Borderlands

Malcomson, author of Tuturani and an editor at the Village Voice , reports on the borderland identities of people living in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Uzbekistan in the early 1990s. Recently freed (in most cases) from communist dominion, these countries are experiencing an intense nationalism, but for what traditions? Their pasts are woven in a tapestry with heritages that include ancient marauders, Greeks, Romans, Asiatics; the civilizations embrace Muslim, Christian, fascist, racist, agrarian and communist traditions. Today the desire to join the European Community is tempered by a deep ambivalence toward the values and powers of the West. Malcomson, who traveled in these countries in 1991-1992, brilliantly combines personal encounters with an erudite, wide description of the countries' disparate pasts. Vivid and engaging as a current document, the book is also a rich historical and political review of four unique civilizations now determining their future directions. (Feb.)