English / Română
Critical assessments of the novel Traga Serpilor
Romania literară
In issue 18 of May 10-15, 2000 of the prestigious magazine Romania Literară, on page 6, there appeared a laudatory article about the novel Traga Șerpilor, called Adventures at Teleorman River, written by Geo Vasile. Searching the internet for information about Geo Vasile we find:
Geo Vasile
Geo Vasile (born June 21, 1942, Bucharest) is a Romanian specialist in Italian language, literature and culture, literary critic, translator, and poet. He graduated from the College “St. Sava” and then the courses of the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages, and Literatures, where he had as teachers, among other illustrious personalities, Nina Façon, Alexandru Balaci, George Lăzărescu, Doina Derer and Marco Cugno (Italian and Romanian section). His thesis was the first study in our university world about the poetry and prose of Cesare Pavese. He worked as a country teacher (1967-1971), librarian at the international exchange service of the National Library (1971-1990), after 1990 editor of the cultural page at the daily Dimineaţa and then at the weekly Baricada (1991-1996); he currently collaborates with several literary magazines, among which Luceafărul de dimineață, Romania literară, Hyperyon, etc. Publishing debut: a volume of poems by Mimmo Morina, Insula regăsită, translated from Italian, foreword by Marin Sorescu (1987). At the beginning of November 2008, he participated in an evening of Romanian-Italian poetry hosted by the Accademia di Romania in Rome. On that occasion there were launched in the presence of a large audience, the Minister Advisor, the Italianist Mihail Banciu from the Romanian Embassy and the Deputy Director of the Accademia di Romania, Daniela Crăsnaru, three poetic anthologies, two bilingual, George Bacovia: Plumb. Versuri. Piombo. Versi, Marino Piazzolla: I fiori del dolore. Florile durerii, and Mihai Eminescu: Iperione. Poesie scelte, all three volumes published in 2008 at Fermenti Editrice in Rome. He argues in Italian an essay on the motive of universal pain in the work of the three poets. The Italian critics Donato di Stasi and Antonella Calzolari also intervened. In June 2009, invited by the director of the Romanian Institute of Culture and Humanistic Research in Venice (Casa Iorga), Monica Joiţa, he participated in the launch of the bilingual poetic anthology Gellu Naum “A cincea esenţă. La quinta essenza” as a translator and exegete of the work of the great Romanian surrealist, on which occasion he was awarded at the City Hall the medal of the city of Venice for the promotion of Romanian-Italian cultural relations and friendship. Univ. prof. Silvana Tamiozzo and critic Nicola Cecconi intervened. From Venice he continued his Italian stay in Friuli Venezia Giulia, invited by the novelist Marco Salvador. On this occasion he visited several cultural-historical sites, including the Center for Pasolinian Studies as well as the cemetery in Casarsa, where the mortal remains of the great writer Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922 – 1975) were brought from Rome and buried, and Villa Manin in Passariano (Codroipo), a monumental architectural complex from the XVI, the home of the last Doge of Venice, Ludovico Manin, and which hosted an extensive retrospective of the painterly work of the artist Giuseppe Zigaina (born 1924 Cervignano del Friuli). Towards the end of May 2010, he gives lectures in Italian in Florence about Mario Luzi and Eminescu; lectures in the presence of the author Tiziano Scarpa about his novel “Stabat mater” at the Romanian Institute of Culture in Venice. He travels to Catania, a Sicilian city whose symbol is the elephant and whose spiritual patron saint is St. Agata (to visit the homonymous cathedral), to launch his bilingual volume of poetic texts “Nymphs & Kimere”; the event took place on April 13, 2011 at the Libreria Trinacria Libri in