Zenobia

By Gellu Naum

Book Overview

One of the best-known novels by prolific Romanian avant-garde writer Gelu Naum, Zenobia is the evocation of the singular quest of a Surrealist knight-errant who strives to be true to the gentle demands of his lady in a landscape of snares, desolation, incipient madness, and material poverty magically interrupted by moments of extreme beauty.

His wife, artist Lyggia Naum, was the inspiration for the title character. In this 1985 masterpiece, penned in the twilight of the totalitarian regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, love, in all its intimate, carnal communion, lights the path through the dark forest, the streets of Bucharest, and the desert swamps. The narrator, speaking from the depths of love and despair, invites the reader to share his quest. Highly praised now and then, Zenobia is an enduring avant-garde classic of twentieth-century Eastern European literature.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810112558
• ISBN13: 9780810112551
• Release Date: July 1995
• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.8" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

the incredible beautiful story of someone like you

i must admite i first had contact with this book in the romanian version (humanitas 2003), so is a little bit strange i'm here "reviewing" the english version. gellu naum is called "the last surrealist", as this book can only be fully understand in terms of dreaming. i changed my mind.... i can't actually tell you what is all about. you'll just have to read it. bye.