Customer Reviews

Romance Language

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Alan Elsner's ROMANCE LANGUAGE reminded me very much of DOCTOR ZHIVAGO ... a passionate love story between two totally unlike lovers at a unique and violent time in history. But there the comparison ends, as ROMANCE LANGUAGE is simply a beautiful book, direct, spare and impossible to put down, whereas I found Pasternak's masterpiece to be hard going.

Elsner knows his subject from having actually experienced Roumania firsthand, and it shows in the tiny and lovely details he covers, in the characters of his American women, Liz and Petra, and the wonderful character of Stephan (whom I will candidly admit I found the most compelling character in the book -- the ultimate romantic hero battling both forbidden love and the system in which he lives). His professional background as a writer and editor is a gift to his readers, as he sketches scenes and characters swiftly and memorably, with each scene building on the previous one and every relationship being fully delineated.

There are few works of literature that one can truly consider unflawed, but ROMANCE LANGUAGE seems like one that has it all: Three-dimensional characters, a solid grounding in the historical background, a feeling of poetry in the prose, a pace that won't let you quit reading and a love story we live right along with the lovers. I give it my highest recommendation and urge all readers of similar books to put it high on their to-do list, right now.

Because I am in two book clubs I have read more than the average person. Some books start out promising and then lose steam well before the end and it is a slog to get through them. Others never manage to grab me at all from the get go. This novel suffers from neither of these problems, as it is an enjoyable read from beginning to end. The author is articulate with a sense of humor and a clear understanding of some of the more subtle aspects of feelings and relationships. He also obviously is familiar with both modern Romania and the Romania of the late eighties. I enjoyed his use of letters and emails between the mother and the daughter in addition to his clear mastery of dialogue. I would actually give the book 4.5 stars if I could because I wanted to see a bit more in-depth and extended descriptions of the setting and the people (the author made it obvious that he was capable of this multiple times during the novel but I would have preferred to see more) and because the character of Tom was never fully developed. But these are minor distractions and overall, the novel is highly recommended.

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read Alan Eisner's "Romance Language". I have been reading my whole life and since 1991, I have read over 500 books. This is definitely a favorite. It drew me in from the very first page and I could not put it down; I read it in one day. I am not a history buff but because of the way in which the story was written, blending a historical background with a beautiful love story, I would recommend this book as a "must read". This story is still on my mind and the good feeling will remain with me for a long time.

A very well documented book, if you want to understand recent eastern European history.
Also written with much talent, it makes an interesting read.
Either way you will not be bored.

I found Alan Elsner's, Romance Language a wonderful story that drew you in from page one. The descriptives were outstanding and at times I felt I could not only see the characters but smell them as well. This is an ideal book for book clubs as the historical aspect of the book will evoke great discussion. It was wonderful to have such a well written story take place in another culture. This too gives us Americans a glimpse into life outside the U.S.

I LOVED this book and could not put it down. I read it cover to cover in a weekend.
lc

Loved the book! After thoroughly enjoying The Nazi Hunter, I was anxious to read Alan Elsner's next novel. I found Romance Language captivating, and enjoyed the parallel stories. Unlike many of the other reviewers, I did not experience the Romanian revolution firsthand, but felt that I had a much better understanding of the emotions of the time after reading this book. The way the chapters were woven together was extremely clever, and made it difficult to close the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

I have to admit that I enjoyed the book immensely. Being originally from Romania, I was very impressed by the author's accuracy in describing the Communist days especially since this part of the book was based on pure journalistic research rather than the author's own experiences. The novel took me back to all those so familiar places and characters and helped me re-live to some extent the powerful moments of the revolution. But I particularly enjoyed the emphasis placed on the transformation of the country over the past seventeen years. Romania morphed from the grey days of the Communism when "the only splash of color came from the jowly, thick-lipped portraits of Ceausescu" to today's vivid, colorful and very passionate country. It has been going through a process of re-discovering its own identity that seems to be well mirrored in the journey of a novice yet determined Petra on a quest to understand her roots in order to re-define herself. This is a delightful book to which most Romanians will be able to relate.

I just loved the book and could not put it down. The author was quite articulate and engaging with a plausible story line placed historically in a time that is familiar to most of us. The story was very romantic, however it would have wide appeal to both men and women. My teenage daughter is now reading it and expressing the same sentiments.

