format with added pictures, letters, reports and other formal documents that help tell the story. A story that captivates the imagination and inspires introspective thoughts.
Sisters Eva and Elizabeth were inseparable growing up. They depended on each other for everything. Moving from the other side of the world to Australia, was traumatic enough but after their father passed and their mother fell to pieces, they were divided up and put in different homes. A jealousy developed in Eva as it seemed her sister had a nicer home than her. This made El feel guilty for having a better life.
But this wasn’t the real stumbling block. This came when a terrible accident happened that caused these two to become estranged for many years. El tried to reconnect with Eva more than once but Eva’s bitterness would not let her forgive her sister. She felt her loss was too great and unforgivable. For Elizabeth’s young daughter, Gracie, died in a car crash. She was in a vehicle driven by her sister. Eva felt El was to blame, that she had been neglectful and did not put the car seat in the back for the child. Her grief and anger dictated her every move and bound up the possibility of a future relationship with her sister. This novel is an elegy to that fact of one who saw only what she wanted to see. It led to massive misunderstandings and missed opportunities of reunion. As Eva’s and Elizabeth’s story, begin to unfold once Eva goes back to Melbourne from Germany (where she has lived with her boyfriend), we get the full backstory of their lives. But before that, her arrival is met with an unexpected event. Her sister is dead in her home and Eva has found her and assumed the worst. Did she commit suicide? When El’s boyfriend turns up after being away on a business trip, he cannot believe she is dead and even more that she took her life. The truth will come out in the coroner’s report and it will not be what Eva expected. She will begin to soften her opinions toward her sister. Including after she reads the accident report from her daughter’s death.
Relationships are at the heart of this novel. Eva must sort out her many emotions to work through her unprocessed grief and misconstrued ideas. Once El is cremated, she joins with Eva’s neighbour and boyfriend Marko to give her sister a send-off and together they scatter her ashes. She begins to make amends, including with her own boyfriend, who has become quite frustrated with her for shutting him out and for not sharing her past. This lack of communication created lots of friction and mistrust.
I could not put this novel down once I started and I read it in a day. The writing is exceptional, poetic and polished. It is laced with sadness but there are gentle victories and growth in Eva that makes her turnaround most impressive—especially when she cannot make direct amends with El who has passed. Regardless, healing is on the table for her as she begins to open up and receive other viewpoints. She no longer acts like a ‘secret agent’ but more as a good friend and loving girlfriend. 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to Ultimo Press for the paperback review copy.
