The Observer, in short

Lead article Ovidiu Simonca comments on Bookfest, the annual book fair, which marked a shift toward a more complex audience. The fair ran from June 6 through June 10. Politics Sabina Fati offers seven reasons for Romania’s post-referendum political crisis. Ciprian Ciucu discusses the necessity of reforming not only Parliament but also the political system. Renate Weber analyses President Basescu’s defensive acts after the referendum and argues that the President has undergone a change of attitude. Latest Carmen Musat discusses Bookfest as an editorial success for contemporary Romanian literature and underlines the fruitful competition between well-known publishing houses – Humanitas, Polirom – and the raising Nemira, Corint, All, and Art. Revisiting Ilina Gregori publishes an excerpt from her conference at the colloquy Monarchische Herrschaftsordnung im europäischen Kontext. Die Dynastie von Hohenzollern Sigmarigen in Rumänien 1866-1947 und die deutsch-rumänischen Beziehungen in Heidelberg, November 2006. Gregori studies Eminescu’s hostile relation to the monarchy. Mircea Muthu revisits Mircea Eliade’s passion for India while commenting on the savant’s youthful studies of Indian religion and mysticism. Book reviews Bianca Burta-Cernat presents Gelu Negrea’s Codul lui Alexandru (Alexander’s Code, Bucharest: Cartea Romaneasca, 2007), a detective story in mixed modes: thriller, Sci-Fi and essay. Nelly Graur comments […]