What do you think?
Rate this book
Postcards to Europe
From Paris to Prague, from the past to the present, authors and artists explore what Europe means to them - and us - in this unique collection.
In these pages you'll find personal letters, reminiscences, poetry, art and brand new fiction from some of the most talented and important voices at work today, including Jessie Burton, Alain de Botton, Matt Haig, Richard Herring, Owen Jones, Mark Kermode, Robert Macfarlane, Kate Mosse, Chris Riddell, Lionel Shriver and many more. A fascinating, funny and moving must-read collection.
In these pages you'll find personal letters, reminiscences, poetry, art and brand new fiction from some of the most talented and important voices at work today, including Jessie Burton, Alain de Botton, Matt Haig, Richard Herring, Owen Jones, Mark Kermode, Robert Macfarlane, Kate Mosse, Chris Riddell, Lionel Shriver and many more. A fascinating, funny and moving must-read collection.
- GenresNonfictionShort Stories
368 pages, Paperback
Published May 14, 2019
2 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Various
455k books1,339 followersVarious is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).
If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.
Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.
If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.
Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 27, 2019
Stories about Brexit and everything related to it isn't exactly what one calls easy and fun summer read, but this was an excellent book to read during my commute with multiple short stories ranging from two pages to a dozen of pages. Sadly the overall quality is uneven and while some of the stories were incredible, some I did not get at all, they had no theme or red thread to make a point.
Those among my favourites were Bee Wilson's "An Edible Debt" discussing the evolution of food culture; Adam Dant's "Quitting Europe" which tells his story, a story about various European countries and cigarettes (even as non-smoker I found some details fascinating); Kate Eberlen's "A Loss for Words" in which the author plays a game with her kids and a question along the lines "would you rather stay in the UK forever and never be able to go abroad or would you rather live outside of the UK and never be able to visit the country again". It's a difficult question to answer and I found it interesting how Eberlen went through how the answer had changed post-Brexit.
I also liked Alex Kapranos' "Borders" in which he tells a story about driving ambulances from Kosovo to Scotland and crossing borders; Val McDermid's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Poirot" which focuses on European literature and how it helps us understand different cultures; Holly McNish's "Cavoli riscaldati" is a wonderful poem about xenophobia and monolingualism and feeling superior and maybe manages to sum up what Brexit is seemingly all about.
The longest story is Lionel Shriver's "Referendum" which is told from the point of view of a Brexit supporter and that story manages to shed light on the pro camps feelings (even if I disagree with them). When reading, I found it boring and dragging and too long, but after thinking about it for a while it might actually be my favourite of the bunch. There were wonderful comparisons and it manages to show the divide Brexit has created - in the country and in households.
No matter where you stand on the issue (even if this collection leans on the staying in the EU side), this is a good read with various points of views, many of which I found myself agreeing with.
Those among my favourites were Bee Wilson's "An Edible Debt" discussing the evolution of food culture; Adam Dant's "Quitting Europe" which tells his story, a story about various European countries and cigarettes (even as non-smoker I found some details fascinating); Kate Eberlen's "A Loss for Words" in which the author plays a game with her kids and a question along the lines "would you rather stay in the UK forever and never be able to go abroad or would you rather live outside of the UK and never be able to visit the country again". It's a difficult question to answer and I found it interesting how Eberlen went through how the answer had changed post-Brexit.
I also liked Alex Kapranos' "Borders" in which he tells a story about driving ambulances from Kosovo to Scotland and crossing borders; Val McDermid's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Poirot" which focuses on European literature and how it helps us understand different cultures; Holly McNish's "Cavoli riscaldati" is a wonderful poem about xenophobia and monolingualism and feeling superior and maybe manages to sum up what Brexit is seemingly all about.
The longest story is Lionel Shriver's "Referendum" which is told from the point of view of a Brexit supporter and that story manages to shed light on the pro camps feelings (even if I disagree with them). When reading, I found it boring and dragging and too long, but after thinking about it for a while it might actually be my favourite of the bunch. There were wonderful comparisons and it manages to show the divide Brexit has created - in the country and in households.
No matter where you stand on the issue (even if this collection leans on the staying in the EU side), this is a good read with various points of views, many of which I found myself agreeing with.
May 27, 2019
🇪🇺🇪🇺🇪🇺🇪🇺🇪🇺
December 11, 2019
Good way to understand the emotional and logical arguments for and against Brexit.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews