How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed

De: Slavenka Drakulic

Narrado por: Lesa Lockford

This essay collection from renowned journalist and novelist Slavenka Drakulic, which quickly became a modern (and feminist) classic, draws back the Iron Curtain for a glimpse at the lives of Eastern European women under Communist regimes. Provocative, often witty, and always intensely personal, How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed cracks open a paradoxical world that through its rejection of capitalism and commoditization ends up fetishizing both.

Examining the relationship between material goods and expressions of happiness and individuality in a society where even bananas were an alien luxury, Drakulic hones in on the eradication of female identity, drawing on her own experiences as well as broader cultural observations. Enforced communal housing that allowed for little privacy, the banishment of many time-saving devices, and a focus on manual labor left no room for such bourgeois affectations as cosmetics or clothes, but Drakulic’s remarkable exploration of the reality behind the rhetoric reveals that women still went to desperate lengths to feel “feminine”.

How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed also chronicles the lingering consequences of such regimes. The Berlin Wall may have fallen, but Drakulic’s power pieces testify that ideology cannot be dismantled so quickly; a lifetime lived in fear cannot be so easily forgotten.

©2016 Slavenka Drakulic (P)2021 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Unbearably raw in the best way

As someone who has always known war to be a far away place or something to dissect only in academics, this book was eye opening in ways that make me reevaluate my life and my privilege. Drakulic shows how far wars and regimes go beyond politics and seep into minds.

Quality is great and audio actually follows the words that are written in the book.

This audio book is great! I really enjoyed the story. Audio follows along with the book spot on. Great book if you want a woman’s perspective on the effects of communism!

Insightful and reflective

After visiting a few of the former Yugoslav countries, it was interesting to hear what living there during Tito and the war was like, and how that impacted the way people would think, feel and act.

Ideology's Influence on Reality

Drakulic is an amazing writer, while engaging you through deep emotion she explores questions about people's lives one wouldn't normally think twice about. She shows how ideology's influence is not limited to government function, but how personality and the perception of reality itself is shaped by a state's adopted ideals. Drakulic provides unique insights on many social structures, which, in turn, make you question the ones you are apart of yourself.