"Drive your plow over the bones of the dead" by Olga Tokarczuk. Translated from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. If you were to invent a parodic title for a certain type of European novel, I think this would be it. An allusion to the peasant lifestyle that has sustained Europeans over the centuries, to a … Continue reading 20. Poland
Category: Capitalism
19. Germany III
Stasiland, Anna Funder The third book I read from Germany dealt with perhaps the most unappreciated - or unresolved - part of its recent history: the reign of the autocratic German Democratic Republic (DDR) and their state police, the Stasi. When Germany was divided after the Second World War the Soviets (occupying the eastern states … Continue reading 19. Germany III
18. Sweden
"The Man Who Smiled" Henning Mankell. Translated from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson. I havered for a long time over a book for Sweden. As I trawled through online lists recommending The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and other thrillers I admit to wondering if there wasn’t something rather more heavyweight in the pantheon of … Continue reading 18. Sweden
17. Slovakia
"The Equestrienne" - Uršul’a Kovalyk. Translated from the Slovak by Julia and Peter Sherwood. This was a short book, only 80 pages in the English translation, yet it packed in a rather beautiful story; effortlessly universal while at the same time speaking some intriguing truths about the collapse of Communism and transition to a capitalist … Continue reading 17. Slovakia
The European Reader 