Grew up in Albania
About This Novel
Laia Upi was born in 1979 and grew up in Albania, an Eastern European country with a unique history that is little known to outsiders. In those years, the people there cherished utopian ideals that were almost inaccessible to outsiders and almost impossible for those who lived in them to leave. It is a place where materials are scarce and people have to queue up to buy things. It is a place full of secrets and unspeakable things. For Leia, it was home, where neighbors helped each other and parents looked to their children to create a better world. There was her community and her hope. In December 1990, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, everything changed. Almost overnight, people were free to vote and wear whatever they wanted. There is nothing to worry about anymore. But factories closed, jobs disappeared, and many fled to Italy on crowded ships, only to be sent back again. The predatory pyramid scheme eventually bankrupted the country, leading to violent conflict. When one generation's aspirations turn into another's hallucinations, family secrets are revealed, and Leia begins to search for the true meaning of freedom.
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