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Doina Ruști

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Doina Ruști
Rusti at London, 2022
Rusti at London, 2022
Born (1957-02-15) 15 February 1957 (age 67)
Comoșteni, Dolj County, Romania
OccupationWriter
LanguageRomanian
Alma materUniversity of Bucharest
Periodpostcommunist
Genre
Years active1998–present
Notable worksOccult Beds, Homeric, The Phanariot Manuscript, Lizoanca at the Age of Eleven, The Ghost in the Mill, Zogru
Notable awardsRomanian Academy's Ion Creangă Award
Romanian Writer's Union Prose Award
Bucharest Writers Association Award
Website
doinarusti.ro

Doina Ruști (Romanian pronunciation: [dojna ruʃti], born 15 February 1957) is a Romanian writer and novelist.[1]

Some of her novels are: Fantoma din moară [ro][2][3] 2008, Zogru [ro], 2006, and Lizoanca la 11 ani, 2009.[4][5][6] Her best-known novel in the English-speaking world is The Book of Perilous Dishes.[7]

Biography

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Ruști was born in Comoșteni, Dolj County. She was brought up in a village in the south of Romania by her parents and teachers, struggling to survive in a communist world. Her blood accommodates ancestry ranging from Montenegrin to Jews and especially Danubian Romanians, all with long names ending in -escu, most of them teachers, store keepers, and horse dealers. Her childhood home in Comoșteni preserved the experiences of a Balkan world, collected throughout hundreds of years.

Ruști's youth was spent in a house which had saved the traces of a past rich in events, carriages, coffers, and period clothes, crowned by plenty of books and objects which incited her imagination. But this world had brutally come to an end. When she was eleven, her father was murdered under mysterious circumstances, which have not been elucidated even to this day. The insecurity, oppression, absurd rules and chaos installed at the end of communism blended with the fantastic universe of a village governed by ghost tales, hierophanies, and underground forces, and this dramatic and magical setting inspired the novel Fantoma din moară (The Ghost in the Mill).[8] For this novel, she was awarded the Prize of the Writers' Union of Romania.[9]

Work

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A representative contemporary writer, Ruști has a wide variety of topics covered in her novels with a systematic construction. Some of her books were translated into international languages.[10]

Her novel Lizoanca la 11 ani, 2009, 2017 was awarded the Ion Creangă Prize of the Romanian Academy.[11] It was remarked as "one of the most powerful contemporary Romanian novels",[12] from the point of view of its themes and typology construction (according to Paul Cernat, Gelu Ionescu,[13] în vol. Târziu de departe, Ed Cartea Românească, 2012, pp. 112 si urm. Gelu Ionescu is the exeget of Eugen Ionesco. On its publication, Lizoanca caused debates, as it brought to the public's attention the story of a child almost unanimously accused of the atrocities committed by the accusers.[14] Translated into German, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, and Serbian, the novel had reviews and kindled debates on taboo themes, such as pedophilia, domestic abuse, the issue of children with incompetent parents[15][16] (Marina Freier and Magyar Nemzet). For that matter, the topic of family decay as an institution is recurrent in all the novels written by Doina Ruști.[17]

Her bestseller Manuscrisul fanariot [ro] (The Phanariot Manuscript), 2015, 2016, 2017), which novelizes a18th-century's love story, was followed by Mâța Vinerii (The Book of Perilous Dishes, 2017),[7] a tale about sorcerers and magical culinary recipes, translated into English, German, Spanish, and Hungarian.[18] These two books give a perspective on a quite controversial historical period: the 18th Phanariot century. The stodgy style, the poetic overlay and the narrative fluidity were hallmarks of these two books. She is also the author of the novel Omulețul roșu (The Little Red Man, 2004, 2012), which was awarded the prize of the magazine Convorbiri Literare, and the multi-awarded Zogru (2006, 2015), a meta-novel translated into Italian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, and Spanish.

Ruști brings a specific vision into literature, exhibited throughout all strata of her work, but especially from a linguistic point of view. The creativity of expression lends the marker of her writing.[19][20]

She also wrote a number of short stories, published in periodicals and anthologies.

