A Short Border Handbook
by Gazmend Kapllani /
2009 / English / EPUB
3.9 MB Download
An exhilarating, blackly funny exploration of
migration and borders from an Albanian who grew up
longing to cross to Greece, only to find reality did
not match fantasy
An exhilarating, blackly funny exploration of
migration and borders from an Albanian who grew up
longing to cross to Greece, only to find reality did
not match fantasy
After spending his childhood and school years in Albania,
imagining that the miniskirts and game shows of Italian state
TV were the reality of life in the West, and fantasizing
accordingly about living on the other side of the border, the
1985 death of Albanian Communist leader Hoxha at last enables
Gazmend Kapllani to make his escape. However, on arriving in
the promised land, he finds neither lots of willing leggy
lovelies nor a warm welcome from his long-lost Greek cousins.
Instead, he gets banged up in a detention center in a small
border town. As Gazi and his fellow immigrants try to find
jobs, they begin to plan their future lives in Greece,
imagining riches and successes which always remain just
beyond their grasp. The sheer absurdity of their plans and
their new lives is overwhelming. Both detached and involved,
ironic and emotional, Kapllani interweaves the story of his
experience with meditations upon border syndrome—a mental
state, as much as a geographical experience—to create a
brilliantly observed, amusing, and perceptive debut.
After spending his childhood and school years in Albania,
imagining that the miniskirts and game shows of Italian state
TV were the reality of life in the West, and fantasizing
accordingly about living on the other side of the border, the
1985 death of Albanian Communist leader Hoxha at last enables
Gazmend Kapllani to make his escape. However, on arriving in
the promised land, he finds neither lots of willing leggy
lovelies nor a warm welcome from his long-lost Greek cousins.
Instead, he gets banged up in a detention center in a small
border town. As Gazi and his fellow immigrants try to find
jobs, they begin to plan their future lives in Greece,
imagining riches and successes which always remain just
beyond their grasp. The sheer absurdity of their plans and
their new lives is overwhelming. Both detached and involved,
ironic and emotional, Kapllani interweaves the story of his
experience with meditations upon border syndrome—a mental
state, as much as a geographical experience—to create a
brilliantly observed, amusing, and perceptive debut.
