Banana Peels on the Tracks: Coming of Age in Post-Communist Slovakia

by Jason Lockwood

He had a car, an apartment and a decent job, but he was bored. Then he saw an ad in an online forum: Teach English in Czechoslovakia. The year was 1991 and he thought: why not? So he applied and received his acceptance letter months later. In the autumn of 1992, just three years after the Berlin Wall came down, Jason Lockwood arrived in the Slovak Republic to teach English for a year. He went with few expectations and too much luggage. What he found was a torn country grasping at new beginnings, struggling to recover from decades of oppression and dictatorship. In this memoir, Jason Lockwood brings back for Western audiences a snapshot of an historic period in a far-off country, and offers prescriptions not only for that world, but for our own, too.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

275 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2015

About the author

Hello, and welcome to my Goodreads author page.

I originally hail from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the Upper Midwest of the USA, I am a longtime resident of Sydney, Australia, which I now consider my true home.

Like many people, I decided to start writing books after wrapping up a long career in the software and related services business. Over the years, I wrote a lot of user manuals and how-to guides. Cultivating those skills was a great way to segue into writing my own books.

In 2015, I published my first book: Banana Peels on the Tracks. It's a memoir of my experiences as an English teacher in former Communist Slovakia during the early 1990s.

A few years passed before I undertook my next book-length project, released in March of 2019. It's called Two Weeks in Phoenix, and it's a travelogue of my round-the-world trip in December of 2017 and January of 2018. It was a great deal of fun to write, and it's chock full of photos and amusing anecdotes.

I'm about to embark on drafting my first novel, which I hope to publish by mid- to late 2020. Stay tuned!

Reviews

[Pipistrelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the time of Covid, this satisfied my yen for travel. Thoughtfully written. I'd love to see more from this writer. I'd especially like a sequel, if it was possible, describing Prešov currently.

[Mary Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book since I previously lived in Slovakia for a year just like Jason. Jason lived in Prešov, a city I know well, since I lived near in Košice only 20 miles away. I was struck to learn how different Slovakia was when it first came out of communist rule. About half the ways Jason experienced the culture I can say have changed. I believe Slovakia has come along way since the rule of communism, but I also can still see some lingering effects of it. However, like I said, I was surprised with how different Jason experienced Slovakia. Some ways he described Slovakia and it’s culture are complete opposites to it now.

[Jennifer Waymack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such good writing - loved how he told his stories.

[Alessia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading it while in Slovakia is something else!

[Martha Mccarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vivid in details, rich in insights, Lockwood tells a clear-eyed, un-sensationalized story of his navigation through hardscrabble times in Slovakia after the Fall of Communism. As a young college grad, he left a going-nowhere job in Milwaukee and packed his bags for a one-year commitment to teach English in a country and a culture stunted by years of oppression. Now he packs this memoir, his debut, with the dexterity and craftsmanship of a seasoned writer. He takes us with him on his intrepid journey—to meet the people, listen to their language, reject unappetizing cuisine, experience harsh realities—and ultimately, care.

As the subtitle promises, the author comes of age in Post-Communist Slovakia. He grows up. He realizes stark contrasts between the privileges of his youth and the deadened hopes of many Slovakian students. We see him endure hard times. We feel his transformation.

When this book was recommended to me, I didn’t expect the time, place or story line to captivate. I was wrong.

(5 stars before an unnecessary epilogue which could be better placed on a website or blog.)

[Meg Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got more than I expected from this book.

Its thought-provoking, interesting, well written, and most enjoyable. I bought the book because I'm half Slovak and intend to visit the country next year. I wanted to have more background information than I got from elder family conversations and one day in Bratislava recently. I learned a lot from this book about how hard Slovak life was under Communist rule, and why so many older Slovaks seem harsh. The political comments at the end are something many need to consider. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about authoritarian rule, and perhaps see how life can change your mindset.

[WANDA BACKEN]

Eye-opening look at post-communist Slovakia

The author spent the 1992-1993 school year teaching English to school-age and adult Slovaks. His observations of the lingering effects of the Soviet-era domination of Slovak citizens by the government are disturbing and might be a wake-up call for Americans in today's political climate.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Read!

This was an interesting book about a country you don't hear a lot about. I loved finding out what a country was like after the end of communism. He gives you a firsthand account of the problems they have there but also some of the great people he meets there.

[David Shimm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bored young man goes to Slovakia to teach English for a year. Unexpectedly well written and engrossing.

[Chris Wares · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has a good writing style but the book didn’t really tell me much about Slovakia.

