The Obsessive decade (Romanian: ''obsedantul deceniu'') was a term originally coined by writer

Marin Preda Marin Preda (; 5 August 1922, Siliștea Gumești, Teleorman County, Kingdom of Romania – 16 May 1980, Mogoșoaia, Ilfov County, Socialist Republic of Romania) was a Romanian novelist, post-war writer and director of Cartea Românească publis ...

to refer to disdain shown by literary critics following the

de-Stalinization De-Stalinization (russian: десталинизация, translit=destalinizatsiya) comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascension ...

of the 1960s towards the

socialist realist Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

Romanian literary works of the 1950s era. It has since become a common reference to the latter or to the Romanian experience of the 1950s as a whole, as criticism of the period was encouraged by

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...

's "

national communism National communism represents various forms in which Marxism–Leninism and socialism has been adopted and/or implemented by leaders in different countries using aspects of nationalism or national identity to form a policy independent from comm ...

" and afterwards officially endorsed following the fall of the regime in 1989.

Novels

''Principele'' ("The Prince", 1969) by

Eugen Barbu Eugen Barbu (; 20 February 1924 – 7 September 1993) was a Romanian modern novelist, short story writer, journalist, and correspondent member of the Romanian Academy. The latter position was vehemently criticized by those who contended tha ...

is an allegory referring to the

Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian communist politician and electrician. He was the first Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ( ...

regime. The novel is set in the Phanariote era, describing a prince trying to build a canal (referring to the

Danube–Black Sea Canal The Danube–Black Sea Canal ( ro, Canalul Dunăre–Marea Neagră) is a navigable canal in Romania, which runs from Cernavodă on the Danube river, via two branches, to Constanța and Năvodari on the Black Sea. Administered from Agigea, it ...

) without any consideration for his subjects, many of whom die during its construction.Deletant, p. 182 ''F'' (1969) by

Dumitru Radu Popescu Dumitru Radu Popescu (; 19 August 1935 – 2 January 2023) was a Romanian novelist, poet, dramatist, essayist and short story writer. He was a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy and was, between 1980 and 1990, Chairman of the Romanian Wr ...

tried to divide the guilt for the abuses of the Stalinist era; the book is focused on a judicial enquiry on the collectivization of peasant holdings, trying to equate the reluctance to talk about the crimes with complicity. Two novels,

Paul Goma Paul Goma (; October 2, 1935 – March 24, 2020) was a Romanian writer, known for his activities as a dissident and leading opponent of the communist regime before 1989. Forced into exile by the communist authorities, he became a political refug ...

's ''Ostinato'' (1971) and

Alexandru Ivasiuc Alexandru "Sașa" Ivasiuc (; July 12, 1933 – March 4, 1977) was a Romanian novelist. Life He was born in Sighet, the son of a science teacher. After the Second Vienna Award of 30 August 1940, the family fled to Bucharest, only returning to ...

's ''Păsările'' ("The Birds", 1973) discussed the

Bucharest student movement of 1956 The events in Poland which led to the elimination of that country's Stalinist leadership and the rise to power of Władysław Gomułka on 19 October 1956 provoked unrest among university students in Eastern bloc countries. The state of unrest in C ...

, during which both authors were arrested. While Ivasiuc made some concessions to meet the censors' approval, Goma lost patience and published it in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

.Deletant, p. 183

Notes

References

External links

* * *{{cite news, url=https://rasunetul.ro/despre-obsedantul-deceniu-si-istoria-care-nu-trebuie-uitata, title=Despre "obsedantul deceniu" și istoria care nu trebuie uitată, lang=ro, first=Elena M., last= Cîmpan, newspaper=Răsunetul, date=June 12, 2023, access-date=February 20, 2024 Romanian literature Socialist Republic of Romania

Novels

See also

Notes

References

External links