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I am an Old Communist Hag - A Controversial Book
Is it really possible to be sorry and nostalgic over a time of lack of food, heating, and freedom of speech? Dan Lungu asks this question in his quite amusing novel, parodying the contemporary Romanians with their communist memories and nostalgia for that "golden age." Being a professional sociologist, the author speaks in an interview about the difference between Western and Eastern writers: "We, the Eastern writers, have a chapter of "differences" coming from a very particular history and series of events. As for me, I don't mean to be exotic; I just want to be myself." The writer also has his own theory regarding the advantages of an Eastern writer:"It's harder for a Western writer to make himself a distinctive voice on the Western book market. It's much easier for an Eastern writer to do that, it's about this very chapter of experiences, which is different from the Western writers.
This doesn't mean that most Eastern writers start writing about their experiences during the communist period, this type of writing does not become redundant. But for now, there are many Eastern writers who choose this topic. Because young writers come up with different themes. And, apart from the chosen themes, I believe attitude also plays an important part. And the fact that these books appeal to foreign readers is understandable. Because Eastern countries have recently joined the European Union, and others want to discover them. And thus, literature which is an investigation of the human being, of reality in general, offers them plenty of information."
Dan Lungu has taken up sociology after the revolution, hoping to better understand what was going on around him. In fact, he sees sociology as a "specialized literature". And sociology didn't only help him understand people, but has also inspired him to write his books. For instance, the protagonist of the book "I Am an Old Communist Hag", a book which has recently been also published in France, ("Je suis une vieille coco!"), was born after an interview with a retired lady, published in one of the author's sociological books, "Life's Stories. Theory and Documents".
From a certain perspective, all of Dan Lungu's characters resemble each other; they are ordinary people, with ordinary lives. The writer explains this preference for such characters:"I've always been reluctant towards exceptional literary characters; I find them exaggerated, with a lot of literary ideology in the background. Because of that when I took up writing I was more interested in ordinary people, with ordinary fates. Regarding Emilia Apostoae, the protagonist of "I Am an Old Communist Hag", I have much kept of the attitude of that real-life lady, but the character's biography does not match one of the real-life person. Many things were invented, but the character's attitude really is the one from one of the interviews I've made as a sociologist."
The same as "Chicken's Heaven", the book as translated by Laure Hinckel, and enjoyed a great success in France, too.
The bitter-sweet, sometimes hilarious "I Am an Old Communist Hag" illustrates the changes in the Romanian society. This is how the critic named Alexandre Fillon perceived Dan Lungu's novel. Alexandre Fillon made a review of the book in "Livres hebdo" The book is soon to be put on screen, directed by Stere Gulea. The script will be written by the writer Lucian Dan Teodorovici.
The book is a simply testimony of life before and after the revolution, given by Emilia Apostoae, who, after a phone conversation with her daughter who had left for Canada, starts wondering how communist she really is. The character truly feels nostalgic for that time, when she had everything she could ask for, and only those who did not want it, could not make it. In vain does her daughter try to convince her of the shortages of that "golden age", of the permanent fear and censorship, of the lack of freedom.
Emilia knows only one thing-she had everything she wanted, even oranges on Christmas, best-quality butter. Like in those old jokes, the stores were empty but everybody had food to eat, all thanks to the unbeatable system of "acquaintances" and bribes without which nothing could ever work. Communism had its favors... but paid with human sacrifice.
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