New Old World

July 6, 2015
Aiyar, a peripatetic foreign correspondent with years of experience covering East Asia, moved to Brussels as the Eurozone crisis was coming into focus. As the only Indian journalist accredited by the European Union, she brings a fresh, thought-provoking perspective to Europe’s woes. While her observations can be a little too pat—“It struck me with some force how in many ways the Chinese were the Americans of Asia, while the Indians were the Europeans”—her trenchant and often humorous conversations with immigrants, entrepreneurs, politicians, and diplomats illuminate the paradoxes and inconsistencies of Europe’s approach to multiculturalism. “In liberal societies,” she writes, “one is expected to be tolerant of different ideas and cultures. But what if those cultures are intolerant of others? How much tolerance of intolerance is justified by liberal principles?” Such questions befuddle the European project writ large as the continent struggles to cope with growing Muslim populations and the strictures of austerity politics. But the dilemma is particularly palpable in Aiyar’s adopted home of Belgium, which is so wracked by linguistic divisions that it recently went 589 days without a government. Through her travels around the continent, Aiyar is able to humanize those who are most frequently represented in the media as alarming statistics.

July 1, 2015
A longing for harmony and an embrace of multiculturalism mark this foreign correspondent's examination of the European situation as seen from Brussels. Married to a diplomat who moves around constantly, Aiyar (Chinese Whiskers, 2011, etc.) has previously recounted her stint in China. Here, she presents intriguing observations from her time in the unofficial European Union capital from 2009 to 2012. A feeling of malaise permeated her stint in Brussels-a city often seen as dull but simmering with linguistic rivalry (French vs. Dutch) and immigrant angst-beginning when she was robbed at the airport. As an Indian-born woman who had just arrived from the driven entrepreneurial Chinese capital of Beijing, Aiyar was stunned by the rules and regulations in this neat and tidy European capital and especially by the natives' aversion to work-that is, the relentless work pursued by the upstart Chinese and Indians, entailing long hours and sacrifices the Belgians are often not willing to make. In chapters devoted to different facets of the EU crises of the last few years, Aiyar looks at how demographic shifts are affecting business in a city where nearly a quarter of the population hails from Muslim countries; the lucrative Antwerp diamond industry is no longer a Jewish monopoly but has been infiltrated by the Mehtas and the Shahs. The Belgian workers might enjoy "some of the world's most elaborate entitlements," writes the author, but in an age of increasing austerity, "Europe's clout was weakening." Europeans, in contrast to the Chinese and Indians, might be environmentally conscious, but Aiyar is offended by their "smugness." The author delves into ways the Indians and Chinese have managed to take advantage of Europe's "protracted economic trough" by opening businesses in new areas-e.g., the pickled gherkin market. Fresh insight into how Europeans might learn valuable lessons from developing countries.

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September 1, 2015

Aiyar (Smoke and Mirrors) arrives in Belgium at the beginning of a building European Crisis. This fiscal crisis sharpens the realities of the social issues that arise when there is an attempt to tie such varying cultures with contrasting levels of economic development. Once the crisis began to unveil, the preexisting tendencies toward nationalistic exclusivity start to become more prominent. Aiyar asserts that the crisis goes beyond a fiscal one, that it is instead "an existential crisis for the European Project." This work walks us through the dilemma with all of the nuances that culminate to show the larger picture. Having spent nearly a decade honing her journalistic talents in a nation on the rise, Aiyar ably uses the contrast to paint a clear picture. This unique perspective affords the author the opportunity to report with fresh eyes. She helps the reader get a feel for the societal differences, immigration issues, global warming concerns, Germany's ascent, and the relationships with China and India to give a holistic look at this situation. VERDICT With a fluidly pleasing writing style, the author has tackled a potentially dry topic in a way that keeps the reader engaged. A solid addition for anyone with an interest in political, cultural, or economic studies.--Brenna Smeall, AtoZdatabases, Omaha, NE

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