Cafe Europa: Life after Communism - Hardcover

Drakulic, S

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393040127 ISBN 13: 9780393040128

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co., 1997

Synopsis

The 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 Today in Eastern Europe the architectural work of revolution is complete: the old order has been replaced by various forms of free-market economy and de jure democracy.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 thingsof 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 bitsor imitationsof 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.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Today in Eastern Europe the architectural work of revolution is complete: the old order has been replaced by various forms of free-market economy and de jure democracy.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 everyday 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. In the place of the fallen Berlin Wall, there is a chasm between East and West, consisting of the different way people continue to live and understand the world. Are these differences a communist legacy, or do they run even deeper? What divides us today? To say simply that it is the understanding of the past, or a different concept of time, is not enough. But a visitor to this part of the world will soon discover that the Eastern Europeans live in another time zone. They live in the twentieth century, but at the same time they inhabit a past full of myths and fairy tales, of blood and national belonging.

About the Author:

Slavenka Drakulic was born in Croatia in 1949. The author of several works of nonfiction and novels, she has written for The New York Times, The Nation, The New Republic, and numerous publications around the world.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0393040127
• ISBN 13: 9780393040128
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192