Novel
At Medeleni
La Medeleni
Ionel Teodoreanu · 1925
Opening lines
Doi țărani salutară cu o arhaică solemnitate pe viitorul stăpân al moșiei. Mișcarea vastelor pălării învălui pe Dănuț cu epicul vânt al gloriei.
Two peasants greeted the future master of the estate with archaic solemnity. The sweep of their vast hats wrapped Dănuț in the epic wind of glory.
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from ro.wikisource.org
Synopsis
On the estate of Medeleni, in Moldavia, the family of the lawyer Iorgu Deleanu spends the summer. Dănuț, the son, a dreamer who sees himself as a sultan or a Robinson, quarrels endlessly with his sister Olguța, a tomboy who cannot bear the injustice done to girls; Monica, an orphan taken in by the family, is torn between Olguța and her tenderness for Dănuț. The groom Moș Gheorghe tells of the Russo-Turkish war. The next two volumes follow the three children into adolescence.
Context
The trilogy appeared from 1925 to 1927, in three titles: Hotarul nestatornic, Drumuri and Între vânturi; The Modern Novel dates the first volume to 1924. The house that inspired it, on the banks of the Prut, became a museum in 2016. Garabet Ibrăileanu held Olguța to be the most successful young woman in Romanian literature; George Călinescu acknowledged the novel's lasting value but judged its style too laden with metaphors.
Who it is for
A novel trilogy of childhood and adolescence, in Romanian; the first volume has existed in English since 2021.
Prizes and reception
Its author's greatest success, especially among children and young people.
Sources for this page 4
The pages consulted to check this page.