On your hunt through a sea of Romania books, if you’ve been searching for a history book that examines the complex history of Romania from the ancient to the modern, In Europe’s Shadow is the book you’ve been looking for. A wonderful and colourful portrait of a land untouched and undiscovered by those outside of Transylvania. The book is a log of her life, her travels, and her experiences in the Romanian countryside. Its author, Arabella McIntyre-Brown, is a British writer who spent decades in the UK working as an author and magazine editor before eventually going to too many funerals and feeling deadened by life in Britain and so escaping to the Transylvanian wilderness. I’ll get it on Kindle later,” only to find out that it’s not yet on Kindle.Īll of that aside, A Stake in Transylvania will, eventually, be a book very much worth reading. We picked it up at a bookshop in Bucharest, read the blurb, and thought, “This sounds great. At the time of writing, A Stake in Transylvania is only available in English at bookstores in Bucharest, but it should hopefully be available worldwide soon. Read More: A Guide to Romanian Cuisine A Stake in Transylvania by Arabella McIntyre-Brown Reminiscent of the writing of legendary German author Hans Fallada, Bottled Goods is one of the best Romania books available right now, and is a thrilling novella that feels especially relevant in today’s political climate. Centred around a woman, Alina, and her husband who have come under threat after the husband’s brother defects. This period was a dark and brutal time for everyone in Bucharest who wasn’t friendly with Nicolae Ceausescu, and Bottled Goods captures the suspicion and paranoia which plagued everyday people. Her novel, Bottled Goods, is set during the communist era of 1970s Romania. Sophie Van Llewyn grew up in a little-known part of Romania and currently lives in Germany.

Let’s start with some beautiful contemporary Romanian literature by a woman longlisted for the Women’s Prize 2019.

Bottled goods sophie van llewyn