Café Europa - Slavenka Drakulić

Today in Eastern Europe the architectural work of revolution is complete: The old order has been replaced by various forms of free market economy and de jure democracy. But as Slavenka Drakulić observes, "In everyday life, the revolution consists much more of the small things - of sounds, looks and images". In this brilliant work of political reportage filtered through her own experience, we see that Europe remains a divided continent. In the place of the fallen Berlin Wall, there is a chasm between East and West, consisting of the different way people continue to live and understand the world. Little bits - or intimations - of the West are gradually making their way east: Boutiques carrying Levi's and tiny food shops called "Supermarket" are multiplying on main boulevards. Despite the fact that Drakulić can find a "Café Europa", complete with Viennese-style coffee and "Western" decor, in just about every Eastern European city, the acceptance of the East by the rest of Europe continues to prove much more elusive.