Nationalist forces in both France and US, pillars of post-war European edifice
As the United States and France — pillars of the NATO alliance and of the postwar construction of a united Europe — face nationalist forces, it’s worth remembering that this year’s International Booker Prize was won by a novel that revolves around a country that no longer exists but which is now a symbol of successful European integration. Sign up at https://thisweekthosebooks.substack.com/ and get the post and quick podcast the day it drops. Here are some excerpts from the post
The Big Story:
The 27-country European Union (EU) elected a new parliament that shows the bloc’s evolution — from post-national liberal project to an entity that includes many insular political forces…
This Week, Those Books:
- A bold examination of the EU as a way to erase European countries’ difficult past.
- A story about a destructive love affair intersects with key moments of European history.
Eurowhiteness: Culture, Empire and Race in the European Project
By: Hans Kundnani
Publisher: Hurst
Year: 2023
My rating: Thought-provoking
This is an unusual book by an unusual writer. Hans Kundnani, the British-born-and-bred son of Indian and Dutch parents, voted against Brexit but remains unconvinced the European project is an “expression of cosmopolitanism”. Pointing to its hostility to immigrants and Islam, he writes that most people think the EU stands for diversity and inclusion and opposes nationalism and racism. However, it may be better understood “as an expression of regionalism, which is analogous to nationalism”, but on a larger, continental scale. Kundnani says that European integration after World War II helped the former colonialists join together to continue to project power on the global stage. Serving as “a vehicle for imperial amnesia”…
Kairos
By: Jenny Erpenbeck (author), Michael Hofmann (translator)
Publisher: Granta Books
Year: 2023
My rating: Bleakly beautiful
This book is ostensibly about a doomed love affair but it also threads another story — about the power balance in relationships, notably between a country and its citizens.
The basic plot is simply told. Katharina, 19, and Hans, 53, are citizens of communist East Germany, a state that is collapsing by the time they meet in 1986…
The Backstory:
- Far-right parties, which are largely hostile to climate-friendly and multi-cultural policies, increased their share of seats to a quarter of the European parliament — up from a fifth in 2019. Almost all these seat gains occurred in three of Europe’s largest countries — France, Germany and Italy.
- The EU parliament, the world’s only directly elected transnational assembly, is not the bloc’s main institution but approves its budget and helps set the legislative agenda…
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Originally published at This Week, Those Books
