Room Service: Reports from Eastern Europe

I am the translator for this book, so naturally I may be counted as biased, but I enjoyed the essays so much that I want to urge others to explore them. Richard Swartz was the Eastern European correspondent for the Stockholm daily Svenska Dagbladet for many years. His intimate acquaintance with day-to-day life in the various cultures of Eastern Europe (including Albania) and his status as an observer from a small and (mostly) neutral country make his observations unique among those I have read. Add to these qualities his eloquent and moving prose style, and you have a wonderful book, part travelogue, part personal essay, all closely observed and sensitively portrayed. Often moving and/or funny. I recommend it warmly.