What's chilling about For Two Thousand Years, in this sensitive translation by Philip O Ceallaigh, is how its oppressive atmosphere foreshadows the rise of Romanian authoritarianism and the destruction of Romanian Jewry, even though it was published before the fascists came to power. Hundreds of thousands of Jews and other minorities would be killed and the Jewish presence in the country erased. "It is extremely difficult to follow the progressive hardening of enmity from one day to the next," the narrator says. "Suddenly you find yourself surrounded on all sides, and have no idea how or when it happened." This is the way fascism takes hold, regardless of how the sides are defined. I can't help thinking that Mihail Sebastian is sending us a message across the generations.
For Two Thousand Years
This literary masterpiece revives the ideological debates of the interwar period through the journal of a Romanian Jewish student caught between anti-Semitism and Zionism. Although he endures persistent threats just to attend lectures, he feels disconnected from his Jewish peers and questions whether their activism will be worth the cost. Spending his days walking the streets and his nights drinking and conversing with revolutionaries, zealots, and libertines, he remains isolated, even from the women he loves. From Bucharest to Paris, he strives to make peace with himself in an increasingly hostile world.
For Two Thousand Years echoes Mihail Sebastian's struggles as the rise of fascism ended his career and turned his friends and colleagues against him. Born of the violence of relentless anti-Semitism, his searching, self-derisive work captures a defining moment in history and lights the way for generations to come-a prescient, heart-wrenching chronicle of resilience and despair, resistance and acceptance.
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For Two Thousand Years echoes Mihail Sebastian's struggles as the rise of fascism ended his career and turned his friends and colleagues against him. Born of the violence of relentless anti-Semitism, his searching, self-derisive work captures a defining moment in history and lights the way for generations to come-a prescient, heart-wrenching chronicle of resilience and despair, resistance and acceptance.
For Two Thousand Years
This literary masterpiece revives the ideological debates of the interwar period through the journal of a Romanian Jewish student caught between anti-Semitism and Zionism. Although he endures persistent threats just to attend lectures, he feels disconnected from his Jewish peers and questions whether their activism will be worth the cost. Spending his days walking the streets and his nights drinking and conversing with revolutionaries, zealots, and libertines, he remains isolated, even from the women he loves. From Bucharest to Paris, he strives to make peace with himself in an increasingly hostile world.
For Two Thousand Years echoes Mihail Sebastian's struggles as the rise of fascism ended his career and turned his friends and colleagues against him. Born of the violence of relentless anti-Semitism, his searching, self-derisive work captures a defining moment in history and lights the way for generations to come-a prescient, heart-wrenching chronicle of resilience and despair, resistance and acceptance.
For Two Thousand Years echoes Mihail Sebastian's struggles as the rise of fascism ended his career and turned his friends and colleagues against him. Born of the violence of relentless anti-Semitism, his searching, self-derisive work captures a defining moment in history and lights the way for generations to come-a prescient, heart-wrenching chronicle of resilience and despair, resistance and acceptance.
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170633272 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tantor Audio |
| Publication date: | 09/12/2017 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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