Mircea Nedelciu
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Mircea Nedelciu (; November 12, 1950 – July 12, 1999) was a Romanian short-story writer, novelist, essayist and literary critic, one of the leading exponents of the '' Optzeciști'' generation in Romanian letters. The author of experimental prose, mixing elements of conventional narratives with
autofiction Autofiction is, in literary criticism, a form of fictionalized autobiography. Definition In autofiction, an author may decide to recount their life in the Third-person narrative, third person, to modify significant details and characters, use in ...
, textuality,
intertextuality Intertextuality is the shaping of a text's meaning by another text, either through deliberate compositional strategies such as quotation, allusion, calque, plagiarism, translation, pastiche or parody, Gerard Genette (1997) ''Paratexts'p.18/ref ...
and, in some cases,
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
, he placed his work at the meeting point between
Postmodernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...
and a
minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...
form of Neorealism. This approach is illustrated by his volumes of stories and his novels ''Zmeura de cîmpie'' ("Raspberry of the Field"), ''Tratament fabulatoriu'' ("Confambulatory Treatment"), and by ''Femeia în roșu'' ("The Woman in Red"), a
collaborative fiction Collaborative fiction is a form of Writing style, writing by a group of authors who share creative control of a Storytelling, story. Collaborative fiction can occur for commercial gain, as part of education, or recreationally – many collaborat ...
piece written together with
Adriana Babeți Adriana Babeți (born November 12, 1949 in Oradea) is a Romanian literary critic, translator, novelist, essayist, and academic. She is an associate professor at the University of Bucharest and a teacher of comparative literature at the West Uni ...
and . A follower of trends in
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
literature of the 1960s and 1970s, Nedelciu co-founded the literary circle ''Noii'' ("The New Ones") with
Gheorghe Crăciun Gheorghe Crăciun (8 May 1950, Zărnești – 30 January 2007, Constanța) was a Romanian writer and translator. Crăciun was born in Tohanu Vechi, now part of Zărnești, Brașov County. In addition to being a novelist and a translator, he was ...
, , , , , Emil Paraschivoiu, and . His integration as an authoritative voice on the Postmodern scene, inaugurated by his presence in the '' Desant '83'' anthology, was complemented by his free-minded attitude and drifter lifestyle. Although Nedelciu's political nonconformism pitted him against the repressive communist system on several occasions, he stood out on the literary scene for adapting to some communist requirements in order to get his message across. This tendency made Nedelciu the target of controversy. The final years of Mircea Nedelciu's life witnessed his publicized struggle with
Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...
, which shaped the themes in his unfinished novel, ''Zodia Scafandrului'' ("Sign of the Deep-sea Diver"). Although the rhythm of his activity slowed under the pressures of infirmity and major surgery in French clinics, Nedelciu continued his involvement with the literary scene, as both cultural promoter and polemicist, until shortly before his death. His critical posterity is sharply divided on issues surrounding the importance of his work, between those who primarily view him as an eccentric figure and those who describe him as one Romania's major experimental writers.


Biography


Early life

Nedelciu was born in the semi-urban locality of
Fundulea Fundulea is an agricultural town in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania. It is on the Bărăgan Plain, approximately east of the capital Bucharest, in the historical region of Wallachia. It has a population of 6,714 (as of 2021). The A2 freeway ...
,
Călărași County Călărași () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Călărași. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 285,050 and a population density of 56.02/km2. * Romanians – 94.1% ...
, where his parents, Ștefan and Maria, worked in agriculture
''Mircea Nedelciu: A Brief Introduction''
at ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
''
''The Observer Translation Project''
retrieved June 27, 2009

"Mircea Nedelciu"
, in ''
România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared ...
'', Nr. 6/2002
(Nedelciu's father was also employed by the House of Savings, a state-run bank). The couple's resistance to forced collectivization had engendered political repercussions, and impacted on the family's standing: Nedelciu's older sister was expelled from university for one year. The family was also periodically harassed by the communist authorities after their son-in-law decided to cross the
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...
, settling in the United States. Mircea Nedelciu attended primary school in his native town and high school in Brănești, and afterward left for the national capital of
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, in order to complete his studies. A student at the
University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...
's Faculty of Letters, specializing in English and French,''Mircea Nedelciu - Author's CV''
, at ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
''
''The Observer Translation Project''
retrieved June 27, 2009
Nedelciu was attracted into
bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...
,
cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...
and
countercultural A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
circles, growing his hair long and informing himself on new developments in
Western culture Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...
.
"Mircea Nedelciu: istorie și iluzie literară"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 432, July 2008
His time as a student overlapped with an episode of
liberalization Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used ...
which coincided with the early rule of
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...
, and which, as Nedelciu himself recalled, provided young intellectuals with access to cultural items that were less known or were recovering from official censorship. These included texts Nedelciu read in the University Library: the French journal ''
Tel Quel ''Tel Quel'' (translated into English as, variously: "as is," "as such," or "unchanged") was a French avant-garde literary magazine published between 1960 and 1982. History and profile ''Tel Quel'' was founded in 1960 in Paris by Philippe Sol ...
'' and the works of
Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( ; rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright. His novel ''The M ...
,
William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...
,
John Dos Passos John Roderigo Dos Passos (; January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) was an American novelist, most notable for his U.S.A. (trilogy), ''U.S.A.'' trilogy. Born in Chicago, Dos Passos graduated from Harvard College in 1916. He traveled widely as a ...
, and
J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger ( ; January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel '' The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger published several short stories in '' Story'' magazine in 1940, before serving in World Wa ...
. Nonconformism also impacted on his student life: reportedly, he only attended courses which he found interesting, neglecting all others. Nedelciu was especially close to his colleague and campus roommate Gheorghe Crăciun and to painter , and vacationed in Crăciun's native
Brașov County Brașov County () is a county (județ) of Transylvania, Romania. Its capital city is Brașov. The county incorporates within its boundaries most of the Medieval "lands" (''țări'') Burzenland and Făgăraș. Name In Hungarian language, Hungari ...
. It was also during his time in college that he helped found ''Noii'', which in its original form also comprised Flora and "the three Gheorghes" (Crăciun, Ene, Iova). The club was later joined by Lăcustă, Paraschivoiu, Sorin Preda, and Stan. ''Noii'', which for a while published an eponymous student magazine, survived both its members' graduation and the
national communist National communism is a term describing 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 ...
backlash inaugurated by the ''
July Theses The July Theses () was a speech delivered by Nicolae Ceaușescu to the executive committee of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) on 6 July 1971. The July Theses, officially named ''Propuneri de măsuri pentru îmbunătățirea activității po ...
'' of 1971, but remained marginal on the literary scene, and discreetly reacted against the new restrictive guidelines by cultivating difference. According to Nedelciu's own recollection: "In all these years down to 1980, the club was a literary life completely separated from the official literary life." After completing his studies in 1973 and turning down a post-graduate assignment at a school in the remote
Danube Delta The Danube Delta (, ; , ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. Occurring where the Danube, Danube River empties into the Black Sea, most of the Danube Delta lies in Romania ...
, Nedelciu went through several jobs, including that of
tour guide A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, and information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, rel ...
for foreigners. According to literary historian , his refusal of initial employment exposed him to the political regime's suspicion for "
parasitism Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The en ...
". Nedelciu was however able to publish his first literary piece, the short story ''Un purtător de cuvânt'' ("A Spokesman"), hosted by a '' Luceafărul'' magazine issue of 1977.


