This is Europe: The Way We Live Now
£10.99
‘Thrilling’ – The Financial Times
‘Vivid, urgent and unsettling’ – Tom Holland
_____
What does it now mean to call yourself European? Who makes up this population of some 750 million, sprawled from Ireland to Ukraine, from Sweden to Turkey? Who has always called it home, and who has newly arrived from elsewhere? Who are the people who drive our long-distance lorries, steward our criss-crossing planes, lovingly craft our legacy wines, fish our depleted waters, and risk life itself in search of safety and a new start?
In a series of vivid, ambitious, darkly visceral but always empathetic portraits of other people’s lives, journalist Ben Judah invites us to meet them. Drawn from hours of painstaking interviews, these vital stories reveal a frenetic and vibrant continent which has been transformed by diversity, migration, the internet, climate change, Covid, war and the quest for freedom.
Laid dramatically bare, it may not always be a Europe we recognize – but this is Europe.
_____
‘An astonishing achievement’ – Evening Standard
‘Brilliantly told . . . highly readable’ – The Times
‘Unflinching’ – The Guardian
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Picador, Main Market edition (6 Jun. 2024) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 512 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1447276299 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1447276296 |
| Reading age | 18 years and up |
by Ovidio Graziano
I was expecting a book that talked about Europeans, our way of life, how the Continent has evolved over the last decades, with its contradictions and virtues. Instead no, it’s just a collection of stories of migrants from the Middle East/Africa and how they arrived/settled in Europe. There are few Europeans pictured in the book. It’s the migrant from Syria, from Afghanistan, from Tunisia, etc that tells their story. Towards the end it got really boring and repetitive – yet another story about a migrant and how they find life in Europe difficult. Even in the chapter about an Italian mountain rescuer, it was still about migrants and their experiences.
I have nothing against covering such stories – but the title should be reflecting that. Maybe “This is Europe – a migrant perspective on the old Continent”.
by GaryB
This book set a new record for me for the least pages read before giving up (previous record 30 pages). The opening chapter featured a pilot working in the port of Rotterdam – a highly skilled and responsible job and reasonably interesting I would have thought, though clearly it involved shift work with irregular hours. Either the pilot was a compulsive moaner or the author made him out to be one. The entire feel and tone of the chapter was depressing. There was no way I could face any more of this book.
Clearly other readers liked or at least admired the book, but it was definitely not for me. I’ve given two stars only because I have a grudging admiration for what I presume the author was trying to achieve, but the book is grim.
by econiX
The author recounts a series of interviews with what appears to be a collection of dissatisfied, unsympathetic chancers. Told in a halting and monotonous style. Reminiscent of documentary-style ‘day in the life of’ videos that are dime-a-dozen on YouTube.
by J. E. Holden
Outstanding work from Judah, reportage of the finest quality. Every story stands alone so it’s a patchwork quilt, but very well chosen. All are memorable and very much feel like you’ve met the the individuals in question.
by Sylvia Barrett
I really enjoyed Ben Judah’s previous book This Is London. In his latest book he takes his writing up another level. It’s a terrific read.
by Jim Bowen
This book samples the lives of people living in Europe in recent years. It looks at lorry drives from Romania, porn actors based in Turkey, ghost whisperers from Sweden, Belorussian democracy campaigners, and refugees from the Middle East. Each character gets a chapter.
It’s an interesting read. I don’t know if you’ve listened to “From Our Own Correspondent” on Radio 4, or “This American Life” on NPR, but it reminded me of those programmes, to a degree. The biggest difference being that the stories weren’t mediated by the reporter/journalist as much. Instead you get the story’s core character relating their experiences to the reader directly.
It was a good read, but it felt like there… weren’t many (any?) stories from the poor in Western Europe. The experiences in the book certainly told us something, but having a story or two from the indigenous poor in the West, might have… filled out the book(?), been eye opening for some readers.
by Rachel Savage
Ben Judah tells the stories of ordinary Europeans, immigrants and refugees, who are on the margins of society and all striving for something in their own way – a long-distance lorry driver falling in love, a Syrian refugee turned porn star, an Ivorian father desperately trying to make it to France with his son. Each chapter is one person. Some of them read like thrillers, others are simpler but still moving stories. All are reminders that we as humans all want to be loved and to live fulfilling lives.