From the very first page, you do not watch the Leissner family as they leave their home and set out for a new life—rather, you find a space for yourself in their wagon, perhaps next to five-year-old Rosalia, and go along for the ride. And what a ride it is. Krndija is, as its subtitle asserts, the journey of One Village from Creation to Destruction, but that is just its backdrop. It is a family saga told from multiple perspectives beginning in 1903 when the family sets out for a new farming community in the area we used to call Yugoslavia. By book’s end in 1944, Rosalia, now the matriarch of a clan we have come to think of as our own is packing to leave Krndija, the village her family helped build—a village that is now little more than ash and rubble.

The strength of Ms. Kremer's writing is in her characters, and her ability not just to make them come alive, but to make them live through you. Our hearts are broken as we leave it, for we have come to know so very many of its residents intimately. We held our breath and turned pages as fast as possible to learn whether Paul would choose shy Rosalia or outgoing Ellie as his bride. We watched headstrong Ada grow from birth to motherhood and felt her anguish when family necessity forced her to leave her beloved school. We farmed the fields with Paul, Martin, and Georg, and then lay silent and still as we became both hunter and hunted in two world wars. There isn’t an emotion the characters feel that isn't felt by the reader, as well.

Krndija will find its way onto library and bookstore shelves labeled as historical fiction. Certainly, in its exquisite details and sumptuous descriptions, it deserves to be there and is a must-read for any history buff. But that is only a piece of it. With its powerful women and romance at all ages, Krndija would fit well on Women’s Lit or Romance shelves. With its breathtaking scenes of war, it would fit well amongst action books, yet be near the top of any list of anti-war literature.

This is a timely, important book. In documenting the changing lives of people of the many ethnicities living in the area—in showing how they lived together in peace, and were divided by outside events - Krndija elucidates the recent conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. It also shines light on the many sides of the human heart, extending the reader's universe of empathy to include a multiplicity of ages and personalities.

As I approached the final pages, I was left with the irony of wanting to race through to find out what happens next while wishing to linger with the friends living on its pages for as long as possible. There are three possible solutions: to wait for Ms. Kremer's next volume, to hope for a movie or TV miniseries, or to turn back to the beginning and read the book again. From this perspective, Krndija is not a "must read", but rather, a "must read again."




The following review was submitted by the author of "A Pebble In My Shoe", Katherine Flotz:
Dear fellow Donauschwaben:
I just finished reading the (historical fiction) novel Krndija, One Village from Creation to Destruction by Donna Kremer. It is awesome! 
Anyone who has an interest in the history of the Donauschwaben who came to colonize the Danube Basin in the former Yugoslavia will find this true to the letter. The author did much research and I found the facts true to form. 
If you want to know how the early settlers lived and died and later lost everything to Tito's regime, this is a book for you.  I recommend it highly.  By the way, Krndija was a small town in Croatia, near Essegg (now Osijek) and inhabited by ethnic Germans, Croats. 




The following review was submitted by the author of "Neither Sand Nor Sea", Kathleen Kubic:
Krndija, One Village from Creation to Destruction is a beautifully written and compelling first novel by Donna Kremer. Her descriptive narrative is so perfect that I was able to envision every aspect of a culture that I was unaware even existed - that of the Danube-Swabian - Germans who leave their native Germany in the early 1900's and establish the village of Krndija in Croatia.
Ms. Kremer's story takes us on a journey of forty years through World War II and introduces us to the Leissner and Hendricks families as well as a whole cast of supporting, meaningful characters. One feels as if they are right there with the families as they go about their daily lives as farmers - I can still see the corn growing - find love, suffer through the effects of both world wars, and ultimately leave Krndija for a new life.
Krndija, One Village from Creation to Destruction is a must read for everyone – not just history buffs but anyone who is interested in exceptional literature.