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Author:   Kristen Ghodsee
Publisher:   Duke University Press
Imprint:   Duke University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 23.10cm
Weight:   0.340kg
ISBN:  

9780822351023

ISBN 10:   0822351021
Pages:   232
Publication Date:   14 September 2011
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Preface. Echoes Off the Iron Curtain ix Acknowledgments xvii Introduction. The Road to Bulgaria, 1983–1990 1 1. Contraband, 1990 21 2. Kaloyan and Hristo, 1998 37 3. Her Lover in Cuba, 1999 47 4. Hair: Ethnographic Fiction 61 5. Shopaholic in Eastern Europe, 1998–2006 83 6. Carpets for Kilims, 1999 93 7. Comrades, 2107 101 8. Petar Hails a Cab: Ethnographic Fiction 107 9. Bassets in the Balkans, 2005 117 10. The Master of Conspiracies, 2005 123 11. An Explosion of Sofia, 2008 131 12. Coffee: Ethnographic Fiction 143 13. Kaloyan in Maine, 2009 151 14. Tito Trivia: Ethnographic Fiction 155 15. Pilgrims from Sofia to Zagreb, 2009 161 Afterword. Lost in Transition, 2010 177 Appendix. Timeline of Twentieth-Century Communism 195 Further Reading 201

Reviews

The collapse of the Soviet empire entailed not only the blitzkrieg dissolution of the socialist economies and one-party states of Eastern Europe but also immediate accidental and incidental changes in the everyday lives of its residents. With an ear for the ironic, the sensual, the playful, and the tragic, Kristen Ghodsee tells personal stories from this period of dissolution, which began several decades before the Berlin Wall came down. Drawing from her encounters during many years of research in Bulgaria, she portrays the changing nature of experience in that place during that time. Though understood as impoverished at the time, this socialist experiment reveals, in retrospect, lives filled with adventure, surprising friendships, and an openness to forms of engagement and being that makes the fullness of the free market and democracy in the post-Cold War order of today seem, by comparison, pale and predictable. -John Borneman, Princeton University These charming essays have an unintended consequence. Not only are they a documentary ethnography of the lives of people caught up in the painful transition from socialism to capitalism. They are also a sort of bildungsroman of a young American discovering another world and shedding stereotypes. -Maria Todorova, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Lost in Transition tells stories about how the lives of ordinary people changed after the fall of the Soviet Union. The author... navigates the task of producing a balanced account of the transition from communism to capitalism with skill... The continuation of this project will surely enrich the body of literature on the subject. -- Sahar Razavi International Feminist Journal of Politics [A] captivating collection of ethnographic essays and short stories about real people and fictional characters whose daily lives were turned upside down after the collapse of communism... There is nothing careless or self-indulgent about Ghodsee's writing. Her probing inquisitiveness, together with her astute thoughts and vivid observations, breathe life into each and every character in the book, from ketchup smugglers and flashy mobsters to shrewd entrepreneurs and irate shepherds, and bring the reader closer to everyday life after communism. -- Vasiliki P. Neofotistos American Ethnologist Ghodsee's stories beautifully demonstrate how nostalgic sentiments do not mean a return to the past but are part of a coping mechanism during hard times... I would highly recommend the book in various classrooms to introduce the intimate experiences of Cold War, communism, and post-communism, as well as to broaden the understanding of modern Europe, and theworld which continues the legacies of the Cold War. Courses on ethnographic methods as well as ethnographies of post-socialism will also find use in these compelling stories and experimental writings. -- Yuson Jung Anthropological Quarterly Without having lived through it first hand, it is hard to grasp the magnitude of the change to daily life in the Eastern Bloc after the collapse of the region's Communist regimes in the late 20th century. Not only was this a time of fundamental system change in the higher echelons of government, it was also a significant juncture in the lives and prospects of ordinary people. And, contrary to Western assumptions about the inherent superiority of democracy, for many the transition has been extremely challenging. In this accessible book, ethnographer Kristen Ghodsee turns her attention to the human costs of the passing of Communism in Bulgaria. -- Hester Vaizey Times Higher Education Supplement

The collapse of the Soviet empire entailed not only the Blitzkrieg dissolution of the socialist economies and one-party states of Eastern Europe, but also immediate accidental and incidental changes in the everyday lives of its residents. With an ear for the ironic, the sensual, the playful, and the tragic, Kristen Ghodsee tells personal stories from this period of dissolution, which began several decades before the Berlin Wall came down. Drawing from her encounters in many years of research in Bulgaria, she portrays the changing nature of experience in that place during that time. Though understood as impoverished at the time, this socialist experiment reveals, in retrospect, lives filled with adventure, surprising friendships, and an openness to forms of engagement and being that makes the fullness of the free market and democracy in the post-Cold War order of today seem, by comparison, pale and predictable. --John Borneman, Princeton University

In this accessible book, ethnographer Kristen Ghodsee turns her attention to the human costs of the passing of Communism in Bulgaria... Lost in Transition emphasises the disparate legacies of Communism in Bulgaria, from those eagerly pursuing new business opportunities in a new capitalist world to those nostalgic for the safety and security provided by a paternalistic state. The book has the feel of a travelogue, as Ghodsee tells us how falling in love as a graduate student led to her interest in the plight of post-Communist Bulgaria. Although occasionally this can be too much, when she hints at her husband's adulterous behaviour, or when she waxes lyrical about her love for the rock band U2, overall the travelogue approach gives her work an immediacy that is both compelling and highly readable. Hester Vaizey, Times Higher Education, January 26th 2012 The collapse of the Soviet empire entailed not only the Blitzkrieg dissolution of the socialist economies and one-party states of Eastern Europe, but also immediate accidental and incidental changes in the everyday lives of its residents. With an ear for the ironic, the sensual, the playful, and the tragic, Kristen Ghodsee tells personal stories from this period of dissolution, which began several decades before the Berlin Wall came down. Drawing from her encounters in many years of research in Bulgaria, she portrays the changing nature of experience in that place during that time. Though understood as impoverished at the time, this socialist experiment reveals, in retrospect, lives filled with adventure, surprising friendships, and an openness to forms of engagement and being that makes the fullness of the free market and democracy in the post-Cold War order of today seem, by comparison, pale and predictable. John Borneman, Princeton University These charming essays have an unintended consequence. Not only are they a documentary ethnography of the lives of people caught up in the painful transition from socialism to capitalism. They are also a sort of Bildungsroman of a young American discovering another world and shedding stereotypes. Maria Todorova, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Author Information

Kristen Ghodsee is the Director and John S. Osterweis Associate Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at Bowdoin College. She is the author of Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe: Gender, Ethnicity, and the Transformation of Islam in Postsocialist Bulgaria and The Red Riviera: Gender, Tourism, and Postsocialism on the Black Sea, also published by Duke University Press.

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