Style

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Taking an interest in both the fantastic and realist genres, Doina Ruști succeeds in writing as persuasively about the atrocities of the contemporary world and high ideals. Her novels often feature rapists, murderers, people who are starving, become corrupt or consumed by trivial commitments, reminding us of William Faulkner's characters – writer who has always inspired her. Ruști also brings to life fantastic characters, elves, sprites, ghosts, magical cats and sorcerers, which prompted some critics to compare her work with Marc Chagall,[21] with Mikhail Bulgakov's,[22] Süskind's and Márquez's[23][15] (according to Dan C. Mihăilescu,[24][25] Marco Dotti[26] and Neue Zürcher Zeitung[8]). The diversified themes that are strongly related to the present, as well as the ability of Doina Rusti of switching between registers, place her among the writers of contemporary Romanian literature (according to Nicolae Breban, Norman Manea,[27][28] Daniel Cristea-Enache[29]).

Novels

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  • Paturi oculte (Occult Beds) , Litera, 2020
  • Homeric, Polirom, 2019
  • Logodnica (The Fiancée), Polirom, 2017
  • Mâța Vinerii [ro] (The Book of Perilous Dishes), Polirom, 2017
  • Lizoanca la 11 ani [ro], Trei, 2009; Polirom, Top 10+, 2017
  • Manuscrisul fanariot [ro], (The Phanariot Manuscript) Polirom, 2015, 2016
  • Zogru [ro], 2nd ed, Polirom, Top 10+, 2013
  • Mămica la două albăstrele (The Story of an Adulterer), Polirom, 2013
  • Patru bărbați plus Aurelius (Four Men Plus Aurelius), Polirom, 2011
  • Cămașa în carouri și alte 10 întâmplări din București (The Checkered Shirt and 10 other episodes from Bucharest), a narrative puzzle, Polirom, 2010
  • Fantoma din moară(The Ghost in the Mill/Das Phantom in der Muhle), Polirom, 2008.
  • Zogru, Polirom, Iași, 2006, 2nd ed, 2013
  • Omulețul roșu (The Little Red Man), Editura Vremea, Bucharest, 2004

Translated work

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  • The Book of Perilous Dishes, Neem Tree Press, London, 2022
  • La gata del viernes (translation Enrique Nogueras, Esdrújula Ediciones, Granada, 2019[30]
  • Das Phantom in der Mühle (translation Eva Ruth Wemme), Klak Verlag, Berlin, 2017[31]
  • Lizoanca (trad. Szenkovics Enikő), Orpheusz, Budapest, 2015[31]
  • Eliza a los once años (translation Enrique Nogueras), Ediciones Traspiés, Granada, 2014[32]
  • Zogru (translation Szenkovics Enikő), Sétatér Kulturális Egyesüle, 2014[33]
  • Lisoanca, Rediviva Ed., Milano, 2013[34]
  • L'omino rosso, Nikita Editore, Firenze, 2012[35]
  • Bill Cinton's Hand, in Bucharest Tales, New Europe Writers, 2011 (coord: A. Fincham, J. G Coon, John a'Beckett)
  • I miei ginecologi, in Compagne di viaggio, Sandro Teti Editore, 2011 (coord Radu Pavel Gheo, Dan Lungu)
  • Zogru (transl. Roberto Merlo), Ed. Bonanno, Roma, 2010
  • L'omino rosso (transl. Roberto Merlo) in Il romanzo romeno contemporaneo (coord Nicoleta Nesu) Ed. Bagatto Libri, Rome, 2010[36][37]
  • Cristian – Nagyvilag (transl. Noémi László), Budapesta, Sept. 2010
  • The Winner – Nagyvilag (transl. Noémi László), Budapesta, Sept. 2010 etc.
  • Cristian (trans. in fr. Linda Maria Baros), rev Le Bateau Fantôme, no. 8, 2009, Ed. Mathieu Hilfiger
  • Zogru (transl. Vasilka Alexova), Ed. Balkani, 2008
  • Dicționar de simboluri din opera lui Mircea Eliade (frag.) în La Jornada Semanal, nr. 455, 456, Mexico City, 2003 (trans: José Antonio Hernández García)
  • Lizoanca (trans Jan Cornelius), Horlemann Verlag, Berlin