Piazza Giovanni Verga, under the auspices of the Akkuaria Association led by the writer Vera Ambra who moderated the meeting; the journalist Francesco Giordano intervened, making a brief history of modern and contemporary Romania and at the same time evoking the names of tutelary personalities of Romanian literature and culture; the young poet and exegete Gabriella Rossitto spoke about the book. The author signed autographs, after which he received an AKKUARIA NEL MONDO crystal trophy and the title of Ambasciatore di Akkuaria in Romania. Geo Vasile was invited on April 16 to Modica, the hometown of Salvatore Quasimodo, laureate of the Nobel Prize. Here he makes a brief mention of the famous author and reads in his own translation some texts of the great Italian poet, then reproduced in the original by local poets participating in this important event, widely covered by the Sicilian press, written and audio-visual. The writer Domenico Pisana made an extensive presentation of the book “Nymphs & Kimere”. At the end of the meeting that took place in the multi-functional Palazzo Grimaldi headquarters, Geo Vasile read the ballad “Mioriţa”, translated by himself into Italian. The applause of the Modica audience confirmed the poetic and spiritual beauty of the oldest text in Romanian folklore. The literary critic and poet from Bucharest was awarded a diploma signed by the mayor of the city, Antonello Buscema, the Advisor for Culture, dr-ssa Annamaria Sammito and the President of the “Salvatore Quasimodo” Literary Cafe, Prof. Domenico Pisana, as well as a tribute medallion “Caffé Literario Salvatore Quasimodo”. On the occasion of the trip to the most important island of Italy, he visited the main artistic, religious and archaeological sites in Catania, Acireale, Acicastello, Siracusa, etc. Between September 26 and 30, 2011, he is in Rome, at the invitation of some Romanian-Italian cultural associations. He is the protagonist of two poetic events based on his own bilingual anthologies George Bacovia (Cu voi. Con voi) and Mario Luzi (Conoscenza per ardore. Cunoaştere prin ardoare). So, on Sept. 29 takes place at Galleria La Pigna – Palazzo Marescotti the evening “30 anni dalla nascita del simbolista romano George Bacovia” which enjoyed the critical essays belonging to the poet and critic Roberto Piperno and Mioara Moraru, coordinator H.C. Cicortaş, the president of FIRI; on September 30 The Accademia di Romania hosted the critical contributions to the poetic work of Mario Luzi, signed by the writer Francesco Baldassi, the poet and prose writer Rossella Pompeo, by Prof. Lidia Gargiulo and Dante Fasciolo, coordinator being the poet and prose writer Tatiana Ciobanu. Later, Laura Raineri and Simona Verrusio spoke about Bacovia through exceptional essays that reached to the undersigned. The two poetry evenings, which took place at a genuine academic level and at the same time in a relaxed atmosphere, of cordial friendship and communication, were enjoyed by readings from the verses of the two great poets, in Italian and Romanian, accompanied by a mini-harp, harmonious, enveloping, and emotional by Cristiana Lauri; at the end of the evenings, the author of the bilingual editions, George Bacovia and Mario Luzi, gave autographs and dedications to everyone who wanted. In 2012 and 2013 there were book launches by the undersigned and lectures on Italian poetry (from Dante to Mario Luzi) as well as on Romanian, modern and contemporary poetry in Palma Campania, Bologna, San Marino, Brescia, Verona, Como, Milan. On September 18, 2013, at the headquarters of the Embassy of the Italian Republic in Bucharest, His Excellency Ambassador Diego Brasioli awarded him the Stella d’Italia order in the rank of Knight for his books, studies and conferences dedicated to the promotion of the Italian language and literature in Romania, as well as the related diploma signed by the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano.
