posturing

In Western literature, the Balkans are most often represented in an unfavourable way. A remarkable exception seems to be the Dutch writer A. den Doolaard (1901-1994). He wrote three novels rendering the Balkans in a positive way. The inn with the horseshoe (1933) describes the braveness of an Albanian boy avenging the besmirched honour of his brother. Orient-Express (1934) deplores the decline of the Macedonian liberation movement due to internecine terrorism. The wedding of the seven Gypsies (1939) extols the dissolute lifestyle, associated with Gypsy music. However, the positive qualities the reader is supposed to admire differ essentially from the norms valued in daily life. Taking pleasure in the Balkans seems to be a form of escapism, limited to leisure time