Free Coming Of Age At The End Of History

Author: Lea Ypi

Stock information

General Fields

  • : $35.00 AUD
  • : 9780241567265
  • : Penguin Random House
  • : Penguin Books Ltd
  • : 0.41
  • : November 2020
  • : 2.4 Centimeters X 15.5 Centimeters X 23.3 Centimeters
  • : 38.0
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  • : books

Special Fields

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  • : Lea Ypi
  • : Paperback
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  • : 336
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Barcode 9780241567265
9780241567265

Description

An unforgettable coming of age story exploring the meaning of freedom - personal, collective, political - from an extraordinary new voice.
Lea Ypi grew up in one of the most isolated countries on earth, a place where communist ideals had officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossible to visit, almost impossible to leave. It was a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. To Lea, it was home. People were equal, neighbours helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world. There was community and hope. Then, in December 1990, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, everything changed. The statues of Stalin and Hoxha were toppled. Almost overnight, people could vote freely, wear what they liked and worship as they wished. There was no longer anything to fear from prying ears. But factories shut, jobs disappeared and thousands fled to Italy on crowded ships, only to be sent back. Predatory pyramid schemes eventually bankrupted the country, leading to violent conflict. As one generation's aspirations became another's disillusionment, and as her own family's secrets were revealed, Lea found herself questioning what freedom really meant. Free is an engrossing memoir of coming of age amid political upheaval. With acute insight and wit, Lea Ypi traces the limits of progress and the burden of the past, illuminating the spaces between ideals and reality, and the hopes and fears of people pulled up by the sweep of history.

Awards

Winner 2022 Ondaatje Prize Shortlisted Costa Awards 2021

Author description

Lea Ypi is a professor of Political Theory at the London School of Economics. Her first trade book, Free was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize, the Costa Biography Award and the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize. It is being translated into nineteen languages.