1: A compelling narrative about communism
At the center of Z. Anguelov's memoir is the intriguing concept that life choices can be the result of one's political environment. For us, people raised in democracy, Bulgarian communist reality looks worlds apart. Yet, I found this memoir extremely interesting and admirable on several levels. First of all, the complexity of the several stories, the description of how communism really worked, and the author's personal odyssey through that system are very impressive: to sort all that out and to present it to the reader, especially one unfamiliar to the system, in a way that is absolutely unambiguous is indeed impressive.
I found that the American editor of the book was very astute and sensitive to the author's voice. It comes through very clearly and makes the story even more poignant. For example, one thing that so bothered me initially was the seeming insensitivity of the author to the women he became involved with. At one place, he said that his wife complained before they were married that she was pregnant. And the editor left the word 'complained,' although it is obvious that, if that sentence were to be shown to any American woman, she would immediately say: whoooa ... this man has no responsibility for this event?? Regardless of what he really felt or meant, the word 'complained' in this context is a red flag signaling his inconvenience. But he speaks with his old 'voice,' at the level of sensitivity he was at that distant time, and the choice of word is actually quite precise. At another place, I found it rather endearing that the author described himself as a "spoiled brat," and, of course, why wouldn't he be? He was a super-star among stars in the educational community. I found deeply moving the descriptions of the little cottage in the country where he and his third wife were able, for at least a few hours, to find their true selves. I think for many of us it is difficult to comprehend on a really profound level how deeply landscape contributes to our emotional life. I am who I am in part because of the Alaskan landscape, which is seared into my unconscious as well as conscious life. The author of the memoir has a very profound understanding of that. But even more, his descriptions of the continuous assaults on one's personal integrity show why the insidious and devastating effect of communism were so powerful. I think every sociologist and history or political science major should read this book.
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