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A review by andra_mihaela_s
In Europe's Shadow: Two Cold Wars and a Thirty-Years Journey Through Romania and Beyond by Robert D. Kaplan
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
As a Romanian, I usually stay away from books disscussing my country and it's complicated history....but after the war next door started...I think is better to inform myself as much as possible about this area of the world so that I'm well prepared against missinformation and hate.
I saw that many foreigners tried reading this book for the wrong reasons, like "in preparation for my holiday in Romania" and other similar ones..but, I think this is most useful in times like this, when you want to understand more about a political context in the region.(for example..why a war is fought) This would blend nicely with a book about Ukraine, and another about Poland (to name a few of the countries where communism played a big role) and they will definetely give the reader reasons why things are the way they are and answers they seek in their journey of understanding Eastern Europe and it's tragic past.
I highly recomend listening to the audiobook; the style in which Kaplan wrote this piece of non-fiction is very much a mixt bag for a lot of people...a travel jurnal/ memoir/ history lesson that jumps quite a lot from place to place, fact to fact. --> so, it's better for your enjoyment to listen than read
The book is good for people that don't really know much about Romanian history(it gives multiple perspectives from inside and outside...especially when it comes to the relationship with Russia; we have different political parties represented; we have a pretty clear and accurate description of dignitaries and such from the author; and lots of historical context discussed from the perspective of important players in Romanian literature, historical and political scenes); the author is very much a FAN of our culture I must say...but quite partial to the aspects highly pushed in the cummunism...like folk culture and traditional romanian values. I don't think this is bad by any means, but be aware he's not a big fan of globalization and how that affects people...>..> So, sometimes he comes off like a fustrated old man well past his time...
I regards to the historical part of the book, although lots of impressions and memories are very much present in the first half, later on we get lots of info very much relevant to actual conflicts going on right now in 2022.(the author presents Romania from different moments in time: late 70s; early 90s, and 2014-when Russia took the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine)
I believe he summarised very well what Romania's history is(and with it,the history of this region) :<i>"Fortunate countries are heirs to empires;less fortunate ones constitute the outlining residue of such.."</i>
In conclusion, even if this book tries to make you believe that it talks about more countries than Romania...everything is compared to it and it's discussed/seen/reflected through it..so Bulgaria, Moldova,Hungary..minor players here, that serve the author's objective of showcasing something about Romanian culture/past/ways.
Some things that I want to highlight because I didn't expect them to appear here:
- nostalgic feelings about cummunism (which is very prevelant among people of a certain age, but very much hidden when on a large scale);
- very important discussions about nationalism vs communism;Marshall Antonescu vs Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej vs Nicolae Ceausescu;
- antisemitic sentiments based on Romanian nationalism and historical context around it;
-fear of future Russian aggression;
-Romania - Moldova history(including horrible moments in our history) and future;
- nothing from regular people living in this country...seriously.the author only spoke with dignitaries and such...>..>
Overall, this is a great book for the right reasons and I recommend it to people interested in understanding why is so important to fight for our freedom.(especially if you enjoy stuff like travel journals or memoirs!)
Enjoy
I saw that many foreigners tried reading this book for the wrong reasons, like "in preparation for my holiday in Romania" and other similar ones..but, I think this is most useful in times like this, when you want to understand more about a political context in the region.(for example..why a war is fought) This would blend nicely with a book about Ukraine, and another about Poland (to name a few of the countries where communism played a big role) and they will definetely give the reader reasons why things are the way they are and answers they seek in their journey of understanding Eastern Europe and it's tragic past.
I highly recomend listening to the audiobook; the style in which Kaplan wrote this piece of non-fiction is very much a mixt bag for a lot of people...a travel jurnal/ memoir/ history lesson that jumps quite a lot from place to place, fact to fact. --> so, it's better for your enjoyment to listen than read
The book is good for people that don't really know much about Romanian history(it gives multiple perspectives from inside and outside...especially when it comes to the relationship with Russia; we have different political parties represented; we have a pretty clear and accurate description of dignitaries and such from the author; and lots of historical context discussed from the perspective of important players in Romanian literature, historical and political scenes); the author is very much a FAN of our culture I must say...but quite partial to the aspects highly pushed in the cummunism...like folk culture and traditional romanian values. I don't think this is bad by any means, but be aware he's not a big fan of globalization and how that affects people...>..> So, sometimes he comes off like a fustrated old man well past his time...
I regards to the historical part of the book, although lots of impressions and memories are very much present in the first half, later on we get lots of info very much relevant to actual conflicts going on right now in 2022.(the author presents Romania from different moments in time: late 70s; early 90s, and 2014-when Russia took the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine)
I believe he summarised very well what Romania's history is(and with it,the history of this region) :<i>"Fortunate countries are heirs to empires;less fortunate ones constitute the outlining residue of such.."</i>
In conclusion, even if this book tries to make you believe that it talks about more countries than Romania...everything is compared to it and it's discussed/seen/reflected through it..so Bulgaria, Moldova,Hungary..minor players here, that serve the author's objective of showcasing something about Romanian culture/past/ways.
Some things that I want to highlight because I didn't expect them to appear here:
- nostalgic feelings about cummunism (which is very prevelant among people of a certain age, but very much hidden when on a large scale);
- very important discussions about nationalism vs communism;Marshall Antonescu vs Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej vs Nicolae Ceausescu;
- antisemitic sentiments based on Romanian nationalism and historical context around it;
-fear of future Russian aggression;
-Romania - Moldova history(including horrible moments in our history) and future;
- nothing from regular people living in this country...seriously.the author only spoke with dignitaries and such...>..>
Overall, this is a great book for the right reasons and I recommend it to people interested in understanding why is so important to fight for our freedom.(especially if you enjoy stuff like travel journals or memoirs!)
Enjoy