Adventures at Teleorman River
Adrian Grigore, 43 years old, born in Humele – Argeş, spent his childhood at the valley of Teleorman River. He completed high school at Ocna Sibiului. A graduate of the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications in Bucharest, he works in the field of seismic equipment at the National Institute for Earth Physics. Passionate about archeology and literature, he reveals the historical novel Traga Şerpilor, a surprising debut through the skill of the narrative, through the stylistic balance between the adventurous, dramatic account, the effective, plastic description, and the captivating characterological orality. In short, it is about talent, an artistic intuition rarely acquired from the first fire, which makes us believe that the author will almost be forced to take himself seriously and “relapse” at least at the level of this book. Silviu Angelescu, the “Calpuzanii” (Counterfeiters) expert, greatly appreciating Adrian Grigore’s writing, warns us that this is “the end of the Fanariot century”. That is, from the last part of Vodă Şuţu’s reign over Wallachia. The story focuses on the Teleorman valley, with its nature, villages, and hamlets at the crossroads of the elements, but also of Turkish invasions or, more recently, of tyrannical rulers, such as that of archon Demetriu Caraminu, who arrived precisely from Ţarigrad. The introduction to the situation of those places and times is done by old man Dobre from Ciupag, a village of freeholders, still unsatisfied by the morbid thirst for power of the Levantine upstart. Pre-apocalyptic figure, because it is like the seven-headed beast that the Holy Book says will appear at the end of the world. Even the old man Dobre, a kind of chief of wisdom and heresies but also of the codes of humanity, reveals to us what Traga şerpilor from Boancelor forest is: a kind of black shelter of unclean spirits, a labyrinth of ravines and swamps, haunted by the Enemy, of carrions and crawlers under which a treasure would have been buried. Of which the cattle merchant Schuster and the commander of the imperial police Werner, both from Sibiu, find out through the testimony of the old man Buzdrună. The connection with the Teleorman protagonists (Caraminu, the feudal from Izvoarele, old man Dobre, present at Fântâna Trăznită, a stopping place on the way to the Glavacioc fair and the gossip, the monk Teodosie Hoinarul, Enea, the rebellious young from Ciupag who escaped from the gallows, etc.) it is done by the picturesque Transylvanian Pătru Cărătuş, disguised as a cowboy, a trader of cattle, but also of weapons that will find their place in the vaults and galleries of the hider of weapons, prepared for the uprising that will start by uniting with the pandours of the purveyor Vladimirescu, on the way to Bucharest.
The curse and the demon from the Traga Şerpilor will be exorcised by the coming out of inertia, stacking and disunity of the owners of those places where they have been worthying to live there since ancient times. A rehabilitation of their illustrious genealogy between Buzoieşti and Purcăreni, passing through Goia, Deagu, Izvoarele, Palanga, settlements once beaten by the outlaws of the Teleorman forests, is done by Adrian Grigore, to whom the locals today cannot help but be grateful. From our point of view, the novel is a success especially in terms of style. Enveloping and varied, and yet recognizable from the books of classic authors, along the lines of Filimon – Galaction, taken over by Zaharia Stancu and Horia Stancu, Eugen Barbu, etc. We let ourselves be carried away by the adventurous side, mystery, suspense, chases, travesties, conspiracies and sales, kidnappings and races, skirmishes, and robberies, by everything that means an action novel, whose charm lies in temerity epic of the common place. Originality at any cost is not part of Adrian Grigore’s recipe. He prefers the efficiency and authenticity of the white, predictable, conventional narrative. Caraminu’s mansion seems like a quasi-prop. And yet credible, like the conceptual, almost bookish language of the Levantine servants who do not tend to use dithyrambic formulas. The author does not avoid recontextualizing expressions and comparisons verified over time (the thicket like a brush – the night black as fuel, etc.). Adrian Grigore is original in the sense of intuition of the dosage in the dynamic scenes, with characters on the edge, pursued, between life and death, locked in terrifying confrontations. Which does not mean that the description of the abbot’s cell does not excite. Not at all commercial, Traga Şerpilor is a novel to be read on the train in the sense of the most passionate reading. Also due to the impeccable clarity of the narrative.
Geo Vasile
In the journal of researchers in physics, CURIERUL DE FIZICĂ, No. 84, May 2019, an article written by Ioana Varga – professor of Literature appeared on page 43. This article manages to penetrate the true essence of the message that the author Adrian Grigore wants to convey through the novel Cercetător între veacuri. We recommend you to read it.
