Eastern University Books

Matvejevic has written other important books (Mediterranean: A Cultural Landscape; Yugoslavism Today; I Signori della guerra), but this is a special case. His personal stake is palpable from the first page, when he makes it clear that his ideal reader, at least in the opening, is his father who lies ill in a Zagreb hospital. The cast of characters who appear and reappear throughout the book -- Danilo Kis, Bulat Okudzhava, Joseph Brodsky, et al. -- come to seem familiar and intimate by the end of the book, something like they must have been to the author, and thus their passing becomes even more poignant.

This appears to be a work of non-fiction at the beginning, but the more I read, the more I wonder to what extent this might not be an instance of experimental writing, an exercise of sorts, creative non-fiction at the least. The vehicle is the letter, whose virtues Matvejevic expands upon in the key passage "On Letters, Open and Closed," when he meets Viktor Shklovsky. He returns to the form of his book at the very end, once again suggesting that this book is something of an experiment, perhaps a kind of novel of apprenticeship, where the hero-narrator, naive and trusting at first, grows more and more disillusioned.

His disillusionment concerns the loss of a generation of like-minded friends and colleagues, but also a dramatic sea change in the political destiny of Eastern and Southeastern Europe, as the author looks on, commenting (in a letter to Andrei Sinyavsky), "In the end, in the face of what's happening, I would like to find a role for myself other than that of gravedigger. But today's script appears to offer no better role than that." He too, of course, is one of the members of the intelligentsia that he sees passing from the stage of history.

There is a lot of interesting material here on Soviet and Yugoslav cultural politics, but also much that is personal and compelling in the author's own story and in the subtly insinuating manner he chose to convey it. Fascinating stuff.

This readable and well researched study of the Serbian community in Croatia sheds bright light on the political, ethic, and regional rivalries that endure in the tragedy of modern Yugoslavia.

Ten years after the revolutions of 1989 and the unexpected collapse of communist regimes in East-Central Europe, a conference was held at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary from 26 to 29 March 1999. The conference brought together scholars and critical intellectuals from both East and West, all of them interested in the meanings and legacies of the 1989 revolutions. The book Between Past and Future: The Revolutions of 1989 and Their Aftermath, edited by Sorin Antohi and Vladimir Tismaneanu and published by Central European University Press resulted from the excellent papers presented at that conference which, it may be argued, was the conference dedicated to the revolutions of 1989 and the first decade that followed. The names of the authors present in the volume reveal not only the high level of the debates, but also the scholarly interest in the events that put an end to a divided Europe. The book is organized on four major sections/topics and a concluding chapter: (1) "Meanings of 1989: Present Significance of the Past," which contains studies and essays authored by Agnes Heller, Jacques Rupnik, Karol Soltan, Jeffrey C. Isaac, and Sorin Antohi; (2) "Winners and Losers in the Great Transformation," with contributions by Adam Michnik, Martin Palous, Valerie Bunce, and Vladimir Tismaneanu; (3) "Vulnerabilities of the New Democracies," with contributions by Katherine Verdery, Gail Kligman and Susan Gal, Kazimierz Z. Poznanski, Istvan Rev, Miklos Haraszti, and Ivan Vejvoda and (4) "The New Europe: Prospects for Cooperation and Conflict" with contributions by Karen Dawisha, Bartlomiej Kaminski, Ilya Prizel, Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom and Irena Grudzinska Gross. The final section, "Past, Present, Future," is a concluding essay by Timothy Garton Ash. Considering the relative high number of contributions to the volume, a comprehensive analysis of each study/essay cannot be made. However, it is important to stress that the variety of the arguments, ideas, and demonstrations provided by the contributors reveals the theoretical richness and originality of the scholarship focusing on the 1989 revolutions. Those interested in the collapse of communism and the 1989 revolutions will find different approaches to the 1989 events and the subsequent transitions to a real democracy. Unfortunately, there is not a unique, valid explanation for what happened in East-Central Europe in 1989. As Garton Ash rhetorically put it, "Ten years on, what do we know?" His answer, "we know more about the consequences" contains the elements that make of 1989 a fascinating object of research. Although we now know a great deal about 1989, those events are still mysterious and captivating. The contributors to the present volume have succeeded in convincing us that the fascination of 1989 remains intact.