Rise to prominence

The young author's standing declined further later that year, when he was briefly held under arrest for handling foreign currency (a criminal offense at the time). This time inspired him to write another story, ''Curtea de aer'' ("The Air Court"), also printed by ''Luceafărul'' in the following period. He ultimately found stable employment soon after his release, when he began working as a librarian on the staff of
Cartea Românească Cartea Românească ("The Romanian Book") is a publishing house in Bucharest, Romania, founded in 1919. Disestablished by the communist regime in 1948, it was restored under later communism, in 1970, when it functioned as the official imprint of t ...
publishing house (where his first works in literature were to be printed over the following years). As Cordoș argued, the institution "would become legendary as a meeting place for young writers from Bucharest and out of town—political rather than literary marginals." A similar statement is made by literary historian and reviewer , who sees the writer's activities as responsible for making the library "a ''
sui generis ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind" or "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". It denotes an exclusion to the larger system an object is in relation to. Several disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. ...
'' literary club". Also according to Cordoș, Nedelciu was still being subject to political pressures for his family connections and his refusal to join the
Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...
. With his 1979 volume of short stories, ''Aventuri într-o curte interioară'' ("Adventures in an Interior Courtyard"), Nedelciu became a notorious figure among young authors, and earned the
Writers' Union Writers' Union may refer to the following organizations: Statewide unions * Writers Union of Armenia * Azerbaijani Writers Union * Writers' Union of Canada * Chinese Writers Union * Estonian Writers' Union * Hungarian Writers' Union * Iraqi Writer ...
annual prize for debut. He was by then also affiliated with ''Junimea'', a workshop and literary society named after its 19th-century predecessor and hosted by the influential critic
Ovid Crohmălniceanu Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three ...
.
Paul Cernat Paul Cernat (born August 5, 1972 in Bucharest) is a Romanian essayist and literary critic. He has a Ph.D. summa cum laude in philology. Cernat has been a member of the Writers' Union of Romania since 2009. As of 2013, he is lecturer of Romanian l ...

"Povestea poveștilor..."
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 20, July 2000
Ion Bogdan Lefter
"Mult mai mult decît o carte"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 51, February 2001
Nedelciu followed up on his writing with the short story volumes ''Effectul de ecou controlat'' ("The Controlled Echo Effect") of 1981 and ''Amendament la instinctul proprietății'' ("Amendment to the Proprietary Instinct") of 1983. Owing to Crohmălniceanu's patronage, his prose works were published as part of the critically acclaimed '' Desant '83'' anthology, which set the tone for ''Optzeciști'' writings. From this moment on until his death, Nedelciu was at the forefront of debates opposing the ''Optzeciști'' to their older colleagues, and stood among those members of his generation who willingly accepted to be called "Postmodernists". A separate and enduring controversy, involving Nedelciu's apparent endorsement of the repressive regime, was sparked in 1982. That year, he signed a lampoon piece targeting
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
exiles who broadcast clandestinely into Romania by means of
Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
, and had it published in ''Scînteia Tineretului'' (or ''SLARS''), the mouthpiece of Communist Youth and branch of the main official party newspaper, ''
Scînteia ''Scînteia'' ( Romanian for "The Spark") was the name of two newspapers edited by Communist groups at different intervals in Romanian history. The title is a homage to the Russian language paper '' Iskra''. It was known as ''Scânteia'' until ...
''. ''Zmeura de cîmpie'', ''Tratament fabulatoriu'' and the new short prose grouping ''Și ieri va fi o zi'' ("And Yesterday Will Be Another Day"), published in 1984, 1986, and 1989, respectively, were Nedelciu's last volumes to emerge in print before the 1989 Revolution. The former was published by the
Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...
's specialized venue,
Editura Militară Editura Militară (Military Publishing House) is a publishing house based in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded as a state-run company during the communist period on 27 December 1950. The Military Publishing House is a registered trademark of th ...
, which commentators have considered slightly unusual, ultimately tying the decision to the text's oblique mentions of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Daniel Cristea-Enache
"Inginerie textuală"
, in ''
România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared ...
'', Nr. 35/2007
Simona Vasilache
"Toate numele"
, in ''
România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared ...
'', Nr. 26/2005
First issued in 1990, ''Femeia în roșu'' was co-written with
Anglicist English studies (or simply, English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries. This is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which is a dis ...
and comparatist
Adriana Babeți Adriana Babeți (born November 12, 1949 in Oradea) is a Romanian literary critic, translator, novelist, essayist, and academic. She is an associate professor at the University of Bucharest and a teacher of comparative literature at the West Uni ...
. A best seller,
Cornel Ungureanu Cornel may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Cornel (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname * Cornel Wilde (1915–1989), American actor and director born Kornél Lajos Weisz * Eric Cornel (born 1996), Canadian hockey player * Corn ...

"De la o enciclopedie la alta"
, in ''
Revista 22 ''Revista 22'' (''22 Magazine'') is a Romanian weekly magazine, issued by the Group for Social Dialogue and focused mainly on politics and culture. History and profile ''Revista 22'' was started in 1990. The first edition of the magazine was prin ...
'', Nr. 719, December 2003
it went through a second edition in 1997."Nedelciu pleacă în Franța"
in ', January 6, 1998
A second revised edition of ''Tratament fabulatoriu'' came in 1996.

in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 350, December 2006
The following year, ''Femeia în roșu'' was turned into an , directed by
Mircea Veroiu Mircea Veroiu (; 29 April 1941 – 26 December 1997) was a Romanian film director and screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, k ...
. It was also at that stage that Nedelciu began collecting his essays of criticism, grouped in the 1994 anthology ''Competiția Continuă. Generaţia '80 în texte teoretice'' ("The Race Goes On: the Eighties Generation in Theoretical Texts"). In 1996, Nedelciu was involved in the open debate organized by the Writers' Union magazine ''
România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared ...
'' and critic
Nicolae Manolescu Nicolae Manolescu (; 27 November 1939 – 23 March 2024) was a Romanian literary critic. Elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1997, he was upgraded to titular member in 2013. Life and career Manolescu was born in Râmnicu ...
, whose purposes were defining the nature and expectations of Romanian Postmodernism and allowing its representatives a reply to criticism. A section of the debate opposed Nedelciu to the younger writer , the latter of whom had objected to the supposed ''Optzeciști'' monopoly on Postmodernist terminology while arguing that a more genuine manifestation of the current was to be found in the emerging forms of
electronic literature Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or Generative literature, algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically. Works of electronic literature ar ...
. Nedelciu also contributed to and 's 1998 anthology of
erotic literature Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of eros (concept), eros (passionate, romantic or sexual relationships) intended to arouse similar feelings in readers. This contrasts erotica, which focuses more specifically ...
, ''Povestea poveștilor generației '80'' ("The Tale of the Tales of the 80s Generation").


Final years

The final decade of Nedelciu's life witnessed his struggle with
Hodgkin's disease Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...
, a rare type of
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...
with which he was diagnosed in 1988, and which severely impaired his motor skills.
Gheorghe Crăciun Gheorghe Crăciun (8 May 1950, Zărnești – 30 January 2007, Constanța) was a Romanian writer and translator. Crăciun was born in Tohanu Vechi, now part of Zărnești, Brașov County. In addition to being a novelist and a translator, he was ...

"Meteorologie, arheologie şi presiune subacvatică"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 51, February 2001
His treatment involved difficult surgery, performed with French assistance; in 1995, he was subject to a bone marrow autograft, carried out in Romania with additional help from
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
's . Although he eventually became reliant on a wheelchair, Nedelciu continued to be active on the literary scene, both through his involvement with the Writers' Union and his founding of Euromedia, a Franco-Romanian company specialized in distributing literature. He also briefly served as editor of '' Contrapunct'', a magazine launched by the ''Optzeciști'', and, after accusing the Writers' Union of "
Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...
", joined other disgruntled authors in creating the Association of Professional Writers. Late in his life, he also presided over the initiative to monitor book circulations, setting up the
external auditor An external auditor performs an audit, in accordance with specific laws or rules, of the financial statements of a company, government entity, other legal entity, or organization, and is independent of the entity being audited. Users of these en ...
program ''Topul naţional de carte'' ("National Book Rankings"). His output was much reduced and his ability to write altogether threatened, but he was still working on ''Zodia Scafandrului'', his final contribution to literature.
Carmen Mușat ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

"Refacerea lumii – o ars poetica marca Mircea Nedelciu"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 432, July 2008
After a 1996 treatment session in France, Nedelciu was informed that his life expectation depended on procedures which cost 70,000
American dollars The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
—a sum described by Nedelciu himself as "huge". Commenting on these developments, he indicated having resolving not to accept either "capitulation" or "the solution of humiliation", and declared himself optimistic about the possibility of collecting funds in dignity. His efforts were supported by the literary community, who organized a series of
fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
s, the collection being supplemented by government authorities. In late 1997, Nedelciu applied for a
visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...
in order to get treatment in France, but it was not granted. This prompted indignation on the Romanian literary scene, and press campaigns criticizing the French Embassy in Bucharest. In November of that year, while participating in the Gaudeamus Book Fair, Nedelciu was able to collect the endorsement of various local cultural personalities for his own manifesto, which demanded "
freedom of movement Freedom of movement, mobility rights, or the right to travel is a human rights concept encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country,Jérémiee Gilbert, ''Nomadic Peoples and Human Rights'' ...
throughout Europe for those who are in need of it". The French authorities eventually rescinded their decision, and the writer left for Marseille, where he underwent an intervention to improve his mobility. Mircea Nedelciu died on July 12, 1999, and was buried at
Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...
two days later. His tombstone bears the title of one of his books, "And Yesterday Will Be Another Day". In a short memoir of the event, his ''Noii'' colleague Stan commented on the "subtle irony" of his burial having taken place on
Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...
, France's national celebration.


