Lost in Transition: Ethnographies of Everyday Life after Communism

by Kristen R. Ghodsee

Lost in Transition tells of ordinary lives upended by the collapse of communism. Through ethnographic essays and short stories based on her experiences with Eastern Europe between 1989 and 2009, Kristen Ghodsee explains why it is that so many Eastern Europeans are nostalgic for the communist past. Ghodsee uses Bulgaria, the Eastern European nation where she has spent the most time, as a lens for exploring the broader transition from communism to democracy. She locates the growing nostalgia for the communist era in the disastrous, disorienting way that the transition was handled. The privatization process was contested and chaotic. A few well-connected foreigners and a new local class of oligarchs and criminals used the uncertainty of the transition process to take formerly state-owned assets for themselves. Ordinary people inevitably felt that they had been robbed. Many people lost their jobs just as the state social-support system disappeared. Lost in Transition portrays one of the most dramatic upheavals in modern history by describing the ways that it interrupted the rhythms of everyday lives, leaving confusion, frustration, and insecurity in its wake.

Genres: Anthropology, Nonfiction, History, Sociology, Ethnography, Politics, School

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Kristen R. Ghodsee an award-winning author and ethnographer. She is professor of Russian and East European Studies and a member of the Graduate Group in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her work has been translated into over twenty-five languages and has appeared in publications such as Foreign Affairs, Dissent, Jacobin, Ms. Magazine, The New Republic, Le Monde Diplomatique, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, She is the author of 12 books, and she is the host of the podcast, A.K. 47, which discusses the works of the Russian Bolshevik, Alexandra Kollontai. Her latest book is Everyday Utopia: What 2000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life, which appeared with Simon & Schuster in May 2023.

She loves popcorn, manual typewriters, and Bassett hounds.

Website: www.kristenghodsee.com
Podcast: ak47.buzzsprout.com

Reviews

[Morteza Bahrami]

I kept remembering what happened to us in Iran. Informative on one side and moving on the other.

[Melian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even if “ethnographic fiction” is a valid discipline, Ghodsee is not good at it

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been greatly improved by the removal of the short stories. I enjoyed the afterword a lot. I feel like I would have gained more from this book if the short stories had been replaced with more serious breakdowns of the chapters from the author's perspective.

[Icknay Abbecray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the non-fiction parts, but the intermingling of those with fictional short stories was kind of awkward. I liked the author's writing style overall though.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story of the intersection of two cultures. Ghodsee writes from experience and knowledge of Bulgarian history. The reader is invited to meet the Bulgarians as Ghodsee meets them, as if one were reading a memoir. In fact, the book is part memoir and part ethnographical observation. Communism lives on as an influential period of history in the memories of the people who lived through it. The reader is invited to peer into culture as it is revealed through Ghodsee's encounters with Bulgarians, from sheepdogs to smuggled goods to the rock band U2's presence in Europe.

[Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly interesting read about how when the world was thought to be at a standstill due to Soviet rule, no one's life stood still and people carried on with their agendas. It is awesome to read ethnographies and I will surely be looking for similar reads.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy to read and understand while still introducing topics of class, economics, and political hardships. I really liked the use of a more emic perspective rather than typical ethnographies that have a clear ettic perspective.

I definitely recommend to anyone that wants to see how the average person was affected by communism, especially those in Bulgaria.

[Maddy Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT A GOOD ETHNOGRAPHY! I read this for one of my anthropology classes and it was such an easy and interesting read. One of my favorites!

[Chloé Camille Wittenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was required reading for my cultural anthropology class. I really enjoyed it! I loved the mixture of fictional stories and the authors experiences.

[David Lyndorff Paris · Rating 4 out of 5]

S. 12-13, 16, 29-30, 86, 99,104, 126,174,

[Clara Ferrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely an interesting read, especially in reflecting back on it from a current perspective.

[Mazzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is an excellent ethnographic fiction about the Bulgarians who underwent the Changes (the fall of Communism and the establishment of democracy government). The format of the book is similar to a collection of short stories, some involving the author and some are purely fictional. I think I enjoyed the chapters that involved her because it seems more real to me. The fictional chapters are interesting but I have to wonder how accurate those are ethnographically wise. Another thing I wish she would add more references to back up her claims about the people. We all pretty much have take her word for truth if we want to accept her book as a valid ethnographic novel. Other than that, it is still a good read.

[Megelza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book. Loved the book for several reasons — the study of change, the view of "ordinary" from different cultures, and the evolution from pessimism to optimism made by the author (be sure to read the preface and introduction). The interconnected essays provide a lot of history and thought-provocation in an easy, entertaining format.