Description
Book Synopsis Based on interviews and fieldwork conducted among residents of Pula, a coastal city in Northwestern Croatia, this study explores various aspects of a local feeling of boredom. This is mirrored in the term tapija, a word of Turkish origin describing a property deed, and in Pula’s urban slang it has morphed from its original sense describing a set of affective states into one of lameness, loneliness, unwillingness, and irony. Combining lively conversations with a significant bibliography of the topic, the result is a compelling local anthropological study of boredom in a wider historical and global context.
Trade Review “Matošević’s book is one that should be read many times since like the twisting of a kaleidoscope, each time one does, a new image, a new insight comes into view. This is such a refreshing antidote to much of the ethnographic work on this region.” • Southeastern Europe
“Accessibly written and theoretically engaged, Almost, But Not Quite Bored in Pula offers an insightful look into the mental life of an understudied metropolis. This fascinating study will be important reading for scholars of urban and cultural studies for years to come.” • Anthropological Journal of European Cultures
Table of Contents List of Figures
Preface to the English Translation
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1. On Tapija: An Ethnography of the City’s Imponderables
Chapter 2. Boredom, or the City Yawns
Chapter 3. On Dominant Articulations and Reaches of Tapija
Conclusion
References
Index
