Hailed by feminists as one of the most important contributions to women's studies in the last decade, this gripping, beautifully written account describes the daily struggles of women under the Marxist regime in the former republic of Yugoslavia.
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Drakulic's fine collection of essays draws strength from her keen powers of observation and sensitivity to her readers' interests. Her achievement is to depict the starkly common identity of everyday life in socialist Eastern Europe before its unlamented loss becomes irretrievable. It is a world in which party authority can create the "sudden invisibility" for an offending journalist, where public buildings share a "shabbiness and color of sepia," and one that makes the post office an impenetrable "institution of power." The essays are also about people, about the obsessive " communist eye " (italics original) disturbed by the injustice of New York's homeless yet neurotically envious of those wearing fur coats at home. The tragic irony lies in the book's title. Hoarding material objects enabled people "to survive communism," but hoarding wartime memories and the inability to "let the dead be dead" may destroy the author's native Yugoslavia. Recommended for all public and academic libraries.
- Zachary T. Irwin, Pennsylvania State Univ.-Erie
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Zachary T. Irwin, Pennsylvania State Univ.-Erie
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
A poignant and truthful look at what living under Communism was really like, by Croatian journalist and novelist Drakuli. The author, daughter of a former partisan who was a high- ranking Communist army officer, was never a member of the Party herself. Here, she conveys the reality of life under Communism through ordinary but telling detail: the wonder of a man who, for the first time in his life, was able to eat a banana--and ate it skin and all, marveling at its texture; Draculi's own bewilderment at finding fresh strawberries in N.Y.C. in December; the feel of the quality of the paper in an issue of Vogue; the desperate lengths to which women under the Communist regime would go to find cosmetics or clothes or something that would make them feel feminine in a society where such a feeling was regarded as a bourgeois affectation. Drakuli dismisses the argument that Western manufacturers have manipulated these needs: ``To tell us that they are making a profit by exploiting our needs is like warning a Bangladeshi about cholesterol.'' Though herself a feminist, she willingly turns amusing in describing the uncomprehending questions sent to her by a New York editor who asked about the role of feminism in political discourse in Eastern Europe, when there was no political discourse and when feminists were--and apparently still are--regarded as enemies of the people. ``We may have survived Communism,'' Drakuli writes, ``but we have not yet outlived it.'' To the author, Communism is more than an ideology or a method of government--it is a state of mind that is yet to be erased from the collective consciousness of those who have lived under it. A sometimes sad, sometimes witty book that conveys more about politics in Eastern Europe than any number of theoretical political analyses. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Slavenka explores the perplexing lives of Eastern European women living in Communism through her short essays. There is nothing funny about these stories. The author displays how Communism failed its people, and how it failed its women. A visit to Yugoslavia in the 1980's, opened my eyes to the trials these women faced. I lived like these women. I brought with me stockpiles of medicine, sanitary napkins, soap and detergent. These items were impossible to buy and if you could find these items they were outrageously expensive. I washed my clothes by hand, scrubbed them in the basins Slavenka talks about. I walked around with the same fear, the same hopelessness for the future. Live for today, survive today. No bother to worry about tomorrow. This book should be a part of all woman studies programs, it gives insight to the lives of women living in Eastern Block countries. It gives insights to the trials they face and the fear of the future that goes along with it.
45 of 61 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I would have given this book three and a half stars if I had the option; but I don't, so I am giving it four, all on account of its good narrative and occasional wit.
I keep hearing and reading about what an "eye-opener" this book has been for readers in Western countries. That is all well and fine; many of the things she describes are valid information.
The problem is that this book, by empathizing (and rightly so) with the everday noodle-and-darning plight of "sisters" in other so-called Communist regimes (all of whom had a MUCH harder time than we in the former Yugoslavia ever did) tends to blur not only the HUGE political and social nuances and distinctions among the various "Communist" countries, but also inside ex-Yugoslavia itself. In short, the so-called Communist "block" was never really a "block" - it was a tapestry of many nuances and textures, depending on the country.
I keep hearing and reading about what an "eye-opener" this book has been for readers in Western countries. That is all well and fine; many of the things she describes are valid information.
The problem is that this book, by empathizing (and rightly so) with the everday noodle-and-darning plight of "sisters" in other so-called Communist regimes (all of whom had a MUCH harder time than we in the former Yugoslavia ever did) tends to blur not only the HUGE political and social nuances and distinctions among the various "Communist" countries, but also inside ex-Yugoslavia itself. In short, the so-called Communist "block" was never really a "block" - it was a tapestry of many nuances and textures, depending on the country.
