A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

2014 | Biography

Barbara Unkovi? is a keen and perceptive observer of the human condition, as her previous award-winning books, including, Moon WalkingandWeeds in The Garden of Edenhave revealed.A Wolf in Sheep's Clothingcould very well have been called 'Prickles amongst the Roses' as Barbara observations here surely suggest. Shortly after the new millennium began, Barbara and her husband Denis underwent the most dramatic sea-change possible. The couple left Australia's Sunshine Coast, their very comfortable lifestyle, and their flourishing coffee importing and roasting business for an entirely different life in a far-off corner of the world. Following Barbara's desire to examine her Croatian heritage in depth, they moved to her grandfather's birthplace, the tiny picturesque village of Ra?i?e on the small island of Korcula off the coast of Croatia. The idyllic appearance of this most beautiful seaside village can be likened to a wonderful rose, an absolutely stunning flower set against the backdrop of the shimmering blue Adriatic. However, this rose has thorns, many, many sharp, vicious thorns to impale the unwary. The rawness of the war has left deep scars in the Croatian psyche. The entrenched communist mindset, extreme nepotism, out of control officialdom and just plain deeply ingrained distrust including fear of foreigners, even fellow Croats from outside the village itself, taints the timeless beauty of this place that Barbara and Denis so wanted to call home. After seven years, the couple no longer live in Ra?i?e, and this book, A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing may explain in part why they chose to move on, and perhaps it also offers the reader a cautionary tale of what to expect in any so-called paradise. It's not all doom and gloom however, there is fun, love, great eccentricity to be found here and Barbara, who is an excellent restaurant-trained chef has included some of her favourite recipes from Croatia and her Adriatic and Mediterranean neighbours. A Wolf in Sheep's Clothingis a funny, sometimes disturbing but very entertaining read - yet another excellent slice of the life from Barbara Unkovi?, whose stature as a writer and keen observer of our many very human foibles, continues to grow with each and every book."

Barbara Unkovic (Author)