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The Ministry of Pain
The Ministry of Pain: A Novel | Dubravka Ugresic
3 posts | 4 read | 9 to read
Having fled the violent breakup of Yugoslavia, Tanja Lucic is now a professor of literature at the University of Amsterdam, where she teaches a class filled with other young Yugoslav exiles, most of whom earn meager wages assembling leather and rubber S&M clothing at a sweatshop they call the "Ministry." Abandoning literature, Tanja encourages her students to indulge their "Yugonostalgia" in essays about their personal experiences during their homeland's cultural and physical disintegration. But Tanja's act of academic rebellion incites the rage of one renegade member of her class—and pulls her dangerously close to another—which, in turn, exacerbates the tensions of a life in exile that has now begun to spiral seriously out of control.
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SlawkaGrabowska
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Wonderful, sad, real. I'm happy I've stumbled upon this one! ♥

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charl08
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The wars that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia may be history now, but Ugresic's discussion of being a refugee, losing your home, your language: all too relevant now. Recommended.

SaintUrsula I considered buying an Ugresic book when I was in Croatia but they didn't have the one I was looking for. I'm interested in reading her though. 7y
charl08 @SaintUrsula I was so pleased to see this sitting 'waiting for me' in the local charity book shop. 7y
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charl08
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I'm trying not to be too amused at her critique of the Netherlands.

shawnmooney This sounds interesting. Are you enjoying it? 7y
charl08 @shawnmooney I am enjoying it a lot! This is the second one of hers I've read, really like her style. 7y
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