Dimensions
153 x 231 x 24mm
The story opens in Romania under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. Mona Maria, a 17-year-old girl, falls in love with Mihai, a young man who may or may not be with the secret police. Her own father, a professor, is actively involved in the resistance movement which puts his whole family in danger. When it is no longer safe for Mona to stay in her country, she escapes first to Italy, where she is taken in by a kind family, and then finds sponsorship in Chicago, but her experiences there are so dreadful that she runs away and struggles to exist with no money and only rudimentary English language skills. This is a novel with big themes - persecution, exile, love, death, adultery, political intrigue - and the power of this book lies in its extraordinary voice and lyrical language.
