Interesting perspective as we see Albanian transition away from socialism through a child’s eyes. The book ranges from 1985 to the late 1990s. We see in part 1, Ypi is younger so she is more “naive” and unaware of what’s happening around her. Whereas part 2 has more action/a lot of things going on as she gets older and starts to be faced with politics more.

I don’t know why some blurbs for this book call it “funny” because it’s so sad. While yes there are maybe some “funny” moments it’s more “oh this child is so sweet and innocent not understanding” but even then it’s more sad than funny?

I learned so much about this part of Albania’s history and culture! I was too young (and also not born yet) for most of what Ypi recalls and I don’t think we learned about any of this in school. Overall it was an engaging memoir that I’d definitely recommend!