SLAVENKA DRAKULICCafe EuropaLife after CommunismThe latest dispatch from post-communist Eastern Europe by one of its most acclaimed writers. Today in Eastern Europe the architectural work of revolution is complete: the old order has been replaced by various forms of free-market economy and de jure democracy. But as Slavenka Drakulic observes in this collection of personal essays, "in every-day life, the revolution consists much more of the small things--of sounds, looks and images." In this brilliant work of political reportage filtered through her own experience, we see that Europe remains a divided continent, separated by invisible walls. The suspicious looks Eastern Europeans continue to receive at Western border crossings are painful reminders that they remain Europe's second-class citizens. The mud in the cracks of Bratislava's or Sofia's sidewalks after a rain is a periodic reminder of the cities' not-so-distant peasant roots. That well-maintained toilets are almost impossible to find in Bucharest reveals that much work is yet to be done towards building a "civil society": the precursor to any sturdy democracy. Little bits--or imitations--of the West, however, are gradually making their way east: boutiques carrying Levis named "Point West!" and tiny food shops called "Supermarket" are multiplying on main boulevards. Drakulic can find a "Cafe Europa," complete with Viennese-style coffee and "Western" decor, in just about any Eastern European city, but the acceptance of the East by the rest of Europe continues to prove much more elusive. "She is brave, funny, wise and a wonderfully gifted writer."--Barbara Ehrenreich, on How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed Slavenka Drakulic lives in Zagreb and Vienna. Her previous books include How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed, The Balkan Express, and Holograms of Fear, all published by Norton. 1997 / hardcover / 0-393-04012-7 / 192 pages / current events | |||||
| |||||
