The Humorless Ladies of Border Control Audiobook By Franz Nicolay cover art

The Humorless Ladies of Border Control

Touring the Punk Underground from Belgrade to Ulaanbaatar

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Humorless Ladies of Border Control

By: Franz Nicolay
Narrated by: Franz Nicolay
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.19

Buy for $17.19

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

In 2009 musician Franz Nicolay left his job in the Hold Steady, aka the world's greatest bar band. Over the next five years, he crossed the world with a guitar in one hand, a banjo in the other, and an accordion on his back, playing the anarcho-leftist squats and DIY spaces of the punk rock diaspora. He met Polish artists nostalgic for their revolutionary days, Mongolian neo-Nazis in full SS regalia, and a gay expat in Ulaanbaatar who needed an armed escort between his home and his job. The Russian punk scene was thrust onto the international stage with the furor surrounding the arrest of the group Pussy Riot, and Ukrainians found themselves in the midst of a revolution and then a full-blown war.

While engaging with the works of literary predecessors from Rebecca West to Chekhov and the 19th-century French aristocrat the Marquis de Custine, Nicolay explores the past and future of punk rock culture in the post-Communist world. An audacious debut from a vivid new voice, The Humorless Ladies of Border Control is an unforgettable, funny, and sharply drawn depiction of surprisingly robust hidden spaces tucked within faraway lands.

©2016 Franz Nicolay (P)2016 Tantor
Europe History & Criticism Music Travel Writing & Commentary War Military Imperialism Funny

Listeners also enjoyed...

Our Band Could Be Your Life Audiobook By Michael Azerrad cover art
Our Band Could Be Your Life By: Michael Azerrad
Corporate Rock Sucks Audiobook By Jim Ruland cover art
Corporate Rock Sucks By: Jim Ruland
Sellout Audiobook By Dan Ozzi cover art
Sellout By: Dan Ozzi
The Nineties Audiobook By Chuck Klosterman cover art
The Nineties By: Chuck Klosterman
Indelible City Audiobook By Louisa Lim cover art
Indelible City By: Louisa Lim
Route 66 Still Kicks Audiobook By Rick Antonson cover art
Route 66 Still Kicks By: Rick Antonson
Holidays in Hell Audiobook By P.J. O'Rourke cover art
Holidays in Hell By: P.J. O'Rourke
Street Without a Name Audiobook By Kapka Kassabova cover art
Street Without a Name By: Kapka Kassabova
One Year Off Audiobook By David Cohen cover art
One Year Off By: David Cohen
I Wonder as I Wander Audiobook By Langston Hughes, Arnold Rampersad cover art
I Wonder as I Wander By: Langston Hughes, and others
Travels in Siberia Audiobook By Ian Frazier cover art
Travels in Siberia By: Ian Frazier
Lost on Planet China Audiobook By J. Maarten Troost cover art
Lost on Planet China By: J. Maarten Troost
The Road to Sleeping Dragon Audiobook By Michael Meyer cover art
The Road to Sleeping Dragon By: Michael Meyer
The Naked Don't Fear the Water Audiobook By Matthieu Aikins cover art
The Naked Don't Fear the Water By: Matthieu Aikins
The Emperor Far Away Audiobook By David Eimer cover art
The Emperor Far Away By: David Eimer
In Manchuria Audiobook By Michael Meyer cover art
In Manchuria By: Michael Meyer
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star Audiobook By Paul Theroux cover art
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star By: Paul Theroux
Roadshow Audiobook By Neil Peart cover art
Roadshow By: Neil Peart
Train Audiobook By Tom Zoellner cover art
Train By: Tom Zoellner
The Not-Quite States of America Audiobook By Doug Mack cover art
The Not-Quite States of America By: Doug Mack

Critic reviews

"A pleasing romp: punk in attitude but literary in execution and a fine work of armchair travel for those unwilling to strap on an accordion on the streets of Rostov for themselves." ( Kirkus)
Most relevant  
I lived in eastern Europe and have read almost every book about the region. I resisted reading this one for some time as the premise(punk rocker tours eastern Europe) didnt interest me even though the reviews were glowing. Boy was I wrong. This is a very well written and engaging book and offers a glimpse into the e Europe underground and day to day life that other authors couldn't and haven't come close to capturing. His Polish\Ukrainian wife surely helped by translating conversations and made the characters they meet along the way come to life.

The book is read by the author and gives the book even more credibly as he bring situations he is describing come to life. He even pronounces Lodz right.

After reading, I think that this is not just a good book but one of the finest travel books ever written.

One of the best travel books ever written

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.