Work


Cultural positioning

Throughout his career, Nedelciu was a prominent exponent of
experimental literature Experimental literature is a genre of literature that is generally "difficult to define with any sort of precision." It experiments with the conventions of literature, including boundaries of genres and styles; for example, it can be written in ...
,
metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction that emphasizes its own narrative structure in a way that inherently reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...
and
autofiction Autofiction is, in literary criticism, a form of fictionalized autobiography. Definition In autofiction, an author may decide to recount their life in the Third-person narrative, third person, to modify significant details and characters, use in ...
. Inside ''Noii'', he reportedly cut the figure of an innovator, a promoter, and the club member most interested in literary theory. This verdict was partly backed by , who remarks: "Like other authors from his generation, Mircea Nedelciu took care to define himself his own manner of writing, before literary critics did". According to critic , the period of "theoretical effervescence", in which Nedelciu assimilated inspiration from diverse sources, was followed by a "growing preoccupation for language." Writing during the second part of his career, Nedelciu reflected back with self-irony: "the writer's childhood diseases are ..the wish the theorize and the
baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
. Which shall the disease of old age be? I do not know. Probably monumentality, classicization!" Owing to their secondary nature, that of literary tests, Nedelciu's works abound in references and compliments to, as well as borrowings from, various authors. Names critics cite in this context include Romanian classics such as
Ion Luca Caragiale Ion Luca Caragiale (; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179–184 – 9 June 1912), commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale, was a Romanians, ...
,
Mateiu Caragiale Mateiu Ion Caragiale (; – 17 January 1936), also credited as Matei or Matheiu, or in the antiquated version Mateiŭ,Sorin Antohi"Romania and the Balkans. From Geocultural Bovarism to Ethnic Ontology" in ''Tr@nsit online'', Institut für die Wi ...
,
Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. One of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and in ...
, and
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 p ...
. Nedelciu's narratives were overall significantly indebted to American literature, American fiction, and in particular to
J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger ( ; January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel '' The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger published several short stories in '' Story'' magazine in 1940, before serving in World Wa ...
, in whose ''
Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is the only novel by American author J. D. Salinger. It was partially published in serial form in 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its theme ...
'' he reportedly found the first model for his own autofictional style. He is also known to have reworked and blended into his own texts various themes borrowed from
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
. The
English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English language, English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the ...
became the Romanian author's primary cultural reference, and, according to researcher , Nedelciu was one of those "fascinated" with the ideas of Canadian essayist
Northrop Frye Herman Northrop Frye (July 14, 1912 – January 23, 1991) was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century. Frye gained international fame with his first book, ''Fearful Symmetr ...
on "the constant degeneration of the character" in
Western literature Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, and is shaped by the periods in which they were conceived, with each period containing prominent weste ...
. His inspiration sources also covered French authors associated with the May 1968 movement. Mihai Oprea
"Realitate, ficțiune și fabulatoriu"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 285, August 2005
Primarily related to his interest in the textuality and
intertextuality Intertextuality is the shaping of a text's meaning by another text, either through deliberate compositional strategies such as quotation, allusion, calque, plagiarism, translation, pastiche or parody, Gerard Genette (1997) ''Paratexts'p.18/ref ...
techniques of ''
Tel Quel ''Tel Quel'' (translated into English as, variously: "as is," "as such," or "unchanged") was a French avant-garde literary magazine published between 1960 and 1982. History and profile ''Tel Quel'' was founded in 1960 in Paris by Philippe Sol ...
'' theorists, French echoes are ranked by Dinițoiu as secondary in Nedelciu's work. The author did however make extensive use of
constrained writing Constrained writing is a literary technique in which the writer is bound by some condition that forbids certain things or imposes a pattern. Constraints are very common in poetry, which often requires the writer to use a particular verse form. D ...
techniques popularized by France's
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
, stating his admiration for the
lipogram A lipogram (from , ''leipográmmatos'', "leaving out a letter" is a kind of constrained writing or word game consisting of writing paragraphs or longer works in which a particular letter or group of letters is avoided.McArthur, Tom (1992). ''The ...
s of
Georges Perec Georges Perec (; 7 March 1936 – 3 March 1982) was a French novelist, filmmaker, documentalist, and essayist. He was a member of the Oulipo group. His father died as a soldier early in the Second World War and his mother was killed in the Ho ...
. According to a testimonial by his friend Gheorghe Crăciun, Mircea Nedelciu also adopted " action writing"-like techniques, "without prior minute elaboration", displaying "that science of controlling one's own text bear-handed." Diniţoiu also mentions the "passion ..for
exact science The exact sciences or quantitative sciences, sometimes called the exact mathematical sciences, are those sciences "which admit of absolute precision in their results"; especially the mathematical sciences. Examples of the exact sciences are ma ...
" as a distinct trait of Nedelciu's experimentation, accounting for his "stylistic rigor". Nedelciu equaled his integration into the ''Desant '83'' group with an affiliation to
Postmodernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...
, an interpretation of positioning which came to divide the ''Optzeciști'' camp.
Mircea Cărtărescu Mircea Cărtărescu (; born 1 June 1956) is a Romanian novelist, poet, short-story writer, literary critic, and essayist. Biography Born in Bucharest in 1956, he attended Cantemir Vodă National College during the early 1970s. During his sc ...
, another member of this faction, referred to his colleague as "the uncontested prose leader of the 1980s",Segel, p.200 while Mihăieș acknowledged in him "the true leader of our generation, whose rule was naturally acknowledged, indisputable and therefore not at all constrictive."
Svetlana Cârstean Svetlana () is a common Orthodox Slavic feminine given name, deriving from the East and South Slavic root ''svet'' (), meaning "light", "shining", "luminescent", "pure", "blessed", or "holy", depending upon context similar if not the same as th ...

"Viața ca o bielă-manivelă" (interview with Mircea Mihăieș)
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 101, January 2002
In tandem, author Daniel Cristea-Enache retrospectively referred to Nedelciu as a "
Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
of Romanian textualism" whose "strongest asset" was literary theory. The main meeting point between Nedelciu's style and Postmodernist tenets is provided by his attachment to reinterpreting literary conventions, often with the introduction of
self-referential Self-reference is a concept that involves referring to oneself or one's own attributes, characteristics, or actions. It can occur in language, logic, mathematics, philosophy, and other fields. In natural language, natural or formal languages, ...
material or provoking
artistic license Artistic license (and more general or contextually-specific, derivative terms such as creative license, poetic license, historical license, dramatic license, and narrative license) refers to deviation from fact or form for artistic purposes. It ...
. Simona Sora
"Senzație și senzațional"
, in ''
Dilema Veche ''Dilema veche'' ( English: "Old Dilemma") is a Romanian weekly magazine that covers culture, social topics, and politics. It was founded in 2004 as the successor to the magazine ''Dilema'', which was founded in 1993. Both magazines were founded by ...
'', Vol. V, Nr. 222, May 2008


