Paul Eugen Banciu: înfruntare și singurătate
Paul Eugen Banciu: Confrontation and Solitude

Summary/Abstract: Our present approach aims to underline the resemblances and differences between the latest novels by Paul Eugen Banciu, belonging to The Circle Crossing sequence: The Piranha (2012) and The Solitude of Light (2012). Although the former deals with social and political themes and the latter is, basically, an alegorical autobiography, motifs and patterns well-known in Banciu’s works can be easily recognized in both novels: the antihero, the esoteric side of the world, the clash between spirit and matter, the power of the written word, the unstable contemporary world. The estranged protagonist displaying traits characteristic of the flawed hero can find his ivory tower not only by climbing mountains (The Solitude of Light), but also in the busy life of a provincial town where politicians fight for power, journalists get mixed in dirty business, marriages have their ups and downs, families can be oppressive (The Piranha). The symbol of the predatory fish is significant for a whole category of people and a philosophical view on life, while light can be a blessing hard to bear.

• Details
• Contents