In Europe
It is fashionable these days to speak of the death of Europe. And Dutch journalist Geert Mak's new history of Europe's 20th century begins with a scene from a picturesque European village in 1999. It's a place he finds filled with endings, loss and decay. "The storks had left by now. Their nests lay silent and empty atop the chimneys. The summer was in afterglow, the mayor sweated as he cut back the municipal grass." If that doesn't evoke expiration, consider that the mayor is cutting the grass with a scythe.
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