Neorealism and personalized techniques

Within the Postmodernist framework, Nedelciu also stood for a
minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...
approach to Neorealism, which linked him directly to fellow ''Optzecişti''
Ioan Groşan Ioan is a variation on the name John found in Aromanian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Welsh (), and Sardinian. It is usually masculine. The female equivalent in Romanian and Bulgarian is Ioana. In Russia, the name Ioann is usually reserved for ...
, Cristian Teodorescu and Sorin Preda. Bianca Burţa-Cernat
"Cum mai stăm cu proza românească?" (II)
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 361, March 2007
For the author himself, Postmodernist-textualist practices and the tradition of
literary realism Literary realism is a movement and genre of literature that attempts to represent mundane and ordinary subject-matter in a faithful and straightforward way, avoiding grandiose or exotic subject-matter, exaggerated portrayals, and speculative ele ...
were complementary, in that the former meant "the realism of attitudes toward the real", a conclusion to which he added: "The document, the act, the direct transmission of an event that has actually happened may enter a literary text's economy, where they are no longer 'artistically transfigured' but ''authenticated'' edelciu's italics" According to literary critic Mihai Oprea, who builds his comments on terms introduced by essayist Monica Spiridon, Nedelciu's textualist approach to literature as its own reality actually followed a middle course between "referential
verisimilitude In philosophy, verisimilitude (or truthlikeness) is the notion that some propositions are closer to being true than other propositions. The problem of verisimilitude is the problem of articulating what it takes for one false theory to be close ...
, preoccupied with retracing reality" and a "cultural verisimilitude", whose characteristic is "a world of objects already interpreted and ideologically formed by a certain culture." Cristea-Enache also discusses the impact that the
interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
Romanian
Social Realist Social realism is work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and some musicians that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures ...
Camil Petrescu Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in Romania. He was a member of the Sbur ...
had on Nedelciu's style, where it resurfaced in an adapted form. Essayist Genţiana Moşneanu, who defines Nedelciu's prose as being dominated by the sense of sight and recurring references to
optical instrument An optical instrument is a device that processes light waves (or photons), either to enhance an image for viewing or to analyze and determine their characteristic properties. Common examples include periscopes, microscopes, telescopes, and camera ...
s, argues: " issight digs into the sordidness of everyday banality in order to present us with samples of reality based on minute facts. All that which resides within the author's field of vision is transmitted to us, the readers, giving us that impression of 'real reality', of real life." Genţiana Moşneanu
"Banalul cotidian"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 20, July 2000
In addition to this, she identifies a "
kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a symmetrical pattern when viewed fro ...
" effect, which subverts the order of realistic details between the levels of each narrative, concluding: "The manner in which Mircea Nedelciu has captured everyday banality leaves the impression of a film based on real fact, where the characters and incidents have been introduced for aesthetic reasons." A similar argument was made by Gheorghe Crăciun, who compared the effect with the "hallucinatory something" of a "film clip", translated as "a world continuously in the making". For Sanda Cordoș, his short fiction represents "a propitious moment" and a "resurrection" synonymous with "the creative type of the '80s." One of Nedelciu's cogenerationists and friends, critic Ion Bogdan Lefter, also recalled how Nedelciu's personality reflected in his style and choice of subjects, noting the great pauses his colleague would leave between his works, and how "the details of reality which edelciuwould bring into conversation" were casually integrated in later texts. Lefter argued: " ewas a writer without writing" who "observed and described, lived and retold." Among the narrative techniques setting Nedelciu apart among his generation colleagues was that of so-called "live transmissions", or stories in which the mixture of coherent record and textualist transcript led to an identification with the subject. Cristian Teodorescu
"Un ventriloc literar: Dan Lungu"
in ''
Cotidianul The logo used between 2003 and 2007 ''Cotidianul'' (meaning ''The Daily'' in English) is a Romanian-language newspaper published in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern E ...
'', November 22, 2005
Another colleague and friend of Nedelciu, Cristian Teodorescu, recalled: "one of these stories was the transcript of a front line diary by a peasant who fought in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. I repeatedly asked Nedelciu what the deal was with the peasant's diary. Eventually, he admitted that he only owned a few pages of the diary, that the rest had been lost. Had he filled out the rest? He would not tell me. He knew how to defend the mysteries of his prose, taking shelter behind textualist explanations on 'text generation'." Items of regular life transposed into his prose notably include the phone number of his fellow writer Radu Cosaşu, recorded in one of Nedelciu's prose fragments. Some commentators attribute Mircea Nedelciu's work with other distinct qualities, stemming from a confrontation of identities: his rural and provincial roots over his adoption by the cosmopolitan
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
scene. This issue is reflected in a 2006 statement Crăciun: "He is, after all, a cosmopolitan figure, I could even say a frivolous figure. He runs away from the world to which he belongs, in search of the urban world, but he nevertheless can never part with the former." The claim was supported by Dinițoiu, who argued that Nedelciu's frivolity refers to his "southern" roots in the
historical region History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
of
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
, which contrasted with and "captivated" the
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
n-born Crăciun. In the assessment of Sanda Cordoş, "Nedelciu's freedom of spirit was rooted in peasant culture and the literary life of the city, and he preserved it after graduation in 1973." Such aspects of Mircea Nedelciu's work and biography are reflected in his choice of subjects and underlying themes, listed by Cordoş as "travel, vagrancy and wandering through everyday reality, immediately experienced." The "need for freedom", Dinițoiu argues, is associated in Nedelciu's fiction with "surprisingly
romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...
" love affairs, whose female protagonists "are often on the verge of ideal projection." The narrative is generally laid out as a ceaseless travel, and the often guide-like protagonists seem to suffer their crises only in rare moments of respite. An allusive background to these fictional biographies is provided by the social context: like the author himself, the characters are often uprooted people who relate to historical events as a seminal but mysterious
collective trauma Historical trauma or collective trauma refers to the cumulative emotional harm of an individual or generation caused by a traumatic experience or event. According to its advocates, collective trauma evokes a variety of responses, most prominent ...
. In addition to this element, Crăciun lists the recurring themes of Nedelciu's fiction as "
archeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...
", "
meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...
" and "the mechanisms through which nature and the surrounding life exercise pressure on the individual", adding: "Each of these three elements ..is liable to provoke the distortion of reality, the emergence of strange phenomenons, abrupt changes of life and destiny, the passage from the immediate space into other spaces, at the very least atypical if not fantastical ones." A similar listing of Mircea Nedelciu's main preoccupation was also provided by Lefter.


