Grand Bazar Romania - Tapa blanda

Superb Romanian translation by Vlad A. Arghir of "Never Mind the Balkans, Here's Romania". So, how does it feel when Transylvania is heaven on earth, but scary as hell? When you wake from a political nightmare, with a social headache? When your country is transformed, but not really? When the front door is for VIPs and the back door is for you? When you buy the perfect home in the wrong place? When you mix Thracians, Dacians, Romans, Saxons, Turks, Hungarians, French, Russians and a Brit? Mike Ormsby is a writer, global nomad and former BBC journalist/World Service trainer, whose short stories - funny and bittersweet - have become a cult read among Romanians, Romaniaphiles and the uninitiated around the world. His ironic but affectionate tales, of ordinary people in often-extraordinary circumstances, have earned glowing reviews from Romania's literary critics. Some call him "The British Caragiale", after their beloved Victorian-era playwright and satirist. Each story offers a unique glimpse of this irresistible, dynamic and enthralling country, where the locals say, "Ca la noi, la nimeni: there's nobody quite like us." That's neither boast nor confession, just a fact, and Ormsby's colourful characters will entertain, educate and enrage. It depends on who is reading...

Mike Ormsby was born in Ormskirk, England, 1959. His short story collection 'Never Mind the Balkans, Here's Romania' was first published in 2008 (Editura Compania). Mike is a former BBC journalist and World Service trainer. His illustrated book for children, 'Spinner the Winner', about a brave but squeaky turbine who overcomes local prejudice, was published in October 2012. His screenplay 'Hey Mr DJ' was filmed and released in Kigali in 2007 and topped the bill at Rwanda's first Hillywood Film Festival. His short script 'Enfants Dits Sorciers' was filmed in Kinshasa in 2002. Mike and his wife Angela Nicoara are based in Transylvania, where they have lived for 500 years.