Literary prizes

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  • The Romanian Academy's Ion Creangă Prize for the novel "Lizoanca at the Age of Eleven", 2009[38]
  • The Prize of the Writers Union of Romania for the novel "The Ghost in the Mill", 2008[39]
  • The Golden Medal of Schitul Darvari, for literary activity, 2008
  • The Prize of the Bucharest Writers Association for the novel "Zogru", 2007[40]

Bibliography

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  • Adina Mocanu – La infancia en femenino las niñas, Icaria Editorial, Barcelona, 2016, p. 2017.
  • Ramón Acín – Turia, 115, Instituto de Estudio Turolenses, 2015, p. 323
  • Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary Cinematic Monsters, Routledge, New York, 2015
  • Emanuela Illie – Fantastic și alteritate, Junimea, 2013, p. 92 și urm.
  • Roberto Merlo – Quaderni di studi italieni e romeni, 5, 2010, Edizioni dell'Orso, p. 121
  • Daniel Cristea Enache – Timpuri noi, Ed. Cartea Românească, 2009, pp 172; 174
  • Dan C. Mihăilescu - Femeie cu omuleț, în vol.I Literatura română în postceaușism, II. Prezentul ca dezumanizare, Ed. Polirom, 2006, p. 248
  • Dan C. Mihăilescu - Literatura româneasca în postceausism. II. Proza. Prezentul ca dezumanizare, cap. Realismul apocaliptic și deriziunea, Ed. Polirom, 2006, p. 251
  • Geo Vasile - Elixirul narațiunii, in Romanul sau viața. Prozatori europeni, Ed. Muzeul Literaturii Române, 2007, p. 343 și urm.
  • Gelu Ionescu - Târziu de departe, Ed. Cartea Românească, 2012, pp. 112 si urm
  • Tania Radu - Jocuri riscante, in Chenzine literare, Humanitas, 2014
  • Andrei Simuț - Romanul românesc postcomunist între trauma totalitară și criza prezentului. Tipologii, periodizări, contextualizări, chapter III.3. Panoramări ficționalizante ale trecutului comunist: Un singur cer deasupra lor, Fantoma din moară, Pupa russa, Editura Muzeul Literaturii Române, 2015
  • Călin Teutișan - cap Fantasticul levantin, în Enciclopedia imaginariilor din România. Vol. I: Imaginar literar, coord. Corin Braga, Polirom, 2020.
  • Raluca Andreescu, in Studies in Gothic Fiction, Zittaw Press, 2011
  • Abina Puskás-Bajkó -Maiorca or on the gypsy magic realism of seduction in Doina Ruști's Manuscrisul fanariot, în Journal of Romanian Literary Studies, no. 6/2021, p. 546.
  • Adriana Raducanu - Confessions from the Dead: Reading Ismail Kadare's Spiritus as a ‘Post-Communist Gothic’ Novel, în Postcolonial Europe? Essays on Post-Communist Literatures and Cultures, Editors: Dobrota Pucherova and Robert Gafrik, Brill, 2015
  • Christene d’Anca - Mediating a loss of history in Doina Rusti's The Ghost in the Mill by Journal of European Studies, vol. 48, 3-4: pp. 265–277. , First Published October 22, 2018.
  • Dana Sala - Alessandro Baricco's Seta (Silk) and Doina Ruști's Manuscrisul fanariot (The Phanariot Manuscript), in Weaving a Narrative from Metamorphoses, 2015 ALLRO, Volume 22, Article code 487-121
  • Alina Bako - Images of Alterity in the Contemporary Feminine Prose, Speculum, 2017
  • Bianca Burța Cernat, Ficțiune și magie în Bucureștiul fanariot, Observator Cultural, nr. 863, 2017

