Fiction, Essays
Karaoke Culture
Dubravka Ugresic, David Williams (Translator), Ellen Elias-Bursac (Translator), Celia Hawkesworth (Translator)
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Overview
“Her essays glitter with witty and profound observations. . . . A genuinely free-thinker, Ugresic’s attachment to absurdity leads her down paths where other writers fear to tread.”—The IndependentOver the past three decades, Dubravka Ugresic has established herself as one of Europe’s greatest—and most entertaining—thinkers and creators, and it’s in her essays that Ugresic is at her sharpest. With laser focus, she pierces our pop culture, dissecting the absurdity of daily life with a wit and style that’s all her own.
Whether it’s commentary on jaded youth, the ways technology has made us soft in the head, or how wrestling a hotel minibar into a bathtub is the best way to stick it to The Man, Ugresic writes with unmatched honesty and panache. KARAOKE CULTURE is full of candid, personal, and opinionated accounts of topics ranging from the baffling worldwide-pop-culture phenomena to the detriments of conformist nationalism. Sarcastic, biting, and, at times, even heartbreaking, this new collection of essays fully captures the outspoken brilliance of Ugresic’s insights into our modern world’s culture and conformism, the many ways in which it is ridiculous, and how (deep, deep down) we are all true suckers for it.
Editorials
Library Journal
Novelist, short story writer, and essayist Ugresic was forced to leave the former Yugoslavia in 1993 when she was labeled a traitor. She now lives in Amsterdam. Williams pulled together this collection of her recent (2008–11) pieces during his own work exploring the concept of a literature of Eastern Europe's ruins. Ugresic's focus ranges from the "neuroplastic" consciousness of Internet junkies to the idea of the American refrigerator as a symbol of wealth and ease. She continues with strongly expressed opinions about hotel minibars and how karaoke turned from a harmless "bit of fun" to a culture of wannabes. This collection's appeal may be limited to those interested, like Williams, in the intellectual voices of Eastern European culture.—J.S.Marina Warner
“A unique tone of voice, a madcap wit and a lively sense of the absurd. Ingenious.”Book Details
Published
October 25, 2011
Publisher
Open Letter
Pages
324
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781934824573