Writer and journalist Alexandru Popescu on May 24 launched his second novel entitled “Colorless Depths”. The book appeared at the ARC publishing house in Chisinau and tells the drama of inhabitants of a fictitious village from the Bugeac Steppe, IPN reports. The setting is a mystic lake that swallows human lives and is seasoned with violence, alcohol, stealing, corruption and other realities of the Republic of Moldova.
“It is an interesting novel in which Alexandru Popescu scans the mentality of villagers from southern Bessarabia. What I highly appreciate is the author’s capacity not to lose the narrative line. Each character is supported and taken to a particular denouement,” write Vitalie Ciobanu stated in the launch.
For his part, literary critic Eugen Lungu spoke about the themes treated in the novel, especially the brute force and the historical tradition. “It is not simple narrative. He (the author) presents everything through a number of artistic and symbolical elements. He knows to give artistic credibility to fiction. In the novel, the distance between the reality and simulation disappears. I think this novel by Alexandru Popescu is also a success of the author,” he stated.
“When I was writing, I cried and laughed together with the characters. I feared I will be suspected of graphomania as I issued two novels during two years. When I finished the manuscript for “Colorless Depths”, I realized I do not have what to add or remove from the text. Why should I put off its publication? What if the end of the world comes tomorrow? It would have been a pity to delay the printing of the novel until then. I admit that this is a childish thought, but it influenced my decision to publish the novel,” said Alexandru Popescu.
The author took part with his new novel in the Romanian Literature Days that were staged in Chisinau during May 16-20 by the Editors’ Union of the Republic of Moldova. It was the seventh edition of this event that is a platform for writers from Romania and the Republic of Moldova to meet with readers and discuss books.
Alexandru Popescu, who was born in Bender, made his debut as a writer last year with the novel “Montana”, which is about the drama of a child who was a witness to the Nistru armed conflict of 1992. The book was praised by literary critics and received several awards, including the literature debut award of the Municipal Library “B.P. Hașdeu”. The author earlier worked for TV and radio stations in Moldova and also for IPN News Agency. He now lives in the British town Maidstone together with his wife and daughter.