"Between Sodom and Eden" represents an astounding tour de force. Walzer's book is a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary Israeli society and politics, as well as the sometimes surprising approach of Judaism to homosexuality. His prose brings alive the tensions, conflicts, and contradictions of a society in search of its identity as Israel becomes an increasingly multicultural, post-Zionist society. That Israel is one of the most progressive countries in the world today on gay rights will surprise most Americans, who think of the Jewish state as the land of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (with its reputed condemnation of homosexuality). The cast of characters in Walzer's book -- a transsexual pop Diva, openly gay high school students and kibbutzniks, lesbian politicians, and a cast of supportive straight politicians and educators, to name just a few -- guarantees new surprises on each page.

In his book, Professor Azuma develops his analysis of the transnational ideas and practices among Japanese immigrants from 1885 to 1941 focusing on the American West. He begins with his examination of the Issei (the first generation of Japanese immigrants)'s transnational identities, and in doing so, he employs "an inter-National perspective" (p5) to pay a special attention to the Issei's "interstitial" nature of their lives between their motherland and the U.S. According to Azuma's explanation, it is the Issei's shared experience of being a "racial Other in America" which "revealed the futility of the modernist belief that the Japanese should be able to become honorary whites through acculturation" (p61-2). With such a reality, Issei constructed their pioneer thesis with the elements of the racial ideologies from Anglo-American manifest destiny and imperial Japanese expansionism.

What attracts my interest most strongly in this book is the author's detailed research on the transnational education of the Nisei (the second generation) in Japan which was given to them for the purpose of inculcating Japanese spirit upon them. With the rise of the concept of "Pacific Civilization" after World War I, Japanese educators came to believe that the center of the world was moving from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Amid such social trend, the Nisei, the American citizens with Japanese heritage, were forced to be educated as a "transpacific bridge" (p145) between Japan and the U.S. in the 1930s. Because they knew about America well and spoke English fluently, Nisei were given the propagandist mission and were used as valuable resources in propagating the fascism for Japan while, at the same time, they were also detested as "the public enemies inimical to national security" (p153) by their countrymen of their ancestral land.

I am also impressed with Azuma's use of various types of cultural materials including newspaper article, illustration, picture, statistic data, true story of murder case, the Japanese immigrants' writings (poetry, essay, composition), and so on. Beginning his book by showing a Japanese immigrant student's essay which appeared on a yearbook published by the Japanese Student Association of the University of Southern California in 1912, Azuma draws his readers into the fascinating panorama of the lived experiences of Japanese immigrants.

As I am a Japanese international student who has been studying in California, Professor Azuma's focus on the borderland of the American West (mostly California) is especially interesting for me. I strongly recommend this book.

James A. Millward's study of the Qing dynasty's governance of Xinjiang is possibly the most careful study of the subject written since Owen Lattimore's studies of Central Asia. Taking on the Fairbankian idea of concentric rings of Chinese empire, Millward reminds us that the ways in which the Qing dynasty governed its far western regions was a Manchu policy, with distinct characteristics. The treatment is topical, but does not lose sight of the chronological narrative. The study ends, however, before the Muslim rebellions in the region changed it forever, both in its ethnicity and demographics. Most enjoyably, Millward writes engaging prose, and has produced a scholarly work that is also a good read.

Boehm very astutely tackles a society in the often misinterpreted and misunderstood Balkan peninsula. He combines ethnographic and historical inquiry in a very methodical and comprehensive approach to the concept of blood feuds as they existed in tribal Montenegro before it attained nation status. He not only details the doings of the blood feud, but also gives a necessary background of cultural values and social structure that supported this cultural phenomenon. Most importantly, he convincingly brings to light the ideological compulsion and perspective of the Montenegrins themselves, in justifying how the blood feud could be a culturally accepted institution without stigma, a concept alien to most Western sensiblities. His writing style is never dry, and he minimalizes the use of jargon...it is a wonderful intro to the processes of ethnography and ethnohistory, while also delving into a sadly neglected region of the world. A must read for anthropology buffs or anyone seeking cultural data on this part of the world!!

