Free
By
Lea Ypi
Read by
Rachel Babbage,
Lea Ypi
Release:
01/18/2022
Release:
01/18/2022
Release:
01/18/2022
Runtime:
9h 8m
Runtime:
9h 8m
Runtime:
9h 8m
Quantity:
“This audiobook combines a memoir that translates perfectly to the spoken-word format with a flawless, memorable narration by Rachel Bavidge…Listeners will relish every moment. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
AudioFile
Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction
Shortlisted for the Costa Book Award
A Sunday Times (London) Best Book of the Year
One of the New Yorker’s Best Books of the Year
A Financial Times Best Book of the Year
A London Guardian Best Book of the Year
A London Times Literary Supplement Best Book of 2021
Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
Longlisted for the 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction
A reflection on "freedom" in a dramatic, beautifully written memoir of the end of Communism in the Balkans.
Lea Ypi grew up in the last Stalinist country in Europe: Albania, a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. While family members disappeared to what she was told were "universities" from which few "graduated," she swore loyalty to the Party. In her eyes, people were equal, neighbors helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world.
Then the statues of Stalin and Hoxha were toppled. Almost overnight, people could vote and worship freely, and invest in hopes of striking it rich. But factories shut, jobs disappeared, and thousands fled to Italy, only to be sent back. Pyramid schemes bankrupted the country, leading to violence. One generation's dreams became another's disillusionment. As her own family's secrets were revealed, Ypi found herself questioning what "freedom" really means. With acute insight and wit, Ypi traces the perils of ideology, and what people need to flourish.
A reflection on "freedom" in a dramatic, beautifully written memoir of the end of Communism in the Balkans.
Lea Ypi grew up in the last Stalinist country in Europe: Albania, a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. While family members disappeared to what she was told were "universities" from which few "graduated," she swore loyalty to the Party. In her eyes, people were equal, neighbors helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world.
Then the statues of Stalin and Hoxha were toppled. Almost overnight, people could vote and worship freely, and invest in hopes of striking it rich. But factories shut, jobs disappeared, and thousands fled to Italy, only to be sent back. Pyramid schemes bankrupted the country, leading to violence. One generation's dreams became another's disillusionment. As her own family's secrets were revealed, Ypi found herself questioning what "freedom" really means. With acute insight and wit, Ypi traces the perils of ideology, and what people need to flourish.
Release:
2022-01-18
2022-01-18
2022-01-18
Runtime:
Runtime:
Runtime:
9h 8m
9h 8m
9h 8m
Format:
audio
audio
audio
Weight:
0.0 lb
0.7 lb
0.5 lb
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781666178128
9798212088671
9798212088688
Praise