A wry, cutting deconstruction of the Communist empire by one of Eastern Europe’s exceptional authors. Called “a perceptive and amusing social critic, with a wonderful eye for detail” by The Washington Post, Slavenka Drakulić—a native of Croatia—has emerged as one of the most popular and respected critics of Communism to come out of the former Eastern Bloc. In A Guided Tour Through the Museum of Communism, she offers a eight-part exploration of Communism by way of an unusual cast of narrators, each from a different country, who reflect on the fall of Communism. Together they constitute an Orwellian send-up of absurdities during the final years of European Communism that showcase this author’s tremendous talent

A beautifully imagined story of the last days of Frida Kahlo’s life. A few days before Frida Kahlo’s death in 1954, she wrote in her diary, “I hope the exit is joyful — and I hope never to return.” Diagnosed with polio at the age of six and plagued by illness and injury throughout her life, Kahlo’s chronic pain was a recurrent theme in her extraordinary art. In Frida’s Bed, Slavenka Drakulic´ explores the inner life of one of the world’s most influential female artists, skillfully weaving Frida’s memories into descriptions of her paintings, producing a meditation on the nature of chronic pain and creativity. With an intriguing subject whose unusual life continues to fascinate, this poignant imagining of Kahlo’s thoughts during her final hours by another daringly original and uncompromising creative talent will attract readers of literary fiction and art lovers alike

One of Eastern Europe’s most important writers, Croatian journalist and novelist Drakulic takes readers into the violent and bitter maelstrom that is the Yugoslavian conflict. In a series of brilliant and poignant personal essays, she describes how ordinary people respond to this gruesome situation