by Augustin Buzura
Hardcover, 570 pages (Columbia University Press, 2005)
ISBN: 0-88033-559-9
Available from www.amazon.co.uk
Synopsis
The English edition of this celebrated novel by Romanian writer Augustin Buzura paints a psychological portrait of rulers and the ruled under communism (the eponymous ‘fools’ and ‘beasts’). A psychiatrist by training, Buzura offers poignant insights into the realities of life under communist rule.
“This is a violent account of a country and a history eroded by oppression, hatred and moral squalidness.” – la Quinzaine Littéraire
“A story about traumas, helpless seclusion, and the dynamic polarization of confidence and despair told with demystifying lucidity, a painful journey into the depths of the human soul.” – Le Mensuel Littéraire et Politique
“The most powerful part of this tragic symphony that makes one think of Pasternak in terms of multiple levels and depth is undoubtedly the – minute by minute and hour by hour – account of the revolutionary outburst in a small provincial town during the last few days on 1989.” – Le Monde
AUGUSTIN BUZURA
Novelist, journalist, screenwriter. Born in Berinta – Maramures, north-eastern Romania, on 22 September 1938. Educated in Baia Mare, and Cluj, graduating from the School of Medicine and Pharmacology – Psychiatry Department (1958-1964). Buzura gave up being a doctor to dedicate himself to writing, and soon became one of the best contemporary Romanian prose authors. He carried out a brisk bout of journalistic activity, especially at the head of the ‘Tribuna’ magazine; and his debut book was a collection of short stories, ‘Capul Bunei Sperante’ (Cape of Good Hope) 1963. In 1966 he published the volume of stories ‘De ce zboara vulturul?’ (Why Does the Eagle Fly?) and in 1970 he published the first in a series of novels, ‘Absentii’ (The Absentees), which confirmed his status as one of the most important Romanian writers.
Between 1990 – 2005 Augustin Buzura was president of the Romanian Cultural Foundation in Bucharest, an institution devoted to promoting Romanian culture throughout the world. (re-named in 2003 Romanian Cultural Institute). He has been a member of the Romanian Academy since 1992.
Novels:
Absentii (The Absentees) 1970; Fetele tacerii (The Faces of Silence) 1974; Orgolii (Conceits) 1977; Vocile noptii (The Voices of the Night) 1980; Refugii (published in English as Refuges) 1984; Drumul cenusii (The Road of Ashes) 1988; Recviem pentru nebuni si bestii (published in English as Requiem for Fools and Beasts) 1999.
His books were translated into German, Hungarian, Spanish, French, English, Slovenian, Polish, Russian, Chinese and Swedish. He is also the author of a number of film scripts, among which ‘Somewhere in the East’, based on his novel ‘The Faces of Silence’.
Augustin Buzura is a member of several academies and associations, among which the Association of Free Psychiatrists, the Academy of the Latin World, the Brazilian Academy of Letters, Sudosteuropa Gesellschaft, etc.
