Review by abbie_ - For Two Thousand Years

abbie_ 's review for:

For Two Thousand Years by Philip Ó Ceallaigh, Mihail Sebastian

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I’ve only had two encounters with Romanian fiction, both of which my friend Madalina from Instagram facilitated. The first one was The Land of Green Plums by Herta Müller, tr. Michael Hoffman. According to my review from 2018, I enjoyed it but spent a lot of the book confused because my knowledge of Romanian history is non-existent.

Even though since then my knowledge of Romanian history has remained, admittedly, minimal, I enjoyed my second foray into Romanian fiction a lot more.

THE BOOK

For my birthday in May, Madalina kindly gifted me a copy of a book I’d never heard of before. The book was For Two Thousand Years by Mihail Sebastian, tr. Philip Ó Ceallaigh. It’s the chronicles of a young Jewish man in 1920s Romania as he attempts to live his life in a country which is becoming increasingly hostile towards Jewish people. From his days as a student through to entering the working world, he grapples with his sense of identity, as his country tries to tell him that a Romanian Jew cannot exist.

Along the course of the book, the narrator encounters everyone from vicious anti-Semites to Zionists. The narrator remains oddly detached from everyone he meets, refusing to be dragged into their causes, simply wanting to live his life as a supposed oxymoron.

Many consider this book heavily autobiographical, as the novel features many similarities to the journal Sebastian kept from 1935 to 1944. Sebastian’s group of friends and colleagues eventually pushed him out when anti-Semitism gained more foothold in Europe. I highly recommend reading that full Guardian article I just linked as well, it is fascinating and incredibly sad.

GENERAL THOUGHTS

While reading, I was constantly struck by how timely it felt to the present day. Sebastian’s portrayal of the anti-Semitic discrimination faced by his unnamed narrator, sometimes by his own friends and colleagues, reminded me of the problems we still face today regarding racism.

Just read this quote, from one of his acquaintances during a confrontation about his anti-Semitism.

‘Let’s be clear, I’m not anti-Semitic. I’ve told you that before and I abide by that. But I’m Romanian. And, all that is opposed to me as a Romanian I regard as dangerous. There is a corrosive Jewish spirit. I must defend myself against it. In the press, in finance, in the army – I feel it exerting its influence everywhere.’

Does that not bring horribly to mind the ‘I’m-not-racist-but’s of today? Reading this piece of Romanian fiction is a disheartening experience given that it was published in 1934. Some passages feel like they could have been written last week.

The narrator also points out the distinction between ‘ordinary anti-Semites’ and ‘anti-Semites with arguments’. He prefers the former, as they are ‘clear cut’, but with the latter, ‘it’s futile to argue back’.

As soon as I read this, it immediately brought to mind the difference between ‘clear cut’ racists and ‘good white people’ who don’t believe they are racist. With the former, you know what you’re up against. But the latter believe they are not racist and therefore refuse to hear any arguments about why they need to do more than just not be overtly racist. They refuse to hear that they’re actively or passively contributing to a racist society or performing harmful behaviours, and thus will not change.

THE TRANSLATION

In case you couldn’t tell from the above quoted passage, the translation by Philip Ó Ceallaigh is fantastic. It flowed so beautifully that it was one of those ‘I forgot it was a translation for a second’ books. Which, by the way, I don’t fully endorse as a compliment because it contributes to the invisibility of the translator and I think they should be properly acknowledged for their work.

But whichever way you want to put it, it was a pleasure to read. I took photos of so many pages and passages because the words resonated so strongly. I would definitely recommend it to another newbie to Romanian fiction.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I did think that there was a bit of a lull in the middle, with the beginning and end being the strongest parts. But it’s only short and it still packs a punch. My only criticism is that, while lots of it does read as a modern novel, there are still parts which are very 1934. Women don’t play a large role in this book, and when they do appear their roles are fleeting and secondary. However, I would still recommend it as an introspective account of one Jewish man’s struggle for self-identity and acceptance. It is a bleak story, with a message that unfortunately still pertains today.