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- Coming of Age at the End of History
- Narrated by: Lea Ypi, Rachel Bavidge
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Shortlisted for the 2021 Baillie Gifford prize and the 2021 Costa Biography Award.
Lea Ypi grew up in one of the most isolated countries on earth, a place where communist ideals had officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossible to visit, almost impossible to leave. It was a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. To Lea, it was home. People were equal, neighbours helped each other and children were expected to build a better world. There was community and hope.
Then, in December 1990, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, everything changed. The statues of Stalin and Hoxha were toppled. Almost overnight, people could vote freely, wear what they liked and worship as they wished. There was no longer anything to fear from prying ears. But factories shut, jobs disappeared and thousands fled to Italy on crowded ships, only to be sent back. Predatory pyramid schemes eventually bankrupted the country, leading to violent conflict. As one generation's aspirations became another's disillusionment and as her own family's secrets were revealed, Lea found herself questioning what freedom really meant.
Free is an engrossing memoir of coming of age amid political upheaval. With acute insight and wit, Lea Ypi traces the limits of progress and the burden of the past, illuminating the spaces between ideals and reality and the hopes and fears of people pulled up by the sweep of history.
Critic reviews
"Funny, moving but also deadly serious, this book will be read for years to come.... Beautifully brings together the personal and the political to create an unforgettable account of oppression, freedom and what it means to acquire knowledge about the world." (David Runciman)
What listeners say about Free
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Caty M.
- 19-02-23
Recommend
A moving, heartbreaking at times, funny, and insightful listen. Well read by the actor. Recommend
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- debbieg
- 25-01-23
Brilliant - so glad I read it
Such an intimate first person account of growing up in Albania end of the 80s and the political crises.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 09-06-22
Freeeeeedom
Nice autobiography of a childhood lived through a period of upheaval, transformation and violence. It was interesting to read about the authors childhood faith in Hoxhaism and how her beliefs developed as Albania changed. The book is a critique of the lived experience of socialism as well as Western concepts of freedom which is a refreshing angle.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Emily Fish
- 13-01-23
Intriguing story let down by narrator
This is an incredibly informative and enlightening story of Ypi's childhood in Albania, written with deftness and empathy, but unfortunately the audibook was let down by the narrator. I found their narration frustrating, their use of accents very odd. Quite a few times I considered giving up the audiobook to read the physical copy instead, so I didn't have to read through this narrator's voice.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mover
- 14-12-23
The struggle in one’s life is a footnote in the struggle of humanity…
A book that renders the story of the writer’s struggle,with herself, her family, the society in which she came of age, and a new society into which she was thrust transformed by events beyond her control or imagination. It is clear, Lea Ypi hasn’t been born to interpret the world, but to change it. An authentic biography illustrating the main constancy of life is change and to be the change you want to see is always a struggle.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-06-23
A real thing!
There is a lot of promise in the description of the book before you purchase it and more often than not it falls flat after an hour or two of diving into it. This one is different. It delivers what is promised and exceeds it. I'd love to have more books like this, describing messy yet beautiful reality instead of feeding smooth and polished wannabe experiences.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MR A.
- 02-09-23
Great story. Good Narration. Bad impersonations
Great story about a lesser know part of 20th century history. Narrated well apart from the character impersonations which are awful.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- SBF
- 22-03-24
Albania's period of strict Socialism
The first part of Lea's childhood is told with vivid insights into how it was to live under repressive socialism during the 1980's. This part is very well read and it ties you to the book. The second part of the story is less intriguing and not so well read, but the Epilogue is important as it explains better Lea's current position and views on Socialism. An unusual autobiography that is well worth listening to.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Miss Julie Wright
- 23-12-21
A powerful and enthralling read.
What a great listen.
I was absolutely engrossed from start to finish.
The way Lea Ypi has told her stories bring human experience to the big political backdrop of Communist and post-Communist Albania (and, I feel, Eastern Europe more broadly).
I found it utterly fascinating!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 07-02-22
Interesting! Appalling attempt at pronunciation
Gripping story - very interesting, highly recommended. A little disappointed at the narrator’s poor attempt at pronouncing Arabic phrases (she does well with French, but Anglicised all the Arabic phrases beyond recognition). It was painful to hear when it happened.
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