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This is Europe

The Way We Live Now

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This is Europe

By: Ben Judah
Narrated by: Dan Connolly
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About this listen

A Times, Financial Times and Telegraph Book of the Year 2023

'Illuminates some of the great trends of our time' - Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
'Vivid, urgent and unsettling' - Tom Holland, author of Dominion
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What does it now mean to call yourself European? Who makes up this population of some 750 million, sprawled from Ireland to Ukraine, from Sweden to Turkey? Who has always called it home, and who has newly arrived from elsewhere? Who are the people who drive our long-distance lorries, steward our criss-crossing planes, lovingly craft our legacy wines, fish our depleted waters, and risk life itself in search of safety and a new start?

In a series of vivid but always empathetic portraits of other people’s lives, journalist Ben Judah invites us to meet them. Drawn from hours of painstaking interviews, these vital stories reveal a vibrant continent which has been transformed by diversity, migration, the internet, climate change, Covid, war and the quest for freedom.

Laid dramatically bare, it may not always be a Europe we recognize – but this is Europe.
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'An astonishing achievement' - Evening Standard
'Brilliantly told . . . highly readable' - The Times

 Emigration & Immigration Europe Politics & Government Racism & Discrimination Social Sciences World

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Critic reviews

Thrilling, first-hand tales that explore the danger and ambitions of life in Europe.
If you wish to know what Europe is becoming without us in its club, you'd do well to read Ben Judah's This Is Europe.
Imagine Ballard and Houellebecq teaming up on a Grand Tour, and you will have some idea of just how vivid, urgent and unsettling this superbly written book is.
Unflinching . . . a powerful piece of reportage.
An extraordinary series of interviews. (Rory Stewart)
Deeply empathetic. Judah is an ace reporter with a novelist's love of character. He conjures people and place in a modern literary form he has made his own. There's no romance to this journey across Europe — but an abundance of story which will make you lurch between fascination, laughter and tears. (Sophy Roberts, author of The Lost Pianos of Siberia)
Makes you expand the boundaries of your sympathies and your understanding. It’s an astonishing achievement.
A kaleidoscope of bright human experience. Moving, poignant and compelling – I devoured this in a day. (Jenny Kleeman, author of Sex Robots & Vegan Meat)
Brilliantly vivid.
Illuminating . . . a bold literary and journalistic experiment. Judah knows how to tell a story and does so with panache.
Ben Judah has the ability to listen and retell, see and describe, feel and convey . . . Judah paints another Europe with intense and dramatic detail – a Europe that you may not recognize, but that you will look for every day having read this book. (Andrey Kurkov, author of Death and the Penguin)
An impressive work, like a chorus.
Superb . . . a compelling read.
A hallucinatory tour de force . . . life affirming.
Such an ambitious project it automatically deserves applause . . . reminds us that below every system and conflict there are human beings.
Captivating.
A singular journalistic achievement.
A fabulous book. (Quentin Lafay)
'Poignant and powerful . . . reveals a Europe in a time of profound change.
Pick a chapter and you will be dropped in the middle of a fascinating tale . . . absorbing and addictive.
Sprawling, impressionistic, occasionally exhilarating . . . narratives which rest upon the force of raw experience.
A masterpiece emphasising to the reader that the ‘other’ could always be ‘me’. (Paschal Donohoe)
All stars
Most relevant
I really enjoyed listening to each persons story. I loved his first book on London. Brilliant. I want to hear peoples truth, how they talk, what they think. There is a trust with his writing. Ok always read everything he writes.

Really enjoyed this

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I loved This is London and This is Europe is just as good. Amazing, and very affecting stories, about people moving to and within Europe. I can guess but I'd love to hear more about how it connects with his other work on international relations and strategy with the Atlantic Council.
One small thing is that the photos that I really valued in This is London are not available if you have the audiobook, which is a shame.

Another great Ben Judah book

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I loved This Is London so was very excited for this. It didn’t disappoint. Brilliant literary journalism from Ben Judah. Some stories more interesting than others and I did feel overall it the second half was less gripping, but mostly all interesting in their own way and a brilliant insight into different lives in the ‘new Europe’. Felt the Belarus story could have been merged.
Brilliant, clear narration.

Fascinating and moving

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I wouldn't listen to this one if you are feeling down.
Relentless in a depiction of a grim future for our continent and the people. Whilst many of the stories are fascinating and all are real, as a picture of society in Europe the book might benefit from some balance.
Not tales of the excess the super rich but perhaps a leavening of stories from the centre ground?
The book paints an effective picture of one of the extremes that exist in our society but without a balancing benchmark to anchor the stories against, it becomes less valuable.
I am reading This is London and am interested to learn if it continues in the same dark vein.

Grim but thought provoking

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Felt like a privileged insight into various life’s, of the kind of people we see on tv or read about without really knowing

Great follow to life in London

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