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Expat Existential
Cover detail from "Prague" by Arthur Phillips Email to friend
Every generation dreams of a better place. In 1990, American expats thought they'd found theirs in Eastern Europe. High on the heady fumes of collapsing regimes from Bucharest to Budapest, they gathered in hip bars and old-world cafes where freshly unshackled freedom was on tap; where real-life dreams of poets, playwrights, and entrepreneurs capped a velvet revolution, replacing tired Soviet soldiers and corrupt party bureaucrats.
It was touted as "Paris on the Danube," both banquet of freedom for the locals and the thrill of being there for Americans lucky enough to attend the party. It's that allure that haunts the characters of Arthur Phillips' new novel, "Prague."
