Customer Reviews

Twilight of the Idols: Recollections of a Lost Yugoslavia

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When first published about a decade ago, Debeljak's essay was met with harsh criticism in many of the republics of the former Yugoslavia (and not just there) as being a sappy example of `Yugo-nostalgia.' This was particularly true of Croatia and Debeljak's native Slovenia. This despite the fact that the entire first section of the book is a rather harsh condemnation of those nationalist regimes that waged the wars on Yugoslavia's ruins, and the accusations Debeljak levels at Milosevic and the Serbian nationalists who initiated the entire process (indeed, at one point he poses the question, perhaps more relevant now than when the essay was first published: "who still remembers Vukovar?"). But this is not really a lament over the country in the form that it collapsed; instead it reads more like an eloquent epitaph to the culture that once existed in Yugoslavia, and to the Yugoslavia that could have been. In this sense, he calls on all people of the former Yugoslav republics to remember the past in all its complexity, to prevent their memories from being `ethnically cleansed' as well. Despite all of the rhetoric that followed Yugoslavia's break-up about the nature of that now-defunct state, Debeljak boldly declares that he remembers a time when things did not seem so inevitable, when conflict did not seem to be the only alternative.

Simply beautiful. Amidst the outpour of dry political/historical literature that attempted to explain and contextualize the breakup of Yugoslavia, Debeljak's essay represents a very unique perspective of Yugoslavia's brilliant popular culture as a symbol of the new energy, creativity, and initiative that had come to characterize the first truly Yugoslav generations: that young segment of society that, if not obstructed by politics and warmongering, could very well have led the peoples of this southwest Balkan state towards an era of a truly "cosmopolitan" national identity. Debeljak laments the creative, constructive and truly "Yugoslav" intellectual and cultural force that was supressed and destructed by the wars of the 90s. His work provides a unique perspective of a frequently overlooked aspect of Yugoslav identity which many today claim never existed. The emotional force of the writing of this X-Yugoslav additionally proves that it did.

After reading this essay, I was impressed by how little impression it made on me. Other than this: it is written by a very self-absorbed poet/philosopher who laments the collapse of Yugoslavia, but only offers one-sided blame towards the Serb republic. This made for a very tedious read, as not a single high-flown metaphor of Debeljak's is directed towards any Slovenian politician who might have played a role in the disaster. In fact, while gnashing his teeth over the Yugoslavia that was taken away from his generation, Debeljak then talks about his pride in defending his Slovenian homeland from the Serb "aggressors". Was the Yugoslavian National Army not in fact trying to keep Yugoslavia whole? It's contradictions like this that make for a very weak essay.

My favourite line has to be the following very important sounding proclamation: "The poet can give testimony to his time only if his metaphors are freed from external necessity, regardless of the ideological camp where they originate." This short essay is packed with similarly meaningless drivel.

Paradox supreme indeed - Slovenes and Croats, most of whom always hated the very idea of Yugoslavia, blame the Serbs, who created the YU-state twice (in 1914-1918 and 1941-1945) and wanted to keep it together in the wars of 1990-1995, for breaking Yugoslavia up! Without similar rubbish claims and attitudes this could have been a mediocre book. This way, leave this nonsense on the shelves.

Ah how biased is this book! I wonder how somebody can right this and claim it to be true.....Croatia was arming for war much before Milosevic came to power.Tudjman was a real war monger and a real Radical nationalist. He aimed to clean Croatia of Serbs (like Pavelic started in W.W.II)and he managed to do it in 1995, with Clinton's help.
Blaiming Serbs for war is a popular sport in Croatian Nazi emigration, who escaped the justice after W.W.II....And this book is probably one of their favourites....
If you want to know what happened in Yugoslavia, you should read FOOL'S CRUSADE by Diana Johnston or TO KILL A NATION by Michael Parenti. They are very objective, and they are not either Serbs or either Croats/nationalistic Slovenians (unlike the author of this sad example of a book)