This is Europe

Reviews

Thrilling, first-hand tales that explore the danger and ambitions of life in Europe. Makes you expand the boundaries of your sympathies and your understanding. It’s an astonishing achievement. A masterpiece emphasising to the reader that the ‘other’ could always be ‘me’. An impressive work, like a chorus. Sprawling, impressionistic, occasionally exhilarating . . . narratives which rest upon the force of raw experience. 'Poignant and powerful . . . reveals a Europe in a time of profound change. Brilliantly vivid. An extraordinary series of interviews. 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. Such an ambitious project it automatically deserves applause . . . reminds us that below every system and conflict there are human beings. Unflinching . . . a powerful piece of reportage. A singular journalistic achievement. Illuminating . . . a bold literary and journalistic experiment. Judah knows how to tell a story and does so with panache. Superb . . . a compelling read. A hallucinatory tour de force . . . life affirming. Pick a chapter and you will be dropped in the middle of a fascinating tale . . . absorbing and addictive. 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. Captivating. A fabulous book. A kaleidoscope of bright human experience. Moving, poignant and compelling – I devoured this in a day. 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. 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. Expand reviews