The 1st HAIKU-NOVEL WORLDWIDE from the Romanian novelist Leonard Oprea
Xlibris Corporation/ Random House Ventures presents:
The FIRST HAIKU-NOVEL WORLDWIDE from the Romanian novelist Leonard Oprea, in an illustrated paperback and hardcover edition – available already on amazon.com and barnes&noble.com – a book unique in the universal literature:
THEOPHIL MAGUS IN BATON ROUGE – a haiku novel.
***
In this haiku novel – the first one in the universal literature – celebrated Romanian novelist Leonard Oprea presents his unique brand of fiction novel to a worldwide audience, serving up a true literary feast that will likely leave the readers craving for more.
Theophil Magus in Baton Rouge , Leonard Oprea’s latest work, is the first haiku novel in history of literary arts, a masterful collection of 101 haiku that pays tribute to the religion, art, culture and laidback atmosphere of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
A deeply personal work, this volume powerfully reflects the life of Leonard Oprea, a genuine Romanian writer and political dissident — during the Ceauşescu’s Communist dictatorship — who later found renewed vigor in the French Quarter, an exotic realm born out of American, African, and Creole cultures; one that boasts of legendary names such as William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams among its famous literary ambassadors.
Here, you will find haiku that are easy to read, yet challenging to fully understand. Leonard Oprea’s pieces reflect on his life in Baton Rouge as an unforgettable experience in connection with Louisiana culture and customs. Featuring a dazzling showcase of photographs of art and people with tragic comically descriptions of life and attitudes, this unique haiku novel will surely leave a lasting, lingering effect on the reader.
***
The editorial reviews from amamzon.com and barnes&noble.com are saying about this sui-generis novel, a haiku-novel:
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/1436309654/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
(http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781436309653&itm=1)
Andrei Codrescu
\”In Romania, Leonard Oprea is a distinguished writer. In my opinion, here in the USA, Leonard Oprea could make a genuine contribution to our current writing landscape. His narrative of his immigrant experience is felicitously captured in his novel in haiku.\”
(Andrei Codrescu – poet, author, NPR commentator)
Vladimir Tismaneanu
\”Theophil Magus in Baton Rouge, to the best of my knowledge, is the first novel made up of haiku. In many respects it is reminiscent of the most amazing Central European stylistic virtuosi, and I am sure readers will be delighted to enter this universe of shining plasticity.\”—
(Vladimir Tismaneanu – philosopher, author, essayist)
Bogdan Stefanescu
\”First, there’s no such thing as a haiku novel. At least, not until you’ve read this book. Not until Leonard Oprea thought it could exist. How can anyone imagine that the shortest text in the lyrical tradition may be aggregated into the longest form of epic prose? How can anyone think of hailing Jesus in a Japanese poem? How does Leonard Oprea do all these things? If you ask me, it probably takes a demented leap of fancy to bridge the solid world of being with the invisible realm of the not-there-yet. Fancy creates something that hasn’t been there from the start. New beings, new worlds, new truths pop out of nowhere, materializing like unexpected gifts. The once impossible is now only natural. A haiku novel, I’ve just found, is easy to read, but difficult to understand. You can read one page at a time and a page is a mere 17 syllables. The sentences are short, the words — simple. You don’t have to remember dozens of names or incidents in order to go along with the reading. You can simply concentrate on the page in front of you. As the magic words resound peacefully in your head, the poem will envelop you in its grace and shield you from the noise and worries. It will also open up the door to another world, making you feel once again like an excited child hiding in the small storeroom with a flashlight, looking at things he didn’t even know existed. In that small space, you’ll be taking a giant leap of fancy.\”
(\”Leonard’s Giant Leap of Fancy\” by Bogdan Stefanescu author, essayist, literary translator)
Born in 1953, Leonard Oprea is a celebrated Romanian writer.
He was an anti-communist dissident in Romania during Nicolae Ceauşescu‘s dictatorship.
Leonard Oprea is the author of the well-known Romanian novel The Straitjacket and the volume of short stories and novellas The X-ray of an instant (both books banned by the Romanian Communist dictatorship).
Leonard Oprea is also the creator of the unique book, Trilogy of Theophil Magus, a fictional religious and philosophical collection of stories, novellas, and meditations which compose this work as a sui-generis novel (its second volume was published in an English version in the USA).
Works:
* Domenii interzise (Forbidden areas) – short stories and novellas; Albatros Publishing House – 1984, Romania.
* Radiografia clipei (The x-ray of an instant) – short stories and novellas forbidden by the Romanian Communist dictatorship in 1987; Dacia Publishing House – 1990, Romania; the second edition with critical references at Curtea Veche Publishing – 2003, Romania; electronic book by \”LiterNet\”, 2005, Romania.
* Cămaşa de forţă (The Straitjacket) a novel banned by the Romanian Communist dictatorship in 1988; Nemira Publishing House – 1992, Romania; the second edition with critical references at Curtea Veche Publishing – 2004, Romania; electronic book by \”LiterNet\”, 2005, Romania.
* The Trilogy of Theophil Magus: o Cele Nouă Invăţături ale lui Theophil Magus despre Magia Transilvană (The Nine Teachings of Theophil Magus on Transylvanian Magic) – Polirom Publishing House -2000, Romania; electronic book by \”LiterNet\”, 2003, Romania.
o The Book Of Theophil Magus Or 40 Tales About Man (Cartea lui Theophil Magus sau 40 de Poveşti despre Om) – Polirom Publishing House – 2001, Romania. English version, October 2003, edited in the USA by Ingram Book Group/ 1stBooks Library; new edition by AuthorHouse – 2004, USA.
o Meditaţiile lui Theophil Magus sau Simple Cugetări Creştine la Începutul Mileniului III (The Meditations of Theophil Magus or Simple Christian Thoughts at the Beginning of the Third Millennium) – Polirom Publishing House – 2002, Romania; electronic book by \”LiterNet\”, 2004, Romania.
* Theophil Magus – Confessions 2004-2006 (\”Universal Dalsi\” Publishing House, 2007, Romania)