Controversial aspects

Together with Cărtărescu and other figures in the Postmodernist group, Nedelciu was a target for criticism, both individual and collective. A synthesis of these objections was provided by literary historian Eugen Negrici. In Negrici's view, the self-referential and ironic works produced by such writers hindered the development of local literature on a more solid basis, and their embrace by the established critics diverted attention from older, classically
Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
authors. He also argued that the group's identification with Postmodernist theses prevented others from doing the same, and that the approximation implied by this process rendered the Postmodern label meaningless. Another literary historian to issue negative comments on Nedelciu's overall contribution is Alex Ștefănescu. In his view, although being "intelligent and inventive", Nedelciu lacked "artistic sense", displayed "intellectual immaturity", and wrote novels that, unlike his short stories, were "needlessly complicated, clumsy, irrelevant from a literary point of view". Laszlo Alexandru
"Istoria hollywoodiană a literaturii române (V)"
, in ''
Tribuna Tribuna may refer to: * ''Tribuna'' (Russian newspaper), a Russian weekly newspaper * ''Tribuna Portuguesa'', a bilingual newspaper serving the Portuguese-American community * Tribuna.com, a digital sports publisher * Tribuna Monumental, a monum ...
'', Nr. 85/2006, p.8
Ștefănescu objected in particular to Nedelciu's theory about the need to eliminate "mystification" in prose, commenting that the awareness of conventions was accessible to "every reader", and the contrary effort brought to mind "someone who, storming into a cinema hall,
tarts A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with ...
shouting 'My brothers, don't let yourselves be fooled! That which you see is not reality. These are but images projected on a piece of cloth'." He also challenged Nedelciu's view of self-referential prose was a path to
interactivity Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but ...
, arguing that, although the writing process was exposed, the readers' passive role could not be modified: "they can only watch upon the authors'
demagogic A demagogue (; ; ), or rabble-rouser, is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, especially through oratory that whips up the passions of crowds, appealing to emotion by scapegoat ...
gesticulation and later conclude that the latter have still pursued their narrative as intended." In Cristea-Enache's view, Nedelciu circulated "
sophism A sophist () was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics and mathematics. They taught ''arete'', "virtue" or "excellen ...
s" and "
sleight of hand Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' () comprises fine motor skills used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card fl ...
", his target reader being someone who, in order not to seem "tasteless, unintelligent and
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
", claims to have enjoyed writings "without substance, structure or form". In 1995, answering to unfavorable comparisons made between the palpable interactivity of
electronic literature Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or Generative literature, algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically. Works of electronic literature ar ...
on one hand and the theoretical interactivity of pre-1989 prose on the other, Nedelciu accused his rival
Ion Manolescu An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
of having created, "out a cocktail of confusions, a thesis supported only by isinexplicable enthusiasm". For Ştefănescu, the nature of language experiments in Mircea Nedelciu's short fiction is not innovative in its recourse to
orality Orality is thought and verbal expression in societies where the technologies of literacy (especially writing and print) are unfamiliar to most of the population. The study of orality is closely allied to the study of oral tradition. The term "ora ...
, and its techniques of constrained writing affect the personal message—citing his record of the 1977 prison term, which follows a strict pattern of
grammatical conjugation In linguistics, conjugation ( ) is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection (alteration of form according to rules of grammar). For instance, the verb ''break'' can be conjugated to form the words ''break'' ...
. Like Negrici, the critic also reproaches some of his peers having welcomed Nedelciu as an innovator "out of lassitude or
snob ''Snob'' is a pejorative term for a person who feels superior due to their social class, education level, or social status in general;De Botton, A. (2004), ''Status Anxiety''. London: Hamish Hamilton it is sometimes used especially when they pr ...
bery". Similar points were made by essayist Laszlo Alexandru, who claimed that the lionized mainstream of the 1980s and 90s had artificially promoted a "pyramid structure" dominated by Nedelciu as "The Great Prose Writer", Cărtărescu as "The Great Poet" and Lefter as "The Great Critic". This endorsement clashed with the opinion Laszlo shares, according to which Nedelciu "is far from being even an important prose writer". Although highly critical of Alex Ștefănescu's overall views on literature, Laszlo agreed with his verdicts on Nedelciu. Taking his distance from the negative critical revisions, in particular that contributed by Ştefănescu, Crăciun claimed: "The narratological issues posed by Mircea Nedelciu's writing style ..have been improperly treated—as aspects on their own, isolated from their subjects, situations, characters and contents— ..because prose experiment in our country is still seen as an extravagant phenomenon, exterior to creation as such, of doubtful value, arousing suspicion when not in fact pejorative labels." Among the most debated aspects of Mircea Nedelciu's contribution to literature under communism was his theory that writers could evade the pressures of censorship by appealing to
subtext In any communication, in any medium or format, "subtext" is the underlying or implicit meaning that, while not explicitly stated, is understood by an audience. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "an underlying and often distinct theme ...
, allusions, irony, and other Postmodern mechanisms, while formally adapting themselves to the exterior ideological aspects. According to literary historian
Marcel Cornis-Pope Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian ...
, his approach to testing the "prohibitive boundaries" and "foundations of communist reality" relied on exposing the "dogmatic stagnation" through "bolder experimental fiction", of a kind illustrated by other
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
an authors:
Gabriela Adameşteanu Gabriela may refer to: * Gabriela (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian feminine given name * ''Gabriela'' (1942 film), a Czech film * ''Gabriela'' (1950 film), a German film * ''Gabriela'' (1983 film), a Brazilian film * ''Gabriela' ...
,
Péter Esterházy Péter Esterházy (14 April 1950 – 14 July 2016) was a Hungarian writer. He was one of the best known Hungarian and Central European writers of his era. He was called a "leading figure of 20th century Hungarian literature", and his books were ...
,
Danilo Kiš Danilo Kiš (; born Dániel Kiss; 22 February 1935 – 15 October 1989) was a Yugoslav and Serbian novelist, short story writer, essayist and translator. His best known works include ''Hourglass'', '' A Tomb for Boris Davidovich'' and '' The En ...
,
Sławomir Mrożek Sławomir Mrożek (29 June 1930 – 15 August 2013) was a Polish dramatist, writer and cartoonist. Mrożek joined the Polish United Workers' Party during the reign of Stalinism in the People's Republic of Poland, and made a living as a politic ...
,
Péter Nádas Péter Nádas (born 14 October 1942) is a Hungarian writer, playwright, and essayist. Biography He was born in Budapest into a Jewish family, the son of László Nádas (originally Nussbaum) and Klára Tauber. After the takeover of the Hung ...
,
Toomas Raudam Toomas Raudam (born 21 July 1947) is an Estonian writer. In 1989 he won the Friedebert Tuglas Award for . He has won or been nominated for several other awards for his books, screenplays, and radio plays. Raudam was born in Paide. In 1973 Raudam g ...
, Piotr Szewc,
Dubravka Ugrešić Dubravka Ugrešić (; 27 March 1949 – 17 March 2023) was a Yugoslav- Croatian and Dutch writer. A graduate of University of Zagreb, she was based in Amsterdam from 1996 and continued to identify as a Yugoslav writer. Early life and education ...
, and
Mati Unt Mati Unt (1 January 1944 in Linnamäe, Voore Parish ow Voore, Jõgeva County, Voore, Mustvee Parish Jõgeva County – 22 August 2005 in Tallinn) was an Estonian writer, essayist and theatre director. Biography His first novel, written at ...
. Nedelciu's stance was retrospectively criticized by as illusory, particularly since, even if it allowed the ''Optzeciști'' to penetrate the market, it did not prevent the censorship apparatus from viewing Nedelciu personally with suspicion. The theory also scandalized older authors, in particular the
dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...
s and the openly
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
observers from within the
Romanian diaspora The Romanian diaspora is the Romanians, ethnically Romanian population outside Romania and Moldova. The concept does not usually include the ethnic Romanians who live as natives in nearby states, chiefly those Romanians who live in Ukraine, Hun ...
:
Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
contributor
Monica Lovinescu Monica Lovinescu (; 19 November 1923 – 20 April 2008) was a Romanian essayist, short story writer, literary critic, translator, and journalist, noted for her activities as an opponent of the Romanian Communist regime. She published severa ...
referred to Nedelciu as a "
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
textualist". Much debate surrounded the writer's own preface to his ''Tratament fabulatoriu'', which several have read as an endorsement of
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...
's regime. Ștefănescu cited its main subject of contention as being the statement that
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
was inherently hostile toward art, whereas
communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
s nurtured creativity in order to create a "New Man". According to Laszlo Alexandru, the text enforces the reader's "indignant stupefaction" concerning Nedelciu's promotion by his peers. Such conclusions are contrasted by Nedelciu's own account, provided after the Revolution: he recorded having been engaged in a conflict with censors, and argued that the book itself was about escape from the increased pressures of the 1980s. Mircea Mihăieș recalled that, during the writing process for ''Femeia în roșu'', he had confronted his colleague on the issue of his preface being "annoying and false through its leftism, its opportunistic
Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
", and mentioned having received an enraged justification in response. In parallel to such debates, Nedelciu's 1982 article, defined by Ștefănescu as "vehement and insulting", brought further suspicion of his motives.


