Instinctive Feeling of Innocence
Published on 27. May 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
228 pages
978-1-80309-005-4 (ISBN)
Description
Now in paperback, a haunting story of trauma, memory, and healing in post-Cold War Romania.
Victoria has just recently moved from Zurich back to her hometown of Bucharest when the bank where she works is robbed. Put on leave so that she can process the trauma of the robbery, Victoria strolls around town. Each street triggers sudden visions as memories from her childhood under the Ceausescu regime begin to mix with the radically changed city and the strange world in which she now finds herself. As the walls of reality begin to crumble, Victoria and her former self cross paths with the bank robber and a rich cast of characters, weaving a vivid portrait of Romania and one woman's self-discovery.
In her stunning second novel, Swiss-Romanian writer Dana Grigorcea paints a series of extraordinarily colorful pictures. With humor and wit, she describes a world full of myriad surprises where new and old cultures weave together-a world bursting with character and spirit.
Victoria has just recently moved from Zurich back to her hometown of Bucharest when the bank where she works is robbed. Put on leave so that she can process the trauma of the robbery, Victoria strolls around town. Each street triggers sudden visions as memories from her childhood under the Ceausescu regime begin to mix with the radically changed city and the strange world in which she now finds herself. As the walls of reality begin to crumble, Victoria and her former self cross paths with the bank robber and a rich cast of characters, weaving a vivid portrait of Romania and one woman's self-discovery.
In her stunning second novel, Swiss-Romanian writer Dana Grigorcea paints a series of extraordinarily colorful pictures. With humor and wit, she describes a world full of myriad surprises where new and old cultures weave together-a world bursting with character and spirit.
Reviews / Votes
"All the elements of good literature come together in this book: humour, comedy, tragedy, poetry, melancholy, sadness, misery, and love." -Neue Zuercher Zeitung"Colorful and enlightening, fun and thought-provoking at the same time." -Schweizer Feuilletondienst
"An ambitious and high-quality work of literary fiction. A rich and rewarding read with a deep vein of dark humor that will work well on the international stage." -New Books in German * Praise for the German edition * "An Instinctive Feeling of Innocence explores the fragmentation and dissociation resulting from trauma, both immediate and sustained over time. It is a novel about identity, belonging, and self-discovery, but also the deconstruction of a self. . . . Alta L. Price brings it into English in a translation brimming with sensitivity, daring, and grace." * The Scores *
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Greenford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
272 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80309-005-4 (9781803090054)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Dana Grigorcea is a Swiss-Romanian essayist, novelist, and children's book author. Her debut novel, Baba Rada, won the Swiss Literary Pearl. Alta L. Price runs a publishing consultancy specialized in literature and nonfiction texts on art, architecture, design, and culture. A recipient of the Gutekunst Prize, she translates from Italian and German into English and is a founding member of Cedilla & Co.