Each person defines freedom in their own way. The freedom to choose, the freedom to explore… There is so much value in the word, so much so that is hard to put into words. For July’s monthly read, the Service95 Book Club takes a closer look at freedom in Free by Lea Ypi.
In 2021, Lea Ypi released her first trade book, Free: Coming of Age at the End of History. Who knew that it would go on to receive the Ondaatje Prize, the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize, and shortlists for the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Costa Biography Award? The reception was well deserved, as Ypi exceptionally blended various themes like hope and fear, progression and regression, and reality and fantasy. Last year, Ypi went on to release Indignity: A Life Reimagined, which was longlisted for the Women’s Prize and shortlisted for Blackwell’s Book of the Year. Overall, Ypi continues to share a resourceful, relevant, and unique look at political theory, which is why her work has been translated into over 30 languages. She currently holds the Ralph Miliband Chair in Politics and Philosophy at the London School of Economics.
Further explaining Free, Dua Lipa shares,
“Lea Ypi was eleven when socialism fell in Albania. Until this point, she had loved Stalin and Uncle Enver Hoxta—who ruled Albania with an iron fist for over 40 years—with a child’s unquestioning devotion.
“Lea describes a Stalinist country so politically isolated, it had fallen out not only with the West but also with the Soviet Union and China, too. The child’s perspective makes this strangeness feel completely normal. One entire chapter is about a Coke can. In Lea’s Albania, an empty Coke can is a status symbol—something to covet. Her mother saves up to buy one. It goes missing. A neighborhood feud erupts. By the time it is resolved, everyone has moved on to Fanta.
“But underneath the absurdity, ‘Free’ is about what happens when freedom arrives and turns out to be far messier than anyone imagined. Factories close, jobs disappear, families are separated, and civil war breaks out. When so many versions of freedom are presented, Lea starts asking the question: ‘What does it actually mean to be free?’
“‘Free’ revealed things to me about a country I know and love well. The history is so recent, but the lived experience has changed so much in just one generation. What an era to live through. What an education to share.”
Both Dua Lipa and Lea Ypi talk about the collapse of communism, the complexities of democracy, and the inspiration they take from the political protests happening in Albania today in the interview below. They also touch on why Free challenges conventional ideas about freedom and how Ypi’s life under dictatorship shaped her concept of freedom, along with her understanding of identity and truth.
This interview is also accompanied by Ypi’s recommended reading list and playlist, a list of things to know about Albania’s history before reading Free, a photo essay on Albanian bunkers, a travel piece focusing on the mountain ranges of Albania, and a list of books and films that capture the complexities of political upheaval.
In October, Dua Lipa will curate the Southbank Centre’s 2026 London Literature Festival. This includes special events during the festival’s opening weekend, but during the festival’s entire run, Dua Lipa will hold events with the Service95 Book Club.
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