Liviu Rebreanu

This classic Romanian novel lends valuable psychological insight into the tragic situation confronting minorities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. It is the story of Apostol Bologa, a middle-class Romanian officer serving in the Austro-Hungarian army who undergoes a transformation as his sense of national consciousness awakens, leading him to make a critical choice that many faced during this era. The novel is based on the life of the author’s brother, Emil Rebreanu, a Romanian officer in the Austro-Hungarian army, to whom he dedicated The Forest of the Hanged. The novel’s protagonist, Bologa undergoes an evolution whereby begins to see beyond class distinction and the veneer of the civilized world. As the hero states, “The soul is the same in the peasant girl as in the countess, at all events in its bare essentials. Only the shape has been changed by civilization.” The inner struggles confronted by Bologa as he confronts the savagery and injustice of war are emotionally portrayed by the author. The Forest of the Hanged is rightfully considered one of the greatest novels in Romanian literature. Liviu Rebeanu (1885-1944) was one of Romania’s most distinguished literary figures. His novel Ion is considered the first modern Romanian novel. This edition of Rebreanu’s famous novel, illustrated by talented young artist Phoebe Cho, includes an introduction by A. K. Brackob.

Written in the interwar period and published in 1927, this psychological thriller captured the imagination of Romanian readers. The book opens with a shock as Puiu, an aristocrat, murders his wife after returning from a ball at the palace. To avoid a public trial and prison sentence, his father instead arranges to have him committed to a mental asylum. Discussions with his psychiatrist reveal the madness and passion of Puiu through the imagery of the wild Ciuleandra dance of the countryside, where he met his future wife. Unfortunately for Puiu, though, his psychiatrist also knew and loved her first... It is also a story of obsessive love and paints an interesting picture of the lives of the Romanian aristocracy at the beginning of the 20th century. The work echoes the world depicted by Russian writers such as Dostoevsky and Gogol, as moments of high drama and emotional intensity are punctuated with ironic descriptions of the corrupt boyar class.

This classic Romanian novel lends valuable psychological insight into the tragic situation confronting minorities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. It is the story of Apostol Bologa, a middle-class Romanian officer serving in the Austro-Hungarian army who undergoes a transformation as his sense of national consciousness awakens, leading him to make a critical choice that many faced during this era. The novel is based on the life of the author’s brother, Emil Rebreanu, a Romanian officer in the Austro-Hungarian army, to whom he dedicated The Forest of the Hanged. The novel’s protagonist, Bologa undergoes an evolution whereby begins to see beyond class distinction and the veneer of the civilized world. As the hero states, “The soul is the same in the peasant girl as in the countess, at all events in its bare essentials. Only the shape has been changed by civilization.” The inner struggles confronted by Bologa as he confronts the savagery and injustice of war are emotionally portrayed by the author. The Forest of the Hanged is rightfully considered one of the greatest novels in Romanian literature. Liviu Rebeanu (1885-1944) was one of Romania’s most distinguished literary figures. His novel Ion is considered the first modern Romanian novel. This edition of Rebreanu’s famous novel, illustrated by talented young artist Phoebe Cho, includes an introduction by A. K. Brackob.