num_pages: 238
description: These essays are written on the skin of the times. Dubravka Ugresic winner of the Neustadt International Prize and one of Europes most influential writers with biting humor and a multitude of cultural referencesfrom La La Land and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to tattoos and body modification World Cup chants and the preservation of Lenins corpsetakes on the dreams hopes and fears of modern life. The collapse of Yugoslavia and the authors subsequent exile from Croatia leads to reflections on nationalism and the intertwining of crime and politics. Ugresic writes at eye level from a human perspective in portraits of people from the former Eastern Bloc who work as cleaners in the Netherlands or start underground shops with products from their country of origin.A rare and welcome combination of irony compassion and a sharp polemic gaze characterizes these beautiful and highly relevant essays.
language: English
title: The Age of Skin
publisher: Open Letter