This is a breezy, quirky, funny travelogue that might even be better as an audible book. Having said that, I think the author may have been going for a deep allegorical examination of the psychological effects of regime change on the populations that are suddenly freed from tyranny. Either way the book is entertaining and I recommend it to most readers. Read the kindle highlights and judge for yourself; the writing is consistent throughout.

There's an introduction that discusses the overall theme of governmental change throughout Europe and of the release of performing bears in Bulgaria and how the two are related. (All of the stories that follow are anecdotal and I think the connection is absurdly gimmicky but very entertaining nonetheless.)

Part 1 is composed of 10 short titled chapters and is about the performing bears and their gypsy owners. The author has a good eye for an interesting angle and manages to make the whole thing simultaneously hilarious and sad.

Part 2 is also composed of 10 short chapters (same chapter titles) and is about the various peoples of Europe (mostly, the first chapter is about Cubans) freed (not in their opinion) from communist rule. Each of these chapters begins with an epigraph taken from a story from the same chapter in part 1. I liked the stories of part 1 better and didn't particularly like chapters 5 (Estonia) and 6 (Poland) but the chapters are short and that's not a reason to skip this book.