“RESEARCHER BETWEEN THE AGES” – the difficult path of knowledge – Adrian Grigore’s book – “Researcher between the ages” – published by ePublishers and launched at the last edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair (November 2018) offers to the reader a deep and careful approach to understanding to the scientist in the times we are going through – through and between the ages; the fiction of the novel oscillates between the present time and the time of history. The theme of the action is projected in the motto that opens the book: “Where is the sage? Where’s the scholar? Where is the researcher of this age? Has not God proved the wisdom of this world foolish?” (I Corinthians, 1:20). Having as its first temporal landmark the events of 1989, the author evokes significant aspects of the life of the main character – the Researcher – speaking for the position of scientific research in Romanian society at the turn of the century (agricultural work, trade union rallies, truth obstruction maneuvers etc.). Disregarded and enslaved in the last century, despised and humiliated in this age, the researcher, engaged in finding the truth, seems anachronistic in a society that makes “convenient truths”; the oppressors do not change with the times. The narrative “wraps” around Tower B – the pillar of scientific information, crowned with the iconic giant atom, once the proud expression of scientific research. Driven by an older childish desire to touch the giant atom – an exacerbation of the essence of the material world – the researcher bursts into Tower B, affected by the harsh winter weather.
The library – the informational treasure of research – triggers, due to the unfortunate injury of the researcher (he slips on the stairs and hits his head), a real initiatory journey of the main character, in search of the Truth. It traverses the Ages, from ancient Nineveh to the present day, entering and leaving time, as in the waters of parallel mirrors, depending on the moments of fainting or return to diurnal reality; it deforms or clears after subjective temporal landmarks. The contact with the immanent reality is maintained by the presence of the cat Isaac – discreet witness of History. The plans of the narrative intersect; time expands or it contracts in close connection with the emotional memory of the main character. The loss of contact with “objective” reality paradoxically leads to its depth.
The initiatory journey into the Assyro-Babylonian space, undertaken by the character of the book, aims to save information – the ceramic tablets of the library in ancient Nineveh – and, implicitly, to find the way to know the Truth. If the ancient library is well hidden, secured so as not to be destroyed by the avatars of history, the library in Tower B – the one in Nineveh – is exposed to perishability. The issue of information retention opens a wide field of reflection. The testimonies of the times seem to show that the material support for storing information is increasingly vulnerable. Does digitalization protect us from this vulnerability?! Information paves the way for knowledge, but is it enough? The truth about Creation involves much more!
The meeting with the “researcher father”, the discussion at the forest hermitage opens the horizon for the researcher to the true way of knowing the Truth – the Creator’s indulgence and help in discovering Creation: “Knowledge and faith can only be together… You cannot know without believing… We would discover nothing if the Creator of all things did not allow us to do it. (See p. 182 et seq.). The desecration of scientific knowledge takes us (paradoxically!) away from the Creator’s Work: “The researchers of the new age will have to bring the sacred back into science. Otherwise, humanity will stand at a kind of barrier that blocks the path to true knowledge. We will be proud when we move the barrier one step further, on a path whose end we will never be able to reach…” The famous phrase attributed to Malraux seems, in this context, the argument of a revelation – “the 21st century will be religious or not at all”. The researcher, “crushed between two ages”, will have to put “faith before reason, theological virtue before the searching mind”. It is a very difficult path, but the only true one that leads to the essence and meaning of knowledge; without the divine spark, wisdom is madness, as the book’s motto warns us.
In addition to real fictional qualities due to the narrative construction in adjacent planes (sometimes difficult for an uninformed reader to follow) and the fluent style, Adrian Grigore’s book proposes to the reader an issue that cannot leave him indifferent.
Professor Ioana Varga
This review of the novel Cercetător intre veacuri, under the signature of Professor Ioana Varga, appeared in Lumina Lina – Journal of spirituality and Romanian culture, (Annul XXIX/ No. 2 April-June 2024, page 166), edited by the Romanian Institute of Theology and Orthodox Spirituality from New York – USA
American Press
The book has New York Times Magazine print Ad ( page 5) in June 18, 2023 see below:
or the website: www.adrian-grigore.com )
Scientific press