One of the better features of the Amazon review system is the opportunity it offers to get to know other readers and writers. Alan Elsner became an Amazon friend a year or so ago and we have corresponded on occasion since then. I was delighted when Alan offered me the opportunity to read and review his new novel "Romance Language." As I do, Alan lives in the Washington, D.C. area. He has been an international journalist for 30 years and has written an earlier novel "The Nazi Hunter" together with works of nonfiction. He was posted in Europe and in Romania during the events of 1989, discussed in his novel, and he returned to Romania in 2007 as a Knight International Journalism Fellow.

The year 1989 saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and, more broadly, the fall of communism in Europe. The implications of these events remain momentous and unfolding. Although not a Soviet satellite, Romania in 1989 was under the throes of the brutal dictatorship of Nicolae Ceasescu and his wife Elena. The Ceasescus impoverished the country, crushed all dissent and established a far-ranging secret police in which neighbors spied against each other. In a revolution more bloody that most of its companions, the Ceasescu regime too fell in 1989. Elsner's book is set against the backdrop of 1989 Romania.

But the book is much more than a historical novel. In a brief author's note following the story, Elsner states that "I wanted to write a book that took seriously the idea of true love." He has done so here. The book tells the story of the love between a dissident Romanian poet, Stephan Petrescu, (a fictitious character) and an American journalist, Elizabeth O'Neil who receives an assignment to cover Romania in 1989 as her marriage to a novelist named Tom is deteriorating. During her stay, she and Stephan have a brief affair, and Elizabeth becomes pregnant with his child, Petra.

With the violence in Romania, Elizabeth returns to America where she and Tom reconcile and Tom generously agrees to raise Petra as his own child. Petra becomes a precocious student and is attending Brown University at the age of 17. When Tom dies, Petra learns that her biological father was Stephan, who lives in Romania. She surreptitously leaves Brown to travel to Romania to meet her father. During this time, she meets a group of young people, including the sexually active Angela and Mihai, a violinst and composer of 22 or 23 who has studied in the United States. The young and sexually inexperienced Petra and the older and experienced Mihal must come to terms with and decide how they will handle their feelings for each other.

The story is told in a series of short sections that alternate between 1989 and 2007. Elizabeth tells the story of her relationship to Stephan in a series of long letters, most of which are written when Elizabeth thinks her daughter is studying at Brown. Thus, Elsner offers a picture of Romania in 1987 on the eve of and during the Revolution and of the passionate affair between Stephan and Elizabeth. He then shows the greatly changed Romania of 2007 with its hard won freedom, economic development, and sexual openness among its young people. The reader witnesses and is invited to reflect upon a good many different kinds of romantic, love relationships, including the relationship between Elizabeth and Stephan, Elizabeth and Tom, Petra and Mihai, and Angela and her lover of the moment. Elsner also has a good deal to say about the parent-child bond as between Elizabeth and Petra and between Tom and Stephan and Petra as well.

The love between Elizabeth and Stephan is the major theme of the book. It is told in the language of poetry, ranging from Shakespeare to Stephan's own writing and of music, including young Mihai's violin playing and efforts at electronic composition, and Elizabeth's and Stephan's dance to the unlikely accompaniment of Chopin's Fourth Ballade. Elsner emphasizes the power of art and love to redeem the human condition, especially when it is under the throes of enforced poverty and political oppression.

The book moves effectively between the United States and Romania, between 1989 and 2007, and between Elizabeth, Petra, and Stephan. It helped me remember the events that took place in Europe 20 years ago, but it helped me even more in reflecting upon the nature of human sexuality and love. I was pleased to have a talented friend at Amazon who could write this book.

Robin Friedman

A superb story that left me in awe! It was hard to put down! The story was incredible, intriguing & engaging, character development was flawless & articulate, and historical accuracy was mind-boggling. From the first page to the end I felt, I laughed, cried, hated, adored and loved, my fists were clenched as I devoured page after page... In the end I was inspired as I vividly re-lived the Romanian Revolution of 1989!
Yes, I am subjective being a Romanian who experienced the revolution first hand in Bucharest, however, the book is great and anyone would enjoy it
This is my first read of Alan Elsner, but not the last!