"A nation-state is a group of people who have agreed jointly to remember and forget the same things." ErnWinner of the International Booker Prize 2023
"A nation-state is a group of people who have agreed jointly to remember and forget the same things." Ernest Renan
Time Shelter is a wry, compassionate, yet cynical examination of the blurring of history and memory. It begins with a clever and humane undertaking. The novel's anonymous narrator is asked by Gaustine, a geriatric psychiatrist, to assist him with creating Time Shelters, clinics with floors that replicate past eras of the 20th century to help Alzheimer's and dementia patients retrieve their earlier memories. The clinics are so successful that some expand to houses and villages and begin attracting individuals without medical memory problems who wish to escape the harsh reality of the present for a nostalgic past.
Gospodinov then takes the premise further and envisions a Europe where the majority prefer to live in the past and must choose via referendum which decade they would like to inhabit. The narrator returns to his native Bulgaria to observe the competing factions. While there are intellectual and green parties, who would like to work to improve the present, most people embrace either the socialist era or a nationalist past that replicates the time of Bulgaria's great glory. Period reenactments become a form of "campaigning." After an in-depth portrait of Bulgaria, Gospodiniv surveys the eras debated in various European countries.
Time Shelter is a philosophical novel with reflections and insights on time, aging, and much political allegory. It is often a wise and funny book. However, the pacing is slow, and there is little character development except for the anonymous narrator. I meandered through it, marking passages I liked and rereading them. As the novel progresses, it becomes more surreal, and sometimes, it isn't easy to follow. However, overall, I liked the book and admired the author's inventiveness. I recommend it....more
The Light that Failed: A Reckoning "What distinguishes national populists is that they never apologize for anything that their nation has done in its eThe Light that Failed: A Reckoning "What distinguishes national populists is that they never apologize for anything that their nation has done in its entire history. To behave like a villain while presenting oneself as a victim is the nationalistic populist singular conceit."
The Light that Failed examines the post- 1989 failure of liberal democracy in Eastern Europe, Russia, and the emergence of Trump in the United States. Ivan Krastev, a fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, and Stephen Holmes, a professor at NYU School of Law, provide a thoughtful and original analysis of the rise of populism and reactionary nativism based upon the theory of imitation. Their overarching argument is that after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the push to imitate the western democracies of Europe and the US caused a considerable backlash.
While I initially intended to elaborate on the authors' ideas in some depth, I was just diagnosed with Covid and lack the energy. So instead, I am posting links to a detailed analysis of their ideas.
I also want to thank GR friend Meike for recommending the book.