Debut works

With his debut writings, Nedelciu elaborated the generic characteristics of his style, and in particular his choice of subjects. The first of his volumes, ''Aventuri într-o curte interioară'', is also his first account of vagrancy as a lifestyle, showing young abandoned orphans escaping into reverie. The characters of ''Amendament la instinctul proprietății'' expand on Nedelciu's reflexions about marginality and aggression: a wanderer, Alexandru Daldea, is gripped by despair, while his female counterpart Dilaré is shown to be suicidal. Another character, Bebe Pîrvulescu, stands for political allusion, being the morally ambiguous son of an officer involved in repression and his cheating wife (whose lover was among those branded "
enemies Enemies or foes are a group that is seen as forcefully adverse or threatening. Enemies may also refer to: Literature * ''Enemies'' (play), a 1906 play by Maxim Gorky * ''Enemies, A Love Story'', a 1966 novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer * '' Enem ...
"). A critically acclaimed section of the volume is ''Provocare în stil Moreno'' ("Moreno-style Provocation"), called by Dinițoiu a "wonderful prose hich neverthelessentangles itself in its own meta-textual armor, pressing on its vibration-loaded core."
"Cum se citește acum proza optzecistă la Facultatea de Litere"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 273, June 2005
It depicts a physically disabled man, who closely follows the outside world using a pair of
binoculars Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held ...
. The apparent
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...
''Zmeura de cîmpie'', carrying the subtitle ''Roman împotriva memoriei'' ("A Novel against Memory"), tells the story of Zare Popescu, who is engaged on a mysterious quasi-
archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...
investigation into history.
"Mircea Nedelciu în zodia scafandrului"
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 277, July 2005
He and all other characters are presumably orphaned drifters who run into each other chaotically while traveling the country—a narrative setting to which Nedelciu adds long fragments of inquires into abstract topics of
etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
or cinemaphilia, reflecting the main characters' obsessions. A secondary element is the erotic tension between Zare and Ana, an ambiguous female character who occasionally and mysteriously expresses herself in an ungrammatical version of
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
with strong influences from Hungarian. Cornis-Pope sees it as representative for the subtle manner in which Nedelciu, like Stan and Adameșteanu, chose to question "ideological representations" and "official myths" present "at the height of Ceaușescu's '
totalitarian Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public sph ...
absurd' ".Cornis-Pope, p.44 He argues: "''Zmeura de cîmpie'' ..dramatized the difficulties of extricating the culture's 'soul of facts' from official fictions and the totalistic language of the 'tribe'." For Cornis-Pope, this concern is similar to dissenting
reportage Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
authors in
Communist Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
and the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
, such as
Ryszard Kapuściński Ryszard Kapuściński (; 4 March 1932 – 23 January 2007) was a Polish journalist, photographer, poet and author. He received many prestigious awards and was considered a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Kapuściński's personal jo ...
and
Miško Kranjec Miško Kranjec () () (September 15, 1908 – June 8, 1983), baptized Mihály Krányecz, was a Slovene writer. Life Kranjec was born in the village of Velika Polana in what was then Zala County of the Kingdom of Hungary in the Austro-Hungarian ...
. Taking the book's dedication to veterans of Romania's 1944-1945 campaign as her clue, critic Simona Vasilache discusses the text as a generational epic, stressing that the hidden theme is the fate of
anti-fascists Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
entrapped by communism. Daniel Cristea-Enache is highly critical of ''Zmeura de cîmpie'', deeming it "weak and indigestible", and opining that the experimental aspects "no longer enable fiction to breathe, but substitute it."


''Tratament fabulatoriu'', ''Și ieri va fi o zi'', and ''Femeia în roșu''

''Tratament fabulatoriu'', the preface of which made Mircea Nedelciu the subject of controversy, is Nedelciu's contribution to the
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
novel, having for its protagonist the meteorologist Luca, whose work assignment in Temelia ("Foundation") village leads him into a world apparently governed by the rules of
Utopian socialism Utopian socialism is the term often used to describe the first current of modern socialism and socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, and Robert Owen. Utopian socialism is often de ...
. Like in ''Zmeura de cîmpie'', the small community benefiting from these guidelines finds its preoccupation in historical research: its leader Marius asks his comrades to piece together the career of his supposed ancestor, Neculai Fiston-Gulianu. The plot subsequently focuses on Luca's internal struggles, brought upon by clues that this universe is the design of his own imagination, and culminating in resignation to reality. Within the text are references and stylistic homages to
Mateiu Caragiale Mateiu Ion Caragiale (; – 17 January 1936), also credited as Matei or Matheiu, or in the antiquated version Mateiŭ,Sorin Antohi"Romania and the Balkans. From Geocultural Bovarism to Ethnic Ontology" in ''Tr@nsit online'', Institut für die Wi ...
and his celebrated '' Craii de Curtea-Veche'' novel, centered on details in Fiston-Gulianu's biography. The work is punctuated by first-person interrogations, where Nedelciu transforms his
narrative mode Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
into a third-level story, where he analyzes his own ability to interpret Luca's feelings. Mihai Oprea notes the text's ambiguous fluctuation between an actual "
Möbius strip In mathematics, a Möbius strip, Möbius band, or Möbius loop is a Surface (topology), surface that can be formed by attaching the ends of a strip of paper together with a half-twist. As a mathematical object, it was discovered by Johann Bened ...
" space with "unknown laws" and the imagination of a character "on the verge of
autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...
". In his updated preface of 1996, where he presented his intentions of subverting the communist guideline, Nedelciu explained that his intent was to create "a counter-utopia", sourced by his clandestine readings from
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
's ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984'') is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final completed book. Thematically ...
'', from
Elias Canetti Elias Canetti (; 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994; ; ) was a German-language writer, known as a Literary modernism, modernist novelist, playwright, memoirist, and nonfiction writer. Born in Ruse, Bulgaria, to a Sephardi Jews, Sephardic Jewish fam ...
's '' Crowds and Power'', and from
Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...
's ''
Discipline and Punish ''Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison'' () is a 1975 book by French philosopher Michel Foucault. It is an analysis of the social and theoretical mechanisms behind the changes that occurred in Western penal systems during the modern ...
''. According to Oprea, the work nevertheless fails in its stated ambition of evading the "obsessive-pressuring" world of the late Ceaușescu years: "We are promised the solution of a bitter fight and we are offered a cardboard scenery and wooden swords. We are informed by the sound of trumpets of the retreat into the last redoubt we still can defend (although it can't defend us), and, once we arrive there, we realize that the enemy is a controlled marionette, albeit one masterfully handled by that absolute and pitiless master, the Author." Adina Dinițoiu believes that, contrary to its author's reflections, ''Tratament fabulatoriu'' is "Mircea Nedelciu's only fantasy and
baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
book"; she also highlights its "
mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...
",
formalist Formalism may refer to: * Legal formalism, legal positivist view that the substantive justice of a law is a question for the legislature rather than the judiciary * Formalism (linguistics) * Scientific formalism * A rough synonym to the Formal sys ...
" and " Bovaryist" characteristics. Noted within ''Și ieri va fi o zi'', the story ''Probleme cu identitatea'' ("Identity Problems") is believed by Cordoș as the "peak" of Nedelciu's short fiction. Subtitled ''Variațiuni în căutarea temei'' ("Variations in Search of a Theme"), it merges biographical details with imagined elements, recounting in three different ways the journey of Mureşan Vasile (or Murivale), who travels to Bucharest in order to stand
wake Wake or The Wake may refer to: Culture *Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies *Wakes week, an English holiday tradition * Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...
for poet
Nichita Stănescu Nichita Stănescu (; born Nichita Hristea Stănescu; 31 March 1933 – 13 December 1983) was a Romanian poet and essayist. Biography Stănescu's father was Nicolae Hristea Stănescu (1908–1982). His mother, Tatiana Cereaciuchin, was Russian ...
. Murivale is, in turn, a worker who quits his job, a deserting soldier and a bankrupt visual artist from
Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...
—avatars which allow Nedelciu to expand on the issue of art in general and, in particular, on that of Timișoara's literary environment. By highlighting the awkwardness in his protagonist's dealing with grief, ''Probleme cu identitatea'' also reflects the contrast between the fragile everyday and the magnificence presumed of art. Cordoş concludes: "Life is made of cunning, betrayals, affection and exasperation, marital strife and unexpected complicity, which Nedelciu constructs not in
antithesis Antithesis (: antitheses; Greek for "setting opposite", from "against" and "placing") is used in writing or speech either as a proposition that contrasts with or reverses some previously mentioned proposition, or when two opposites are introd ...
but in a complementary way so that art will acquire, even in the eyes of petty people, a radiance inexplicable to them." In addition to this piece, the volume includes ''Primul exil la cronoscop'' ("The First Chronoscope Exile"), a
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
-inspired story introducing the deep-sea diving metaphor which would come to fascinate Nedelciu during his final years. ''Femeia în roșu'', defined by its subtitle as a ''retro roman'' ("retro-novel"), is the fictionalized biography of
Ana Cumpănaș Ana Cumpănaș or Anna Sage, nicknamed Woman in Red (1889 – April 25, 1947), was a Romanian prostitute and brothel owner in the American cities of Chicago and Gary, Indiana. She is best known for having assisted the Federal Bureau of Investiga ...
, a Romanian prostitute who helped capture American gangster
John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (; June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He commanded the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing twenty-four banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprison ...
.
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
academic and literary historian
Harold Segel Harold Bernard Segel (September 13, 1930 – March 16, 2016) was professor emeritus of Slavic literatures and of comparative literature at Columbia University. Segel was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and attended Boston Latin School. He majored ...
calls it "a curious mixture of
docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television show, television and feature film, film, which features Drama (film and television), dramatized Historical reenactment, re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of docu ...
,
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...
, and self-reflective fiction", seeing it as "of particular interest to Americans" among existing pieces of Romanian
collaborative fiction Collaborative fiction is a form of Writing style, writing by a group of authors who share creative control of a Storytelling, story. Collaborative fiction can occur for commercial gain, as part of education, or recreationally – many collaborat ...
. The three authors, who were reportedly following the suggestion of Banat Swabian writer William Totok, based their retrospective account on various sources, including first-hand interviews with people from
Comloșu Mare Comloșu Mare (; ; ) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Comloșu Mare (commune seat), Comloșu Mic and Lunga. Name Comloșu Mare has been known throughout history under several names: ''Conuș'', ''Conaș' ...
, the village where Cumpănaș originated, resulting in what writer Ana Maria Sandu called "a story that is at the very least as fascinating as that of ..Dillinger." Ana Maria Sandu
"Dillinger și femeia în portocaliu"
, in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 13, May 2000
The subject matter reputedly irritated communist censors, accounting for the fact that ''Femeia în roșu'' was published only after the 1989 Revolution. Beyond the conventional aspects of the narrative, the novel introduces various pieces of experimental prose, whose actual protagonist, critic Simona Sora proposes, is the human body. While respecting formal conventions to the point of including a bibliographical section for the sources consulted, the authors stretch the plot to mention real or imagined details of their own process of researching and writing, or divert it to include episodes about real but not directly relevant personages (such as Canetti and
psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk th ...
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
). The focal point and recurring element is
autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...
, a procedure in which Sora sees a hidden comment on the very nature of novels: "The rules of a professional autopsy thus become the rules of a novel that is self-aware and aware of literature's (often void) demands." Although she argues that the stated goal of overturning "ancient complexes of the Romanian writer" is left open, Simona Sora sees ''Femeia în roșu'' and its "virtuosity" as imposing the autofictional model in front of conventional "artifice".


