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A review by mistyx7
Time's Magpie: A Walk in Prague by Myla Goldberg
1.0
I mean I guess the premise of the book - an American takes a walk around Prague & describes it - was always going to have /that/ vibe to it, the Western lens, a voyeur who is unable to actually contextualize Czech politics & history. The author lived there, sure, but at the time of writing, that was ten years ago. Although I more or less knew what I was getting into, the blatant anti-communism was very distracting. At one point, the author observes a protest against the Iraq war, but maintains what I suppose is the false neutrality characteristic of liberals. Nevertheless, she can't restrain herself from framing the political agitation of Czech comrades (anarchists & communists alike) as if their efforts were a joke. If you're going to bring up politics, don't be a wimp! Take a stand! Thankfully, the next, wholly unnecessary, chapter was about licking the boot of American police, making the author's politics abundantly clear! To wit:
"A first-time visitor to Prague might be led to assume the city possesses, along with its capitalist shopping and dining options, a Western European police force, but the Westernization of Prague's commercial sector does not extend to its cops. Prague's policemen are poorly paid and poorly trained and the majority are interested in using their position in whatever way they can for personal or material gain. Among Czechs, the police have a reputation for corruption racism, and incompetence..." - oh wow, how UN-American of them /s - "Most Americans, of course, have little reason to suppose the words and deeds of a uniformed police officer might not be based on a solid legal foundation. Coming from a country where corrupt cops are the stuff of national scandal, Americans are a largely trusting and compliant bunch" - well, the author certainly is - "secure in their belief that police are, in aggregate, interested in protecting the citizenry from bad guys and maintaining order. In Prague, one comes to realize that certain basic American premises like accountability are, in fact, luxuries. "
In the summer of 2020, not only has this quote not aged well, but it was, in fact, an entirely disgusting take in 2003 when this was written. I don't know if the editors/publishing house considers things like this a mandatory "let's cover our bases" thing that they make sure to do for every ex-Soviet country or if the author is really just that much of a shill, but, if you're a leftist, give this a miss! Anyway, there were some descriptions of some cool stuff, but then again, I could probably just read some Wikipedia pages & have experienced Czech monuments & architecture without all the capitalist propaganda. Still really wanna go to the Czech Republic though!
"A first-time visitor to Prague might be led to assume the city possesses, along with its capitalist shopping and dining options, a Western European police force, but the Westernization of Prague's commercial sector does not extend to its cops. Prague's policemen are poorly paid and poorly trained and the majority are interested in using their position in whatever way they can for personal or material gain. Among Czechs, the police have a reputation for corruption racism, and incompetence..." - oh wow, how UN-American of them /s - "Most Americans, of course, have little reason to suppose the words and deeds of a uniformed police officer might not be based on a solid legal foundation. Coming from a country where corrupt cops are the stuff of national scandal, Americans are a largely trusting and compliant bunch" - well, the author certainly is - "secure in their belief that police are, in aggregate, interested in protecting the citizenry from bad guys and maintaining order. In Prague, one comes to realize that certain basic American premises like accountability are, in fact, luxuries. "
In the summer of 2020, not only has this quote not aged well, but it was, in fact, an entirely disgusting take in 2003 when this was written. I don't know if the editors/publishing house considers things like this a mandatory "let's cover our bases" thing that they make sure to do for every ex-Soviet country or if the author is really just that much of a shill, but, if you're a leftist, give this a miss! Anyway, there were some descriptions of some cool stuff, but then again, I could probably just read some Wikipedia pages & have experienced Czech monuments & architecture without all the capitalist propaganda. Still really wanna go to the Czech Republic though!