Hello everyone, welcome back to the blog. This week’s book is the The Trenchcoat by Norman Manea. The story takes place in communist Romania close to the government’s collapse in a 1989. It revolves around two couples going to a dinner party hosted by old acquaintances, and the aftermath of this visit. While nothing really […]
Posted in Blogs, Manea | Tagged with Cold War, Mystery, Romania, week 9
This week’s reading was an interesting yet difficult book to read as it was more focused on the backgrounds of war, with similarities to George Orwell’s 1984 which I’ve read in the past. After finishing “The Trenchcoat,” I was left with a feeling of, “Well, that’s that.” nothing, no deep feelings of emotions—just a quiet […]
Seemingly becoming a trend, I again feel very neutral about this book. When I finished reading, all I thought was “okay, I guess that’s it,” and not much else. I chose this book this week because I am interested in the Cold War and the Soviet Bloc countries during this time period. I think this […]
Posted in Blogs, Manea | Tagged with communism, control, fear, norman manea, surveillance, The Trenchcoat, trenchcoat
At the very start of this book, I was so confused on what was happening. Then, when I got to the middle I was starting to get it, and then by the end, I was even more confused. The trench coat, the rain coat, the overcoat. I simply could not tell you w…
Posted in Blogs, Manea | Tagged with history, paranoia, politics
At the very start of this book, I was so confused on what was happening. Then, when I got to the middle I was starting to get it, and then by the end, I was even more confused. The trench coat, the rain coat, the overcoat. I simply could not tell you w…
Posted in Blogs, Manea | Tagged with history, paranoia, politics
Hearing from Professor Manea himself was a true honour. Such a deeply personal insight into the book through the lens of the author and his experience. After hearing about his life, about totalitarian Romania, about his exodus, it all made The Trenchcoat much clearer. I have to say though, even after knowing more about the […]
Posted in Blogs, Manea | Tagged with norman manea, trenchcoat
While reading ‘The Trenchcoat’ by Norman Manea, I was reminded greatly of two books written in a similar time period and location. The first of which was, ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’, by Milan Kundera, and the other being, ‘The Reader…
Posted in Blogs, Manea | Tagged with censorship, literary parallels, paranoia, regime
While reading ‘The Trenchcoat’ by Norman Manea, I was reminded greatly of two books written in a similar time period and location. The first of which was, ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’, by Milan Kundera, and the other being, ‘The Reader…
Posted in Blogs, Manea | Tagged with censorship, literary parallels, paranoia, regime
Norman Manea’s short novella called “The Trenchcoat” in the book “Compulsory Happiness” has a simple title that is straight to…
Like some of my peers in the class, I also watched the lecture before reading the text, and I feel like I will continue to do so for the remainder of the readings. The context of the Romanian communism and the censorship that Manea had to endure to write and publish this story is something […]
Posted in Blogs, Manea | Tagged with communism, paranoia, suspicion
