Palincashire Tales of Transylvania

by Mike Ormsby

Italy has Tuscany, France the Loire, and Romania has Palincashire in beautiful Transylvania. Little known until now, Palincashire is located south of fact and east of fiction. In Palincashire, all your guidebooks come true, and if you believe that you’ll believe anything. Following his critically acclaimed 2008 debut, ’Never Mind the Balkans, Here's Romania’, Mike Ormsby returns with his inimitable wit and sense of wonder to put Palincashire on the literary map. Join him in his adopted home!“Funny, moving, beautiful, and true to life.” Lucy Abel-Smith, Author, ‘Travels in Transylvania’ Blue Guide“Affectionate, entertaining, and very funny.” Nick Hunt, Author, ‘Walking the Woods and the Water’“Mike conjures scenes with a lovely light touch and distinctive humour.” Nigel Shakespear, Editor, ‘Times New Romanian’“Like 65 proof palinca offered at 10 a.m., these stories fill you with both happiness and sadness.” Raluca Feher, Author, ‘America Dezgolită de la Brâu în Jos’“Humorous affection dusts every finely-honed phrase.” Douglas Williams, Editor, OZB magazine“A colourful picture of people, lifestyle, and customs, painted by an Englishman with an exceptional sense of humour.” Ruxandra Biro, Reference Librarian, Cluj County Library

Genres: Romania

252 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 19, 2017

About the author

Mike is a British writer based in Transylvania, where he has lived for five hundred years.

He is the author of:

'Never Mind the Vampires, Here's Transylvania' (2017)
'Palincashire, Tales of Transylvania' (2017)
'Child Witch London' (2014)
'Child Witch Kinshasa' (2013)
'Spinner the Winner' (2012);
'Never Mind the Balkans, Here's Romania' (2008)

See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Mi....)

Three of Mike's stories were published in 'Bucharest Tales' (New Europe Writers, 2010).

Mike is the editor of 'Loving An Alien' (Nicoaro Books, 2016).

Screenplays:
'Hey Mr DJ!' (2007, filmed in Kigali)
'Enfants dits Sorciers' (2002, filmed in Kinshasa)
'In Her Own Image' (2000)

If you buy one of Mike's books and do not like it, he will accept a refund.

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put down this book! Not only because it speaks of Transylvania, where I come from, but because Mike Ormsby managed to draw such beautiful portraits of the people he has met there.

Many people one wouldn't happily deal with are so well analyzed that I felt sorry of my first thoughts.

There are also cats and dogs and even a naughty mouse, there are tasty dishes Angela cooks, there are complicated plans for the village, a cure for alcoholism, proverbs, a palinca only Mike could have imagined, wisdom, adventures only people up in the mountains live, good music, tea and biscuits, everything that makes reading this book so, so pleasant.

I really suffered for Domnul Dinu's plans!

Mulțumesc, Mike Ormsby!

[Răzvan Ciubotaru · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Romanian I consider palinca our national drink, I love, respect and treasure it with all my hearth. It managed to bring happiness, warmth, medicine against flu, good stories near the campfire and a lovely book by Mr. Ormsby. As in the other creations he manages to capture you with his adventures and stir your curiosity for visiting places that before the book, I never heard of.
Refreshing lecture daring and new, like a tropical palinca!

Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful shot of wit and humor. Brings back long forgotten memories of life in beautiful Transylvania.

[Ewa W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like 'Palinkashire' particularly because it is written in a honest, realistic and humorous manner. In a way, while I was reading the book, I felt like I was following a plot of a TV series: I was wondering what will happen next, and when a familiar character was mentioned, I was happy. Nevertheless, I could not fully believe in its fiction, being aware that, after all, it was based on true facts. I think that this book has something from a guidebook, too. If you are going to visit Transilvania, check it out. These stories will give you some ideas – definitely for destinations, but what is more important: about Transilvania and its life, from good and bad sides.

Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.

[Katherine Wheel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enthralling book! Once you start, you simply cannot stop reading. Mike Ormsby's now idiosyncratic irony and realistic portraits of life in Romania will keep you wanting more and more of these stories. I enjoyed every bit of it, all the more so as it brought back so many memories of the time growing up in the village.
Thank you so much for sharing!

[Marion Löcker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it. I love Transylvania. It is my real home. Mike Ormsby desribes it as it is. I move to Transylvania and would be great to meet Mike and his wife and animals :-)

[Jonathan Lipman · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the moment you begin reading Palincashire, Mike Ormsby’s wit and playfulness is apparent: “If you can find Palincashire on a map”, he writes at the start, “don’t buy it”. For Palincashire read a stunning corner of Transylvania that Mike and his Romanian partner Angela have made their own. In this second volume on life in the Carpathians (see also Never Mind the Vampires...) there’s an explosive tale of how to make palinca brandy (or at least Ormsby’s tropical version - a strange brew the locals have never encountered - literally an acquired taste), a hair-raising drive back to the mountains from Bucharest as an ice age sets in, and an equally nerve-jangling trip to the local hospital/chamber of horrors for emergency medical treatment. These amongst many other entertaining tales. In this collection, I was struck by the Ormsbys’ genuine affection for animals: they are a veritable two-person Transylvanian Animal Rescue - and it’s heart-warming to read. I also empathised with Mike’s attempts to explain certain peculiarities of Western culture to Angela. If you too face such a challenge, learn from Mike... and give up when you get to Thunderbirds. Palincashire is at once comic and serious, candid and respectful - and always thought-provoking. Enjoy with a thimble of tropical palinca.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mike writes lovely short stories about the people of Transylvania and his life there. It is funny, witty and has a heavy dose of sarcasm. The pen portraits are very accurate and as well as entertaining, do a terrific job of documenting the Romanian physche and way of life. My only comment is that I enjoy his books because I can relate to his writing as someone who spends time in Romania and has Romanian family, I think it might be harder for someone not familiar with the country or it's people to connect with his writing.

[Rae Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm waiting with bated breath for Mike to write more about his life in Transylvania. This is one of those books that gives you a real insight into what it's like to live in place that, for many people, is probably a little too far off the beaten track. I've read both of Mike's Transylvania books and I'm hoping that he has another few books on his life in the tank.

[Daniel Schuffert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an enjoyable compilation of short stories about life in a remote village of Transylvania Romania. Each short chapter keeps the reader interested in the unique and charming events in the couple's lives. I enjoyed the author's style, along with each short story.

[Bram Wijngaarden · Rating 4 out of 5]

More sweet than funny but very recognisable short stories in the vein of "I'm a stranger here myself" or "Merde, actually".

[Chris Wares · Rating 4 out of 5]

More enjoyable and amusing insights into rural Transylvanian life for Mike and his wife with a slightly Dickensian cast of supporting neighbourly characters.

[Hunor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book! I enjoyed reading it!

[Andres Snicket · Rating 3 out of 5]

3'5⭐

[Rosalind Shakespear · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it’s sunny but chilly the locals say “e soare cu dinti” – ‘it’s sunny with teeth’. They have a way with words, and so does the author, Mike Ormsby. These beautifully crafted stories of life in rural Transylvania are gems and I have read them again and again. From their very first phrases they never fail to transport me magically into this unique world. I love their humour and their author’s distinctive word play, but it’s the empathy for his fellow humans that touches my heart and lives with me long after I’ve finished reading them. With the lightest of touches Mike Ormsby shows rather than tells, as at the end of the first story when Rushinta’s ‘little feet stop swinging as she reads the magic words’..