The Phantom Church and Other Stories from Romania (Pitt Russian East European) [Paperback]

Georgiana Farnoaga (Editor, Translator), Sharon King (Editor, Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 23, 1997 | ISBN-10: 082295608X | ISBN-13: 978-0822956082 | Edition: 1

This collection of Romanian stories includes fiction by V. Voiculescu, Fanus Neagu, Nicolae Velea, Petru Dumitriu, Domitru Radu Popescu, Radu Cosasu, Mircea Nedelciu, Cristian Teodorescu, Sorin Titel, Mircea Horia Simionescu, Ov. S. Crohmalniceanu, Ana Blandiana, Dumitru Tepeneag, Ioan Petru Culianu, Mircea Eliade, Gabriela Adamesteanu, Gheorghe Craciun, Mircea Cartarescu, Ion Baiesu, Razvan Petrescu, and Ion Manolescu.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A splendid collection of short fiction, now in a first-time English translation, from the perpetually beleaguered little country whose writers have long struggled against political repression and censorship, most notably during the Stalinist regime and recently under Ceausescu. . . . An exemplary anthology.”
--Kirkus

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Romanian --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; 1 edition (January 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082295608X
• ISBN-13: 978-0822956082
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,772,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent introduction to the Romanian folklore and culture, June 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Phantom Church and Other Stories from Romania (Pitt Russian East European) (Paperback)

"The Phantom Church" is an excellent book for introducing the American reader to the rich Romanian folklore and literature. The book offers great insights into the Romanian society from the second World War up to the present times.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The magic and romance of cold war Romania, July 9, 2011

By 

Ulfilas (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Phantom Church and Other Stories from Romania (Pitt Russian East European) (Paperback)

I found this collection of stories somewhat surprising in its depiction of the vibrant Romanian culture that apparently thrived behind its cold war Stalinist facade. Although some stories seemed to have been taken straight from folklore (the phantom church that a 18th century rebel had converted into a ship complete with sails), others reveal only its subtle influences (as in where a teenage girl imagines herself as a sort of frog princess), while many of the stories correspond to more prosaic events, such as a father and son's discovery of a motorcycle left behind by a World War II German tenant.