Alta Ifland's Blog: Notes on Books - Posts Tagged "romanian"
Three Generations of East European Writers
Some of the most interesting novels are coming today from Eastern Europe. Three such recent books have caught my eye: Kornél Esti (New Directions, 2011, trans. by Bernard Adams) by the Hungarian writer Dezsö Kosztolányi (1885-1936), Coming from an Off-Key Time (Northwestern University Press, 2011, trans. by Alistair Ian Blyth) by the Romanian writer Bogdan Suceava (b. 1969), and All This Belongs to Me (Northwestern University Press, 2009, trans. by Alex Zucker) by the Czech writer Petra Hulová (b. 1979).
Kosztolányi is one of the greatest (alas, unknown) 20th century writers, a writer so versatile he could pen a novel in the realist, lifelike style of Flaubert (Skylark) or write in the absurdist tradition of his Viennese contemporary, Peter Altenberg (Kornél Esti). In the latter, each chapter can be read separately, like a vignette, or like a dialogue between the narrator/writer and his friend and alter ego, Kornél. In one of these dialogues, Kornél travels by train in Bulgaria, and although he only knows a few Bulgarian words, he decides to have a “real” conversation with the Bulgarian train guard, without betraying himself as a foreigner. What follows is one of the most hilariously absurd dialogues ever written.
Suceava’s novel describes the turmoil of the early nineties, immediately after the fall of communism, in Romania’s capital, Bucharest. The novel focuses on two of the mystical-nationalist sects that had appeared at the time: The Tidings of the Lord, whose leader is Vespasian Moisa; and the Stephanists, whose leader is a reincarnation of Stephen the Great (famous Moldavian 15th century prince, who won forty-six of forty-eight battles against the Turks). One of the founding members of the Tidings of the Lord, a professor of history, believes that Romanian language is a chosen language that conceals a code, and another one believes that this code encloses in it the cure to baldness!
Petra Hulová’s novel was published in the Czech Republic when she was in her early twenties, documenting her experience during the time she’d spent in Mongolia. It is written in the voices of five women from the same family, who belong to three different generations, and it depicts the conflicting interactions between them, and those between a traditional, rural world and the modern (albeit poor), urban world of Ulaanbaatar. The English translation was awarded the 2010 translation prize of the American Literary Translators’ Association.
Kosztolányi is one of the greatest (alas, unknown) 20th century writers, a writer so versatile he could pen a novel in the realist, lifelike style of Flaubert (Skylark) or write in the absurdist tradition of his Viennese contemporary, Peter Altenberg (Kornél Esti). In the latter, each chapter can be read separately, like a vignette, or like a dialogue between the narrator/writer and his friend and alter ego, Kornél. In one of these dialogues, Kornél travels by train in Bulgaria, and although he only knows a few Bulgarian words, he decides to have a “real” conversation with the Bulgarian train guard, without betraying himself as a foreigner. What follows is one of the most hilariously absurd dialogues ever written.
Suceava’s novel describes the turmoil of the early nineties, immediately after the fall of communism, in Romania’s capital, Bucharest. The novel focuses on two of the mystical-nationalist sects that had appeared at the time: The Tidings of the Lord, whose leader is Vespasian Moisa; and the Stephanists, whose leader is a reincarnation of Stephen the Great (famous Moldavian 15th century prince, who won forty-six of forty-eight battles against the Turks). One of the founding members of the Tidings of the Lord, a professor of history, believes that Romanian language is a chosen language that conceals a code, and another one believes that this code encloses in it the cure to baldness!
Petra Hulová’s novel was published in the Czech Republic when she was in her early twenties, documenting her experience during the time she’d spent in Mongolia. It is written in the voices of five women from the same family, who belong to three different generations, and it depicts the conflicting interactions between them, and those between a traditional, rural world and the modern (albeit poor), urban world of Ulaanbaatar. The English translation was awarded the 2010 translation prize of the American Literary Translators’ Association.
Book Expo America 2011: Third Day, Wednesday, May 25th
It turned out that, indeed, there was another area of the exhibit that had more publishers of literary fiction than the area I’d previously visited. By the end of the day I had a bag full of so many goodies I had to ship them home. First, I stopped (again) by Europa Editions’s table because I’d been told that they would give books away. I had the unexpected luck of meeting the publisher himself, Kent Caroll, who let me choose two novels. I picked The Worst Intentions by Alessandro Piperno and The Art of Losing by Rebecca Connell.
Then, I found Other Press, another publisher I like not only because of the authors they publish but also because they respect and promote their authors. I know a very good writer, Michelle Hoover, who had a great experience with them, and whose novel, The Quickening, I highly recommend. The people there were all friendly and let me pick whatever I wanted among their advanced reading copies. I took Alberto Moravia’s Two Friends, and the intriguing Calling Mr. King by Ronald de Feo, both forthcoming in September. And, finally, I made a discovery: Biblioasis, an independent publisher from Canada. They have just published The Accident by Mihail Sebastian, a very interesting Romanian writer from the first half of the 20th century.
With my bag full I headed for the autographing table of Carmela Ciuraru, author of Nom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms. As on Tuesday, the autographing area (which included about thirty tables) was swarming with dozens of passionate readers who were patiently waiting in line to get a signature from an author. I asked an organizer where I could buy the book and...I found out that the books were FREE. Well, that explained the passion of all those readers.The QuickeningNom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms
Then, I found Other Press, another publisher I like not only because of the authors they publish but also because they respect and promote their authors. I know a very good writer, Michelle Hoover, who had a great experience with them, and whose novel, The Quickening, I highly recommend. The people there were all friendly and let me pick whatever I wanted among their advanced reading copies. I took Alberto Moravia’s Two Friends, and the intriguing Calling Mr. King by Ronald de Feo, both forthcoming in September. And, finally, I made a discovery: Biblioasis, an independent publisher from Canada. They have just published The Accident by Mihail Sebastian, a very interesting Romanian writer from the first half of the 20th century.
With my bag full I headed for the autographing table of Carmela Ciuraru, author of Nom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms. As on Tuesday, the autographing area (which included about thirty tables) was swarming with dozens of passionate readers who were patiently waiting in line to get a signature from an author. I asked an organizer where I could buy the book and...I found out that the books were FREE. Well, that explained the passion of all those readers.The QuickeningNom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms
Notes on Books
Book reviews and occasional notes and thoughts on world literature and writers by an American writer of Eastern European origin.
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