Published 2021

Summary and Thoughts

This is a fascinating collection of essays reflecting on the changes within the countries of Eastern Europe 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism across those nations.

The author examines the dangers presented by totalitarianism and corruption, and looks at the way nationalism, religion, immigration and hopelessness play into and compound the problems of the region. As an individual who was raised in Yugoslavia, Drakulic brings special insight into the mindset of the people and why it is so challenging to create change. 

Other topics she discussed were traumatic silence, individual versus official memory, converting communal to private property, the rural/urban divide, and the problems of importing the “Me Too” movement. She also wrote about North Macedonia, the brain drain, and student uprisings in the 1960s. 

Chapter 2 was especially fascinating because it looked at food, food production, and the catch-22 of capitalism in some nations. It was a story with which I had been vaguely familiar. European companies were sending food of lower quality to the countries of Eastern Europe. Having been raised in a middle-class home in a capitalist system, my perceptions of the problems were different from those of the people who were on the receiving end of that difference in quality. 

Drakulic lived through the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia and, she is very clear about why she feels nationalism is a threat. Therefore, Chapter 7, Fueling Fear: Why Nationalism Demands a Response, was one of the most powerful chapters of the book. It’s a theme she revisits in most of the essays. 

Patriotism does not demand comparison and conflict. And because it is a private feeling … no justification is needed. The fact that nationalism, by contrast, needs confrontation, and is therefore dangerous, is often neglected

Drakulic, Cafe Europa Revisited, page 95

Now that we are a generation away from the collapse of the communist states, it is easy to believe Europe is simply Europe. Most of the EU countries use the Euro, there’s freedom of movement, there’s generally an appearance of a united community. Looking at Europe through the experiences of one who has lived through the transition and the ensuing years and turmoil was enlightening.

About the Author

Slavenka Drakulic is a celebrated Croatian author and journalist. Both her works of fiction and non-fiction have been translated in to many languages.

You can learn more about her and her works on her website.