Admittedly, I belong to a different generation than Ms. Drakulić. Furthermore, I was born and grew up in the northern part of the country, called Slovenia (now, an independent state), which was, incidentally, the "richest" part of Yugoslavia. (And BTW: I don't recall any of her interlocutors in the book being a Slovene... Why not? Maybe because the situation in Slovenia wouldn't fit in with the utterly dismal picture that she is painting?)
Here are some facts: often, there were (usually short-term) shortages of different things: sugar, bananas, chocolate, detergent... I even remember a shortage of toilet paper, once. But never all at the same time, and never for very long. We never queued, like the unfortunate peoples of the Soviet satellite states. I for one DID have dolls, very pretty ones (no, NOT rag dolls) - 18 of them! If there ever was a shortage of tampons (I never use them), I certainly don't remember any shortage of sanitary towels. We were always nicely dressed and made-up; and if the clothes on offer in our own country didn't suit us, we'd make a 2 hour trip to nearby Italy, where we could buy more trendy attire. (Nobody in my family ever did that, BTW.)
No, I am not one of those short-memoried "nostalgics" who mourn the demise of the Titoist regime and the fallacy of the infamous "unity & fraternity" slogans of those days... In fact, I did every thing that I could to help erode it and bring it down.
I just resent history - ANY history - being "tailored" to suit the prefabricated expectations of foreign readers.
Had Ms. Drakulić decided to include a "girl talk" with a Slovene or two - who were even her "compatriots" in those times, after all - a picture slightly more complex would emerge. And maybe then people elsewhere wouldn't have been surprised by the news that Yugoslavia was falling apart... It already WAS - always had been - several different countries within one artificial structure.
In short: enjoy this book, for it tells the truth - and it tells it well! Just not the ENTIRE truth.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Drakulic is a journalist by trade, and as such has a no-nonsense writing style: stark, factual. She interviewed women of various countries and captured stories of what they endured mentally and physically under communist rule. This is one of my favorite books, one I will read again and again, and which I have given copies of to my friends.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Exaggerated mix of negativism, undated events, and half truths......
I have grown up under communism in Czechoslovakia, and was excited to read this book.
The book started slow and the writing was choppy and un-engaging. Read more
The book started slow and the writing was choppy and un-engaging. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Minehava
5.0 out of 5 stars
communism
This book was for a class asingment, I didnt think that I would enjoy it, But once I started reading it, It was a beautifuly written story of survival......... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Sharon Caldwell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Soviet Times............
"Soviet Times" in East Europe is like combining the 50's through 90's in here (USA) In some places and for some people, it was a bit different, but overall this book pretty much... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Patrick T. king
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not entirely accurate
In my opinion, Ms. Drakulic did exaggerate some things related to Yugoslavia (now abstract and gone). Read more
Published 8 months ago by Medina Medeni
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great book for discussion - candid and interesting.
Slavenka Drakulic created a book that's candid, poignant and intelligent. She wrote this book as if she'd opened her brain and heart, and allowed all the noise to come tumbling... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Carol W. Levy
4.0 out of 5 stars
people wake up...
This book is written in interesting bases, but I have to say that It's sad that so many people nowadays try to change this nation into communist or socialism ( same role, just... Read more
Published on January 30, 2011 by hjon203
5.0 out of 5 stars
came on time
what can you say about a book? it came on time in good condition.
Published on August 8, 2010 by Agnes T. Frank
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of my favorite books of all time
This book is a poignant portrait of personal resistance to the hardships of the Communist era. It was required reading in graduate school, so I expected it to be informative, but... Read more
Published on July 28, 2010 by Bibliophilic
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorites.
This book is a reality check and an eye-opener to a lot of people, I've asked several of my friends to read it. My mom and I both cried when we read it. Read more
Published on June 18, 2010 by Anonymous Human
5.0 out of 5 stars
How we survived communism review
Book was in the condition that they described and came to me in a timely fashion.
Published on January 27, 2010 by Mackenzie D. Manternach
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 4
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45
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- Holograms of Fear by Slavenka Drakulic in Front Matter
- Marble Skin: A Novel by Slavenka Drakulic in Front Matter
- Europe, Europe: Forays into a Continent by Hans Magnus Enzensberger on page 164
- Soviet Women: Walking the Tightrope by Francine Du Plessix Gray on page 27
- Consumption and Everyday Life (Culture, Media and Identities series) by Hugh Mackay on page 49, and Back Matter
- The Book Group Book: A Thoughtful Guide to Forming and Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group by Ellen Slezak on page 311, and page 393
- Feminist Locations: Global and Local, Theory and Practice by Marianne DeKoven on page 250, and page 252
- The Shopping Experience (Published in association with Theory, Culture & Society) by Pasi Falk on page 49, and page 55
- Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies by Thierry Dodin on page 376, and Back Matter
See all 45 books citing this book
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