''Zodia Scafandrului''

Nedelciu's unfinished novel, ''Zodia Scafandrului'', is marked by the expectation of death, echoing the final part of its author's life (a period described by Nedelciu's colleague Alexandru Mușina as marked by "generosity, the cult of friendship, a sense of honor and, above all, indifference in the face of death"). Days before dying, the author himself recorded how the expectation had impacted on his writing style: "I know, time now seems to have become very short. It's no longer feasible to put down on paper everything that passes through your mind. You have to make selections, samples. You have to know how to do the opposite of what a tailor does: to measure just once and to cut dozens of times, to discard, to suggest rather than to develop in great detail. But these are things that can be learned." He also commented on the "tricks" his literature had developed in its confrontation with both the threat of death and the debilitating character of his disease: "For example, escribingin detail a healthy foot, the toes that waggle freely up and down, the mobility of a fine ankle, the play of the shins and thighs in dance—all these things place my hideous adversary in a real crisis of uncertainty. It knows already that my legs belong to it, but I am talking about different legs. There are and will be so many!" Nedelciu also recounted masking his fear of the disease by only referring to it with the
euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...
''gâlci'' (" quinsy"). According to both Gheorghe Crăciun and Ion Bogdan Lefter, their friend had a
superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...
according to which completing his book would accelerate death. Despite the timely constraints, Nedelciu's original project may have called for ''Zodia Scafandrului'' to be the first section of a larger cycle, structured around the yearly cycle of months. Adina Dinițoiu calls attention to the book's "unsettling biographical genre ..intensely vibrating the chord of a writing style completely lacking in formalism." She ties it to a final development in Nedelciu's literary attitudes, that in which "profundity" was added to his branch of "microrealism", producing "an ethical and even
soteriological Soteriology (; ' "salvation" from σωτήρ ' "savior, preserver" and λόγος ' "study" or "word") is the study of religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special significance in many religions. In the academic ...
connotation". In Lefter's view, the book "may be and must be read—I insist: must be read—in various ways." Its nature, he specifies, is that of a "literary and sociocultural project ..attempting to reach the profound truths in Romania's 20th century universe", but also that of a memoir offering "the sense to a life." The text, having for its protagonist Nedelciu's ''
alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...
'' Diogene "Dio" Sava, again speaks of its own genesis, notably by referencing a real-life encounter with Scarlat, a diver for the state commercial fleet Navrom and amateur novelist, who reveals to Nedelciu that writing itself may carry the symptoms of disease. Through the themes of diving and disease, the book filtrates
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
of communist politics, as Nedelciu explained within the actual text: "this free body of mine,
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
as it is even through the idea of a healthy and harmonious body, perceives this adventure into the deep ..as an adventure into a much colder land. In short, the mind imagines the deep-sea diver's world and the body refuses it instinctively, viscerally. And for good reason too, given that, in fact, behind the Cousteauesque design, my mind encrypts the adversities (the chill, the frost) of this entire world I'm living in, this symbolic coldness of Romania's communist society in the year 1989, and the body naturally refuses this exile 'up North'." According to Lefter, Nedelciu was actually reworking his notion of layered meanings into the diving metaphor, adapting an earlier interest in the techniques of
art restoration conservation and restoration of cultural property focuses on protection and care of cultural property (tangible cultural heritage), including artworks, architecture, archaeology, and museum collections. Conservation activities include preve ...
(in turned provoked by his discussions with muralist Viorel Grimalschi). Sava's literary biography reflects his familiarity with interwar society and its
upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status. Usually, these are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper cla ...
, and again portrays Mateiu Caragiale (this time by fictionalizing Caragiale's activities at his property in
Fundulea Fundulea is an agricultural town in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania. It is on the Bărăgan Plain, approximately east of the capital Bucharest, in the historical region of Wallachia. It has a population of 6,714 (as of 2021). The A2 freeway ...
). The impact of communism and
collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...
is reflected as a collective tragedy, and the start of an apparent ''
Bildungsroman In literary criticism, a bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'edu ...
'', depicting the Sava family's encounters with the
Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...
secret police, the life of debauchery he leads in order to liberate himself from pressures, and his employment at the Securitate-led Great Institute of History. The latter is a satirical reworking of
historiographic Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term "historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific to ...
practice under communism, the extreme
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
of the late Ceauşescu years, and the intrusion of
pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...
theories such as
protochronism Dacianism is a Romanian term describing the tendency to ascribe, largely relying on questionable data and subjective interpretation, an idealised past to the country as a whole. While particularly prevalent during the regime of Nicolae Ceaușes ...
into scientific practice. These episodes also mark the return of Zare Popescu, the protagonist of ''Zmeura de cîmpie'', who works with Dio at the Institute and whom again experiences life through digressions into historical symbolism, which this time are explicitly about dictatorship. These include an oblique mention of Ceaușescu being convinced that he was about to be replaced by "a
Pisces Pisces may refer to: *Pisces (astrology), an astrological sign Astronomy *Pisces (constellation), a constellation ** Pisces Overdensity, an overdensity of stars in the Milky Way's halo that is situated in the Pisces constellation ** Pisces II, a ...
", and Crăciun declared himself "absolutely convinced" that ''Zodia Scafandrului'' was supposed to end with an overview of the 1989 Revolution as "December". The narrative takes Diogene to
Communist Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
, on a scientific mission which connects him to the Securitate's international schemes, and fictionalizes events related to the
Gdańsk Shipyard The Gdańsk Shipyard (, formerly Lenin Shipyard) is a large Polish shipyard, located in the city of Gdańsk, northern Poland. The yard gained international fame when Polish trade union Solidarity () was founded there in September 1980. It is sit ...
strikes.


