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Blurred
In rural Transylvania, a young wife fearing for her unborn child takes a sleigh ride through all-enveloping snow. BLURRED tells the story of that child, Samuel, through the voices of those who know him.
The boy grows up behind the Iron Curtain under the brutal Ceausescu regime in Romania, where language masks truth and even minor acts have repercussions. Harsh political realities are counterbalanced by the rhythms of village life. Samuel's story builds through places, memories, his family, the acts of individuals and all the ways in which we affect others.
What happens when one decides to stay - but others must stay?
What becomes of those who migrate, and where do they really belong?
This moving story of exile and migration encompasses one century and many lives with remarkable depth and also brevity. Iris Wolff's lyrical yet precise prose evokes a lost time and a scattered people in this multiply-prize-winning novel.
Praise for Iris Wolff and Blurred
‘a superlative storyteller’ TLS
‘This novel, with the breadth of an epic and the lightness of touch of a fairytale, is a pocket history of 20th-century Romania. …[a] compact marvel of a book’ The Guardian
'These lives are delicately and intimately drawn’ The Irish Times
----
'Here is a gloriously precise and delicate novel that magically conjures a vanished world' Michelle de Kretser. Author of Theory and Practice, twice winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award
‘Moving and engrossing; Iris Wolff makes you nostalgic for a place you don’t even know’ Camilla Cavendish, journalist and author of Extra 10 Lessons for Living Longer Better
The boy grows up behind the Iron Curtain under the brutal Ceausescu regime in Romania, where language masks truth and even minor acts have repercussions. Harsh political realities are counterbalanced by the rhythms of village life. Samuel's story builds through places, memories, his family, the acts of individuals and all the ways in which we affect others.
What happens when one decides to stay - but others must stay?
What becomes of those who migrate, and where do they really belong?
This moving story of exile and migration encompasses one century and many lives with remarkable depth and also brevity. Iris Wolff's lyrical yet precise prose evokes a lost time and a scattered people in this multiply-prize-winning novel.
Praise for Iris Wolff and Blurred
‘a superlative storyteller’ TLS
‘This novel, with the breadth of an epic and the lightness of touch of a fairytale, is a pocket history of 20th-century Romania. …[a] compact marvel of a book’ The Guardian
'These lives are delicately and intimately drawn’ The Irish Times
----
'Here is a gloriously precise and delicate novel that magically conjures a vanished world' Michelle de Kretser. Author of Theory and Practice, twice winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award
‘Moving and engrossing; Iris Wolff makes you nostalgic for a place you don’t even know’ Camilla Cavendish, journalist and author of Extra 10 Lessons for Living Longer Better
184 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 17, 2025
7 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
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