Written in 2015 Lockwood tells of his year teaching English in Czechoslovakia in 1992-3 after the wall had fallen but before the Czech Republic and Slovakia had parted ways. I visited Slovakia the month before Lockwood arrived and was a few years younger and really this book describes how Westerners (like me) didn’t know anything about Eastern Europe and carried an annoying sense of superiority.

Like me at that time Lockwood seemed oblivious to Slovakia’s history. The fact that less than 70 years earlier it was part of Hungary isn’t even mentioned. And he seems to see an innate Slovak character that is he finds less attractive than Polish or Hungarian that he fails to explore further. His perspective only reaches back to the communist regimes and doesnt delve further back to Slovakia’s position in Hungarian history.

He touched upon “the Gypsey Question” but fails to explore Slovaks view of Hungarians or Ruthenians or Czechs despite travelling extensively. What did his students think of these nationalities? How does a small country differentiate itself from these other nationalities?

I didnt learn anything very interesting about Slovakia in this book but it did make me reflect on my own time in the country and how little I knew about its history and culture then compared to now. It’s not a crime to be ignorant of such things but it makes me think about how much I missed.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author of Banana Peels on the Tracks spent a year (1992-93) teaching English in Slovakia. I’d hardly say he “came of age” in post-communist Slovakia as his book cover says (he was already an adult with college and some years of work under his belt). He spent the year looking down on his students, judging them hard, and traveling, always looking for whatever he could find that was most similar to what’s found in the US (because it is, obviously, far superior to anything local). His attitude toward Slovakians and pretty much anything in Slovakia started out mildly annoying and got downright infuriating by the end. He was just kind of rude (and then spent the last chapter talking about how open minded and accepting he is, particularly compared to his friends who only think they are, which just made me laugh because of the incredible lack of self-awareness). He described most of his younger, high school age, female students as “pretty” which was a bit creepy given the age difference. Some of his reasons for disliking Slovakians included things that happen in the US as well (a woman being dragged by her husband/boyfriend, a man being assaulted in a subway tunnel). As with many memoirs, he did not seem to know how to end it and went on for about two chapters too long. Some things in the book are interesting enough, but I definitely wouldn’t go out of my way to read it.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a native Slovakian, I was very interested to read this book. I read it during the 3 years period I lived outside of Slovakia, meaning that I was able to compare both views - the one of the insider and the one of the outsider of the country at the same time. Several descriptions of the situations and social relations in the book were based truly on the observation of someone, who is complete stranger, blurred with roughly 20 years of the fade of the memory. The outcome presented in the book therefore, many times, was very superficial, without taking deeper interconnections and background into account, which, of course author couldn't be aware of in such short period of time, during which he stayed in Slovakia. This might give the reader misleading impression. I really enjoyed reading this book, on many occasions it confirmed views about how things work here, that has not changed, or changed just a little since the Iron Curtain opened, that I realized during the time I lived outside of Slovakia.

[Lucia Dunajova · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting to get a picture of the state of the country so soon post communism but that’s where the enjoyment ends. The author is coming from a clear place of superiority with little further research done regarding the history of the country. A frequent idea mentioned by the author was how Slovak people were numb/resigned and could not make their own choices after having been subjected to fear and oppression for so long, which the author often found frustrating. Ironically, the author recounts two instances where he directly witnessed someone getting hurt and did exactly nothing to stop it. Why? Because he was scared of course, so it’s funny he has the nerve to criticise an entire nation for being scared also.
Life is too short. so I suggest you skip this one...

[Christopher Shaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jason Lockwood does an excellent job of relating his experiences teaching English in Presov, Slovakia just after the end of the Cold War. For people interested in this period of history or that region of the world, Banana Peels on the Tracks is a must read.

[Bob OBrien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks for sharing.

Most interesting to hear of your experiences in that small, post communist country. Must have taken a lot of courage to go there. And now, over 20 years later, such vivid recall. Other than the meeting with ur former student, now an aupair in Chicago, have kept in contact with any of your former fellow teachers or former students. Would be most interesting to know what they have done with their lives since then. A suggestion for you. Should you decide to write another memoir, best to get a better editor.
Bob in Tempe, AZ.

[Nancy McMahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spending a year in a country apparently qualifies the author to make judgments about the people and their motivations. I spent 7 years in an Asian country and I couldn't begin to understand the people and their lives because I saw them through American eyes. However, he is a good writer. I just wish he had written a more objective account. And he set us up to wonder about what happened next with his students. It would be a good sequel to find out about what happened to them and maybe even admit some wrong assumptions.