Description
Longlisted for the 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize for NonFiction
A reflection on freedom in a dramatic beautifully written memoir of the end of Communism in the Balkans
Lea Ypi grew up in the last Stalinist country in Europe Albania a place of queuing and scarcity of political executions and secret police While family members disappeared to what she was told were universities from which few graduated she swore loyalty to the Party In her eyes people were equal neighbors helped each other and children were expected to build a better world
Then the statues of Stalin and Hoxha were toppled Almost overnight people could vote and worship freely and invest in hopes of striking it rich But factories shut jobs disappeared and thousands fled to Italy only to be sent back Pyramid schemes bankrupted the country leading to violence One generations dreams became anothers disillusionment As her own familys secrets were revealed Ypi found herself questioning what freedom really means With acute insight and wit Ypi traces the perils of ideology and what people need to flourish
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