


Gradually, the secret police will try to remould Matei’s mind by rewriting his past, turning the puppeteer into a puppet of the new totalitarian order. An uneasy relationship forms between Matei Brunul and Bojin, the secret policeman who keeps him under constant surveillance. Political prisoner Bruno Matei, a puppeteer of Italian ancestry, has been released from jail a broken man, suffering from amnesia. The year is 1959, one of the darkest periods of Romanias communist regime. Matei Brunul by Lucian Dan Teodorovici, 2018 Burying the Typewriter: A Memoir by Carmen Bugan, 2012ĥ0.

Train to Trieste by Domnica Radulescu, 2008.The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, 2005.Wasted Morning by Gabriela Adameșteanu, 1983.Forest Of The Hanged by Liviu Rebreanu, 1922.If you’re short on time, here are some notable picks from the much longer list below: Please note: this list does not currently include poetry, of which Romania has an abundance. Her novel The Appointment provides insight into life under the repressive regime of Ceaușescu.Īnd finally, if you are planning a trip to Bucharest, be sure to visit two incredible bookstores the beautiful Cărturești Carusel and Librăria Humanitas de la Cişmigiu (a branch of the most successful publishing house in Romania). My most recent read from this list of books set in Romania was written by Herta Müller, a Romanian-born German novelist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009. A selection of these are listed towards the end of the article, in the hopes that these will be translated some day. However, many great works are yet to be translated to English including titles by literary figures such as Zaharia Stancu, Marin Preda, George Călinescu and Mihail Sadoveanu. The list of books set in Romania includes titles from notable authors such as Mircea Eliade, Eugene Ionesco and Norman Manea.

Romania has a turbulent history, and these stories reflect that. The following list of books set in Romania spans from classics through to contemporary literature, and includes a wide variety of genres. For more information, see my disclosures here. Please note: This post contains affiliate links. As always, I took some books set in Romania to accompany me on my travels. I’ve just returned from a trip to Romania, where we spent a some time exploring the sprawling city of Bucharest, driving through the mountains into Transylvania and spending a few days in Brasov.