Other late works

Mircea Nedelciu's other short prose work include his 1998 contribution to
erotic literature Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of eros (concept), eros (passionate, romantic or sexual relationships) intended to arouse similar feelings in readers. This contrasts erotica, which focuses more specifically ...
, which reworked a similar 19th-century piece by the folk writer Ion Creangă (''Povestea poveștilor'', "Tale of All Tales"), thus seeking to liberate profane language. Nedelciu, who deemed Creangă "the ballsiest Romanian-language storyteller", placed his version of the story during the late years of communism, describing sexual encounters between female teachers and party activists. Literary critic
Paul Cernat Paul Cernat (born August 5, 1972 in Bucharest) is a Romanian essayist and literary critic. He has a Ph.D. summa cum laude in philology. Cernat has been a member of the Writers' Union of Romania since 2009. As of 2013, he is lecturer of Romanian l ...
commended the work for its "overflowing relish", and concluded on the posthumous relationship between the two authors and their treatment of
Romanian folklore The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romania ...
: "the genuine storyteller, bearer of the
oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid **Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or ora ...
, peasant culture in the written from ersusthe Postmodern prose writer, who has seen everything written culture has to offer, returning to the rudimentary, popular roots of his writing". The text was among those rejected by , who claimed: "Ion Creangă's text is not simply
picturesque Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...
, it is refined and full of charm, while Mircea Nedelciu's, fashioned in a cold manner, lacking the joy of storytelling, is merely vulgar." Several other scattered prose fragments were discovered only after Nedelciu died. Among them is ''Uriaşa şi ciudata pasăre a viselor noastre'' ("The Giant and Weird Bird in Our Dreams"), which seems to refer to his countryside escapades with Ion Dumitriu and others. Literary critic
Carmen Muşat ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
advances a hypothesis according to which the undated work dates ca. 1990, basing it on various clues in the text. She also describes the "key" of the piece as being provided by its
motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...
, "Now that we are done creating the world, what's left for us other than recreating it?" This, the critic argues, results in a "representative text for Mircea Nedelciu's prose", or "a story told with naturalness and well-tempered irony, about the ambiguity of relations between the narrator, the characters and the reader, about their double rooting in reality and textuality, as well as about their adventures in this '
through the looking-glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, University of Oxford. I ...
country' that is literature." The main intertextual reference in this case is
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
: ''Uriaşa şi ciudata pasăre a viselor noastre'' transmits images or sections of text borrowed from '' The Snows of Kilimanjaro'', ''
Hills Like White Elephants "Hills Like White Elephants" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published in August 1927 in the literary magazine ''transition'', then later that year in the short story collection '' Men Without Women''. In 2002, the story was a ...
'' and ''
The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. Set in Africa, it was published in the September 1936 issue of ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine. The story was eventually adapted to the screen as the Zoltan Korda film '' ...
''.


Legacy

Nedelciu has been voted among Romania's most important novelists in 2001, following a poll by ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'' review: out of 150 novels, ''Femeia în roşu'' was voted 23rd-best, with ''Tratament fabulatoriu'' at 28 and ''Zmeura de cîmpie'' at 139. An edition of ''Zodia Scafandrului'' was published in 2000, sparking debates about the appropriateness of circulating unfinished versions of one's work. Nedelciu's posthumous bibliography also includes a 1999 selection of his entire work (under the collective title ''Aventuri într-o curte interioară'') and a 2003 version of ''Femeia în roşu'', as well as the collection ''Proză scurtă'' ("Short Prose" or "The Mircea Nedelciu Reader"). They were followed by a reprint of ''Zmeura...'' and third editions of ''Tratament fabulatoriu'' (2006) and ''Femeia în roșu'' (2008). Several other of his stories saw print in stages after his death (including ''Uriașa și ciudata pasăre a viselor noastre'', published by ''Observator Cultural'' in July 2008). In addition to Mircea Mihăieș, who recounts having learned the techniques of novelistic writing from his friend, a new generation of authors, most of whom debuted in the 1990s, assimilated influences from the writings of Nedelciu. Among them are
Dan Lungu Dan Lungu (; born September 15, 1969) is a Romanian novelist, short story writer, poet and dramatist, also known as a literary theorist and sociologist. The recipient of critical acclaim for his short story volume ''Cheta la flegmă'' ("Quest for ...
,
Sorin Stoica Sorin Stoica (born January 5, 1976, in Romania) is an American soccer referee from Ohio. Stoica made his Major League Soccer refereeing debut in a 2012 match between the Houston Dynamo and the New York Red Bulls. Notable matches On September 8, ...
, Lucian Dan Teodorovici, Andrei Bodiu, and Călin Torsan. Nedelciu's reworking of ''Povestea poveștilor'', alongside Creangă's original and similar texts, was transformed into an eponymous
fringe theater Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Kemp, Robert, ''More that is Fr ...
show, directed by actor Gheorghe Hibovski and premiered in spring 2009. According to critic
Cornel Ungureanu Cornel may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Cornel (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname * Cornel Wilde (1915–1989), American actor and director born Kornél Lajos Weisz * Eric Cornel (born 1996), Canadian hockey player * Corn ...
, ''Femeia în roșu'' has endured as "the manifesto of ''Optzeciști'' prose writers, an exemplary work of autochthonous Postmodernism", while its main character,
Ana Cumpănaș Ana Cumpănaș or Anna Sage, nicknamed Woman in Red (1889 – April 25, 1947), was a Romanian prostitute and brothel owner in the American cities of Chicago and Gary, Indiana. She is best known for having assisted the Federal Bureau of Investiga ...
, has grown into "the actual aunt of autochthonous Postmodernism." However, Daniel Cristea-Enache claimed, Nedelciu has become a victim of lack of interest, or "our lack of critical memory", after 1999, a phenomenon which he contrasts with the "almost always positive old critical references". Cristea-Enache believes the "not to flattering" explanation resides in the critical establishment's acknowledgment that Nedelciu "is not one of the sizable novelists." A different account was offered by Gheorghe Crăciun, who wrote: "Presently, edelciu'sprose is, in the eyes of many (including school textbook authors), a rather precisely charted territory, which may no longer offer surprises, be they thematic or technical." According to Dinițoiu (who bases her conclusions on 2005 inquires among
University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...
students), Nedelciu's popularity declined not just because of his difficult stylistic approach, but also because "the referent" of "microrealism" has vanished—whereas Cărtărescu's "imaginative constructs" had maintained "a good quotation on the market of values." In November 2002, during events marking Nedelciu's 52nd birthday, the
Fundulea Fundulea is an agricultural town in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania. It is on the Bărăgan Plain, approximately east of the capital Bucharest, in the historical region of Wallachia. It has a population of 6,714 (as of 2021). The A2 freeway ...
school which the writer had attended as a child was renamed in his honor. Ion Bogdan Lefter
"Școala 'Mircea Nedelciu' "
in ''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Nr. 143, November 2002
Ion Bogdan Lefter, who attended the event, commented: "Fundulea has become a spot on Romania's cultural map, owing to him, to Nedelciu, just like other small communities—albeit not many!—are renowned for being the places which so and so have left in order to become great names in national creativity..." Since 2002, the annual Gaudeamus Book Fair hosts an essay contest on literary subjects, targeting students in their final years of high school and awarding the Mircea Nedelciu National Prize for Reading.


Notes


References

*
Marcel Cornis-Pope Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian ...
, "1989. From Resistance to Reformulation", in Marcel Cornis-Pope, John Neubauer (eds.), ''History of the Literary Cultures of East-Central Europe'',
John Benjamins John Benjamins Publishing Company is an independent academic publisher in social sciences and humanities with its head office in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company was founded in the 1960s by John and Claire Benjamins and is currently managed ...
, Amsterdam & Philadelphia, 2004, p. 39-51. * Florin Mihăilescu, ''De la proletcultism la postmodernism'', Editura Pontica, Constanța, 2002. *
Harold Segel Harold Bernard Segel (September 13, 1930 – March 16, 2016) was professor emeritus of Slavic literatures and of comparative literature at Columbia University. Segel was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and attended Boston Latin School. He majored ...
, ''The Columbia Literary History of Eastern Europe Since 1945'',
Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...
, New York & Chichester, 2008. * Adina Dinițoiu, ''Proza lui Mircea Nedelciu. Puterile literaturii în fața politicului și a morții'' (Editura Tracus Arte, București, 2011
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