References

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  1. ^ Rusti, Doina. "Amazon: about Doina Rusti". Amazon. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  2. ^ "The Ghost in the Mill".
  3. ^ "A Romanian event at the Frankfurt Book Fair: the German translation of the novel "The Ghost in the Mill" by Doina Rusti". www.nineoclock.ro. 11 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  4. ^ Marin, Ileana. "Interview with Doina Ruști, Romanian Novelist". www.arcsproject.org. American Romanian Cultural Society. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Lizoanca at age eleven". 2009.
  6. ^ Lupașcu, Emanuel (January 2022). "Phanariot trilogy (Manuscrisul fanariot, Mâța Vinerii, Homeric". Vasiala '98.
  7. ^ a b "The Book of Perilous Dishes". 14 December 2021.
  8. ^ a b Markus, Bauer (1 April 2018). "Die Securitate schreibt mit" [The Securitate writes along]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Romanian Writer Doina Rusti". Radio Romania International.
  10. ^ Fictiunea OPTm, cultural magasin, platforme. "Fictiunea OPTm". fictiunea.ro. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  11. ^ "Radioromaniacultural.ro".
  12. ^ "Valachia News | Revista 22". 3 November 2009.
  13. ^ Gelu Ionescu
  14. ^ Antonio J. Ubero, La Opinión de Murcia, 3 01, 2015
  15. ^ Ramón Acín – Eliza a los once anos. Doina Ruști., in vol. Turia, 115, Instituto de Estudio Turolenses, 2015, p. 323
  16. ^ Gianluca Veneziani – Il Libero Quotidiano, Torino, 18 May 2012
  17. ^ "Adina Mocanu | University of Craiova". barcelona.academia.edu.
  18. ^ "Spațiile concrete ale cărților pe care le traduc sunt mereu foarte importante - DLITE".
  19. ^ Alessandra Iadicicco. La Stampa, nr 1815, 12 May 2012
  20. ^ La Opinion di Murcia – Antonio J. Ubero, 3 January 2015
  21. ^ "Un espíritu ligeramente inquieto".
  22. ^ -Ovidiu Verdeș, Proba celui de al doilea roman, Revista Cuvântul, iunie, 2006
  23. ^ Horia Gârbea – Ziua literară, 22 ianuarie, 2005
  24. ^ Dan C. Mihăilescu Femeie cu omuleț, în vol. Literatura română în postceaușism, II. Prezentul ca dezumanizare, Ed. Polirom, 2006, p. 248 si urm.
  25. ^ G. Coșoveanu – Cu înțelegere despre duhuri, Revista Ramuri, nr. 9, septembrie, 2006
  26. ^ Marco Dotti -Il Manifesto, 15 mai, Torino, 2011
  27. ^ Bianca Burța-Cernat- Reabilitarea iluziei realiste, Observator cultural, nr. 459, 29 January 2009
  28. ^ Paul Cernat – Revista "22", Bucureștiul cultural, nr. 3 November 2009
  29. ^ Daniel Cristea-Enache – Un vampir de treabă, România Literară, 13 iunie, 2008
  30. ^ "Gira literaria de la escritora Doina Ruști en España". www.icr.ro. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  31. ^ a b "Orpheusz Kiadó". Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  32. ^ "Eliza a los once años : Ediciones Traspiés".
  33. ^ "Sétatér Kulturális Egyesület - Idea könyvtér - erdélyi magyar könyvek".
  34. ^ "Ruști, Doina | Rediviva Edizioni". redivivaedizioni.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016.
  35. ^ "17 | febbraio | 2011 | Futuro Insieme". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  36. ^ ""L'omino rosso" di Doina Ruşti. Una lettura di Diego Zandel – Orizzonti culturali italo-romeni".
  37. ^ "Il Cittadino di Lodi". www.ilcittadino.it. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015.
  38. ^ "Romanul Lizoanca la 11 ani, semnat de Doina Ruști, a primit premiul Academiei Române". HotNews. 13 December 2011.
  39. ^ "Premiile Uniunii Scriitorilor". 19 June 2009.
  40. ^ "Asb.ro". www.asb.ro. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010.
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