Why a Booktrail?
1950s: A nameless man is found on the steps of the hospital in Iasi, Romania.
1950s: A nameless man is found on the steps of the hospital in Iasi, Romania.
A nameless man is found on the steps of the hospital in Iasi, Romania. He is deaf and mute, but a young nurse named Safta recognizes him from the past and brings him paper and pencils so that he might draw. Gradually, memories appear on the page: the man is Augustin, the cook’s son at the manor house at Poiana, where Safta was the privileged daughter. Born six months apart, they had a connection that bypassed words, but while Augustin’s world stayed the same size, Safta’s expanded to embrace languages, society, and a fleeting love one long, hot summer. But then came war, and in its wake a brutal Stalinist regime, and nothing would remain the same.
Romania
Post World War II Romania is under the brutal Stalinist regime
Iasi
Iași is a city in eastern Romania, near the border with Moldova. Very well known for its huge St. Paraschiva Metropolitan Cathedral, a 19th-century Orthodox church built in Italian Renaissance style
Poiana
Poiana Brașov is home to a ski resort of the same name, with trails on Postăvaru Mountain. This is where the grand house is in the book.
Destination: Iasi, Poiana Author/guide: Georgina Harding Departure Time: 1950s
Back to Results