I will tell you right off the bat that I like this book very much, that I love Donald Keene very much, and that he's my sensei. Therefore, go ahead and mark the "this review was not helpful" box if you must.

I'm not saying I've lost all forms of objectivity... I'm just saying that this book was clearly intended, at its core audience level, for someone like me, and, quite simply, it has hit the mark. Call me biased if you want, but if you're a reader of my particular bend, it shouldn't matter.

It's not a perfect book. It could have included more. However, what it does, it does damn well, and it's very deserving of five-stars.

Throughout the different sections, Donald's essays on various topics are presented, often introduced through humorous and/or meaningful anecdotes of his own. The entries are all very interesting and lively to read, insightful memoirs from someone who understands Japanese literature, language and culture well and conveys that understanding better than probably anyone else. Writings included in this book are rare, and they are not found in his other volumes. Most of them were published in magazines and newspapers, many Japanese. Some of this is appearing in English for the first time, and all of it, unless you have access to tremendous research capabilities, will be difficult, if not impossible, to find elsewhere. It is all of high-quality and more than worthy of a spot on the bookshelf of any taroukaja.

Donald Keene will be a legend after he dies. If you want to get to know him, read this book. It's as close as you can get to him, and nothing is hidden.

So there's my bias for you. I laid it bare on the table. It's warranted, though, and since no one else has taken the time to review this book, you're stuck with my very favorable opinion. :)

Thomas, Alfred. "The Bohemian Body: Gender and Sexuality in Modern Czech Culture", University of Wisconsin Press, 2007.

Czech Literature and Film

Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

If you have followed my reviews you know that I usually dabble in lighter literature but every once in a while a scholarly book comes along that I feel deserves to be mentioned. Such is the case with Alfred Thomas's "The Bohemian Body". The Czech Republic has always been a land of intrigue as well as a place that we do not know much about. Alfred Thomas changes that. He looks at the gamut of the nation and writes about it with beauty. The Czech Republic is a small country that more than once has been on the verge of disappearing altogether culturally while still holding on to cosmopolitanism. Thomas looks at the culture of the country in ways that will undoubtedly bring about discussion.
Looking at modern Czech literature and film through a variety of lenses can only bring about greater understanding. Looking at the texts ad films from the point of view of gender analysis reveals a relationship between the personal and the political and also joins local and European identities. Thomas looks at the forces of modernism that helped to shape Czech nationalism and the interaction between the arts and between ethnic and social groups. He examines the contributions of all--gays and straights, men and women and Czechs and Germans.
Taking the period form the National Revival and going to the Velvet Revolution. We notice an attempt to be more personal and to separate from the political. Here is where the true culture of the country lies. The modern Czech identity has been brought about by those delving in the arts and culture and identity are very closely related and intertwined. Czech culture is filled with nuance and paradox and up until quite recently has been overlooked by the rest of the world. With this book, we get a clear look at the culture and the people.

I was forced to read this book, in that I took a class taught by the author. Fortunately, I didn't have to steel my soul and tell her to her face that it reeked (not that I would have had the guts to do that anyhow), for it was definitely the best book we read in that particular Russian history class. Recounting the histories of Soviet women both well-known (Kollontai) and not so well-known (Zemliachka), Clements shows, in well-structured arguments, how the women of the Bolshevik movement, feminists as well as socialists, interpreted their feminist mission in the context of what they felt must happen in Russia before women and other oppressed minorities truly gained equal rights. One of the most fascinating themes in the book is how Soviet women viewed their task in contrast to the Western suffragist movement, which was largely led by the well-to-do. This book is an excellent introduction to Soviet history in the early years and offers several directions for study in the history of the Soviet Union and of feminism.