First published 1996
Mircea grows up in communist Bucharest, where ordinary apartment life blends with extraordinary dreams. His childhood unfolds through a mixture of family scenes, school experiences, and fantastical episodes that transform his mundane surroundings into something magical. The boy encounters strange creatures, witnesses impossible events, and discovers that reality shifts between the concrete world of 1960s Romania and realms where imagination takes physical form. His mother, father, and neighbors populate both his daily existence and his surreal adventures. The narrative moves between Mircea's waking life and his dream states, where butterflies become angels and apartment buildings stretch into infinity. As he matures, the boundaries between what he experiences and what he imagines grow increasingly unclear. The story captures how a sensitive child processes the weight of history and family legacy while navigating the gap between inner vision and external reality.
Genres: 20th-century, fantasy, magical-realism, 21st-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Bucharest, Romania
Period: 1960s
Unknown Binding · Humanitas