Zaira

Florescu is a Romanian, who lives and writes now in Switzerland. His novels have usually a Romanian background. In this case as well. Zaira is born as a child of a rich family of the countryside, which possessed vast land and had the villagers working for them as de-facto dependent peasants. Her mother was more interested in her own affairs; therefore Zaira grew up with his uncle and here grandmother. She had an easy and happy childhood, her uncle invented many stories for her, which she always uses in here later life as a famous puppet player. This does not sound that interesting but the writing draws you into the story. Many adventures are surreal using techniques of the magic realism. That technique has an even greater effect when the big catastrophes of the 20th century hit Europe and all its citizens. With an almost naïve view at the surrounding world Zaira comments the war (the second big one), the deportation of the Jews and then the raise of Stalinism in Romania. All from her perspective in the little village, but the mechanisms of the greater powers become quite obvious. With Stalinism starts the true catastrophe for her rich family, but also for those who should have benefited from socialism.
The novel is held together by a life-spawning love of Zaira accompanied by an evenly life-spawning personal hatred towards her family. In 1968 she flees with her family from Romania via Prague – where the first peaceful attempt to get rid of communism is taking place – to America. The third part of the book is dedicated to her life in America – not easy in the beginning, but as so many others – they make it finally. At the end in the nineties she returns to Romania to see again her life-long love. The novel starts she sitting in a cafeteria in front of his house and remembering her life.
I could not help but to submerse myself deeply into the story since it is so sad and at the same time full of hope despite of the catastrophes of life. And I just love these stories, which encompass an entire life or many generations.