On the Taste of Ashes
Shore, Marci. The Taste of Ashes: The Afterlife of Totalitarianism in Eastern Europe. New York: Crown, 2012. pp. 370. Cloth.
Ultimately disappointing. This is more a travelogue reflecting on the Communist experience in Eastern Europe as the fall of Communism was taking place than a serious piece on the “afterlife of totalitarianism.” Reading this work, it’s hard to say if this “afterlife” exists at all, as Shore doesn’t try to grapple with it. I’m inclined to say that it does, but I just don’t know.