Lea Ypi (Tirana, 1979) is an Albanian writer and university professor. She teaches political theory at the London School of Economics. In 2022, the British magazine Prospect named her one of the ten best thinkers in the world, and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung named her one of the most important cultural figures. She has published numerous works in the field of political theory. For her biographical book, Slobodna , she won the prestigious Ondaatje and Slightly Foxed awards, and was shortlisted for the Costa Prize in the biography category. Slobodna has been translated into more than twenty languages.
"We never lose our inner freedom: the freedom to do right."
Lea Ypi grew up in one of the world's most isolated countries, a country where communist ideals officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossible to visit, almost impossible to leave. It was a place of waiting in lines during a time of scarcity, a place of political executions and secret police. It was home to Lea. People were equal, neighbors helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world. There was togetherness and hope.
Then, in December 1990, everything changed. The statues of Stalin and Hoxha were demolished. Almost overnight, people were free to vote, wear what they liked and believe what they wanted. No more poking your nose into other people's business. But factories were closed, jobs disappeared, and thousands of Albanians, hungry for bread, fled to Italy on overcrowded ships, only to be sent back.
Predatory pyramid schemes eventually bankrupted the country, resulting in violence. As the aspirations of one generation became the disappointment of another, and as her own family's secrets were revealed, Lea began to wonder what freedom really meant.
The book Slobodna is a gripping memoir about growing up in the midst of political turmoil. Insightful and witty, Lea Ypi follows the limits of progress and the burden of the past, illuminating the spaces between ideals and reality, and the hopes and fears of people caught in the whirlwind of history.
“Wonderfully funny and moving… a story of family secrets and political awakening amidst a crumbling regime.”
Observer
Translated from English by Senada Kreso