"This nation has spirit and guts!" From the chapter, Thank You Romania
It's a collection of stories about travelling, politics, history, revolution, architecture, books, and people.
”Rupert Wolfe Murray has been working and living, off and on, in Romania for three decades, and his comments and judgements on the country and its people are incisive and accurate. This collection of miscellaneous journalism spans quite a period of time, but has been updated slightly, with postscripts to add context, and it all hangs together well, showing just how this strange country works, and why he and so many of us have come to love it.”
TIM BURFORD,
AUTHOR OF THE ROUGH GUIDE TO ROMANIA AND THE BRADT GUIDE TO TRANSYLVANIA
“Rupert Wolfe Murray shows the gains and losses of the generation that moved from communism to the EU. Personal, deeply felt and properly informed. For Romanians, a look at their country through kind but unsentimental eyes; for others, a revelation about an emerging European treasure.”
ARABELLA MCINTYRE BROWN,
MIGRANT, AUTHOR & RESIDENT IN TRANSYLVANIA
*
From the Introduction:
"I sent the manuscript to a Romanian friend called Roxana Morea and she described it thus: 'for me, as a reader,
this is a story about how much you like / love Romania and its people, the meagre and unassuming ones. And how you would like to come back here and live the rest of your life, at the end of your travels, far from the madding crowd, in some remote hamlet, completely unspoiled by the modern world’s must-haves and must-dos.'
"This book shows some of my impressions from
a country that is ancient, beautiful and mysterious – but also ugly, corrupt, poor and maddening. I lived in Romania for 17 years but never understood why I felt more at home there than I do in Scotland, my homeland.
"To Romanians I offer a foreigner’s perspective on what is, I believe, one of the most interesting countries in Europe. I want to show my Romanian friends some of the stories I’ve written about their homeland, and to share my opinions with them. I offer fresh insights and a dash of wit.
"I also want to introduce outsiders to the wonders of Romania and the best way of doing this is to show the good as well as the bad. Romania is often seen negatively as, internationally, it’s often lumped together with the less developed nations of south eastern Europe. The truth is a lot of bad things do happen in Romania, as they do in every country, but lots of good things happen too, and there are many ways Romania has had a positive influence on the world. My daughter Lara, who edited the manuscript, wrote these words about the positive effect of Romanians: “Specifically
Sebastian Stan’s entire existence.” For those who don’t know the superhero genre, this handsome Romanian-American actor plays Bucky Barnes in the Marvel films."
Also available in eBook and hardback formats. A Romanian publisher will be doing a translation.
