Why a Booktrail?
2000s: A story of a person and a country
Forbidden Bread
Why a Booktrail?
2000s: A story of a person and a country
What you need to know before your trail
The author leaves behind a successful career as an American financial analyst to pursue Ales Debeljak, a womanizing Slovenian poet who catches her attention at a cocktail party. The story begins in New York City, but quickly migrates, along with the author, to Slovenia. As she struggles to forge an identity in her new home, Slovenia itself undergoes the transformation from a communist to a capitalist society. A complicated language, politically incorrect ethnic jokes, and old-fashioned sexism are just a few of the challenges Debeljak faces on her journey. Happily, she marries her poet and comes to love her new husband’s family as well as the fast-disappearing rural traditions of this beautiful country.
Travel Guide
Slovenia
Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Slovenian Ten Day War and the much longer Yugoslav wars of succession, Forbidden Bread shows a worldly and courageous woman coming to grips with her new life and family situation in a rapidly changing European landscape.
In the early 90’s, Slovenia was in the process of solidifying its independence from the former Yugoslavia in a ten-day war. It was a country in transition in more ways than one. Erica learns to navigate both the country and the language as well as the remnants of Soviet bureaucracy.
A cultural story rather than a love one.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Forbidden Bread
Destination/Location: Slovenia, Ljubljana Author: Erica Johnson Debeljak Departure: 2000s
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