The oppressive political system within Romania effects not. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu, with his spiky hair, love of poetry and English, and crush on Liliana Pavel, is as much of a rebel as its possible to be. Growing up under the communist regime limits Cristian’s ability to experiment with his identity, building independence, and practice autonomy, standard rites of passage when coming-of-age. Conversely, the narrator is timid and afraid to express his emotions or thoughts in public. He his arms, casually looking about, speaking louder than most Romanians would” (105). As they walk through Rosetti Square together, Cristian notes Dan’s “general ease in all things. While Dan and Cristian are both on the cusp of turning eighteen, the teenagers interact with others and themselves in divergent manners. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu, with his spiky hair, love of poetry and English, and crush on Liliana Pavel, is as much of a rebel as it’s possible to be in Bucharest, Romania, in 1989. 1, 2022 A rare look at the youth-led rebellion that toppled Romania’s Ceauescu. Toward the outset of the narrative, the author illustrates the dichotomy between Cristian and Dan Van Dorn’s social interactions to highlight the effects of political culture on coming-of-age. I MUST BETRAY YOU by Ruta Sepetys RELEASE DATE: Feb. escu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. Throughout her novel, I Must Betray You, Sepetys thematically examines coming-of-age through her character Cristian.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |