The Return: A Family Revisits Their Eastern European Roots

by Petru Popescu

Romania's most famous literary ex-patriate traces the story of his family's escape from communism, his marriage to the Jewish daughter of survivors of the Auschwitz concentration camp, and his and his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802116132
• ISBN13: 9780802116130
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Grove/Atlantic
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Worth Reading

I would like to thank Petru Popescu for writing this book and for so openly sharing his experiences of, and feelings about, life in Romania. Having several Romanian friends and acquaintances, Popescu's book filled in a lot of blanks for me, and answered questions that have sometimes proven much too painful for my friends to answer. I have researched Romania's communist and recent history fairly extensively in the course of my work, and have not come across anything that has been as informative on a personal level as The Return. Other reviewers here have noted that Popescu comes across as a bit full of himself. I agree. On page 220 he notes that his wife, whom he obviously loves very much, has been "imprinted by motherhood, but (is) still thin." (If my husband paid me a compliment like that, I would throw all of his clothes out on the lawn. Who "imprinted" her, exactly? ) He also informs the reader that he is talented, published, filmed, televised, well-known, flies first class, owns a Mercedes, resides in the 90210 zip code, and has enjoyed many a sexual escapade to boot. While Popescu may lack modesty and his womanizing may strike some readers as a bit disturbing, this book is worth reading. Popescu has spared nothing in displaying the details of his humanity both within and apart from communism. It is a story that should be heard.

A Haunting Look Back

The images are vivid and many lives are captured in Popescu's book. We find in his 'return' the return we must all make.