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andibynite's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This is a great read, I think she has a problem conflating communism and totalitarianism a little, but as someone with Serbian-Croatian heritage this is a common feature of people from our region. I do enjoy the book and view this more of a personal analysis of a situation n than a truly unbiased view of the region. It’s also super interesting to read in the year 2024.
juli_mod's review against another edition
3.0
Etwas antiquiert wirken diese Essays über eine Welt, die in den 90ern zusammenwächst und die vor allem die Lust am einkaufen und die Sehnsucht nach Individualität zusammenhält. Vieles hat sich seitdem geändert, sodass sich diese Anekdotischen Texte nun eher wie historische Quellen lesen. Dabei gelingen der Autorin oft scharfsinnige Beobachtungen, fröhliche Bonmots oder melancholische Sentenzen. Berichte aus einer Welt, die bereits Geschichte ist.
gracefullypunk's review against another edition
4.0
This book was published in 1996, not too long after the fall of Communism. My one major issue with it is that most of the essays didn't include the date when the place was visited -- perhaps there was a big difference between a visit made in 1991 and one in 1995. That being said, I'd love to see an updated version of this book, to know how it is Eastern Europeans are feeling about being part of the "Europe" that is so often mentioned by Drakulić.
leaf900's review against another edition
4.0
This is a collection of short essays on a variety of topics to do with the opening up of the Former Yugoslavic republics. I found her take on western Europeans views of people from the former communists lands very interesting. Reading this book over about 20 years later and after Croatia's, Slovenia's and many others joining of the EU fascinating and can definitely see that joining the EU did not solve all problems that they thought it would.
jenwestpfahl's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
4.0
These essays give an interesting look at life shortly after the fall of communism in several Balkan counties. It’s a perspective worth knowing.
zukauskaiteur's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.25