The Land of Weddings and Rain: Nation and Modernity in Post-Socialist Lithuania

‘This book delivers to the reader a good ethnographic study of the modern urban wedding rituals in Lithuania…. It also provides reader with a solid grounding in the life cycle rituals of Lithuanian wedding, in addition to giving the reader a glimpse into the way one former Soviet republic has dealt with and moved away from its Soviet past.’

Meghan Murphy-Lee, Slavic & East European Journal vol 61:02:2017

“With great verve and acumen, this book ‘humanizes modernity ethnographically.’ Lankauskas mines wedding celebrations for what they reveal about how modernity is lived in Lithuania and what this says about national identity, collective memories, religion, gender, consumerism, social stratification, and a host of other key concerns in post-socialist studies. With the keen eye of a seasoned ethnographer, Lankauskas braids together observation, theory, and history to give us a thoughtful and insightful study of ‘the good life’ in Lithuania.” Catherine Wanner, Professor of History, Anthropology, and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania State University

“The Land of Weddings and Rain is a rich and fascinating ethnographic contribution to the under-examined social and cultural aspects of life after socialism in Lithuania.” Daphne Winland, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, York University