George Tomaziu - Spy Artist Prisoner

George Tomaziu - Spy Artist Prisoner (My Life in Romania Under Fascist and Communist Rule) 

5⭐

Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction,  History, Biography  

Pages:  228

Format: Paperback 

Translated by: Jane Reid 

Original Language: French 

Publisher: Envelope Books 

Date Published: 3rd March 2022

Huge thank you to Envelope Books for the copy of this book to read and review. 

Book Blurb: 

The Romanian artist George Tomaziu expected to be imprisoned for monitoring German troop movements during the Second World War. He also expected that, after the war and his release, he might be honoured for fighting Fascism. Instead, the new Communist government sent him back to prison and stranded him there, for 13 years. This is his memoir.

My Review: 

My first book from Envelope Books and honestly it was one of the most interesting and eye-opening books I have read in a while! Not only the book cover design was so beautiful and fitting for this story, but also the memoir itself is so emotional, poignant and so raw.

I know quite a lot about the history of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in the Baltic countries but I didn’t know much about how Romania was involved in WW2 and how the country's political developments evolved after WW2. This book taught me so much and gave me great insight into the history and political changes before, through and after WW2 in Romania.

The book is a memoir written by George Tomaziu, a Romanian artist and it is his account of living under Fascist, Socialist and then Communist regimes. With his artistic nature, he loses all hope that his country will ever be free from Fascism during WW2, which prompts him to become a spy for the British Intelligence Services, sharing information about German movements across Romania. Years later just before the war finishes, he gets arrested for spying and sent to prison. However, his first time in prison under the Fascist regime is short-lived and he is released. Then political powers in Romania are suddenly changed and Tomaziu is arrested again but now under a Communist regime and sent for thirteen years to the hard labour Romanian gulag. The book follows his life through all these changes in political power, his life of being an artist and a spy and recounts his horrific time in the Romanian gulag.  

For me, the bit about his life in the gulag was just heart-wrenching and horrid. Tomaziu talks about physical and mental torture, hunger, malnutrition, and being treated like an animal and not a human being. He saw so many of his friends and cell mates die from the terrible conditions, torture and illnesses in the gulag. He also talked about how he managed to keep his humanity and faith alive in such horrible conditions. All of this is not a light read and some parts are very disturbing and dark but it is also an eye-opener into what happened inside the Iron Curtain countries. It is a very important read and account of real life and real atrocities that happened not too long ago.

I was amazed by Tomaziu’s bravery and strength in times of torture, constant humiliation and hunger. He fought hard as he wanted to one day see his country free from Communism and the atrocities that came with it.

Overall:  Such an important book that everyone should read, especially to learn what happened behind the Iron Curtain and in Eastern Europe not too long ago. Especially this book is important in the light of current events that are happening in Eastern Europe and shows us whether we can learn from our history and people who lived through all the hard parts of it as George Tomaziu did. It is important to not forget the history and this book is a real and honest account that reminds us of the horrors of Fascism and Communism. Definitely, a book that I will not forget for a long time and I am so glad I had a chance to read it!

 

About the Author:

George (Gheorghe) Tomaziu was a Romanian painter, illustrator, memoirist and poet. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest. Spy Artist Prisoner is his memoir about living under the rule of Fascism and Communism in Romania before, during and after WW2. 

https://the-history-avenue.eu/2022/05/14/spy-artist-against-the-system-george-tomazius-life-in-communist-romania/

Camille Kouchner - The Familia Grande

Camille Kouchner - The Familia Grande  

4 ⭐

Genre:  Non-Fiction, Memoir, Cultural, Translated Literature, French Literature

Translated by: Adriana Hunter

Original Title: La Familia Grande 

Original Language: French 

Pages: 288 

Format: Paperback Proof Copy 

Publisher: Brazen / Octopus Publishing 

Date Published: 5th May 2022 (UK)

Massive thanks to Octopus Publishing for a copy of the book to read and review! 

Book Blurb: 

The shocking story of how incest and sexual abuse are ever-present at the highest levels of French society, even among the most glamorous, powerful, bohemian, left-wing intellectual Parisian élite.

A family's secret weighs on everyone...

THE FAMILIA GRANDE is a tender, groundbreaking and lacerating memoir written by a sister who could no longer remain silent...

Set in amongst the French intellectual elite in Paris and their lavender-scented estates in Provence, it tells a story of a corrosive secret that sits in a family for decades and ultimately razes it and the political, and literary elite that enabled its silence, to the ground.

Already an international bestseller, it has touched a nerve across the globe and has brought about a powerful reckoning of incest, and its far-reaching trauma.

The Familia Grande is a book of a generation.

My Review: 

Not going to lie, after I read this book, it took me a few weeks to be able to sit down and write a review about it. I just couldn’t find the right words as this memoir was absolutely shocking and heartbreaking.

The story follows Camille, who tells a story about her growing up surrounded by La Familia Grande, a family and friends of the family all at the top of the French Elite in the 1980s. The Familia Grande was not only her mother, an academic and French feminist activist but also her stepfather, who was also abusing and grooming his stepchildren. Her mother did not seem to care or see the abuse, as she was very open about sexuality and raised her children in a very over-sexualised environment.

The author tells her story of how her twin brother was sexually assaulted numerous times by their stepfather. Whilst she knew about it, she was afraid to tell anyone or say something mainly because, she craved her stepfather's love, as it was the only parental love she ever got. She never got any true motherly love from her mother, who was more bothered by hosting parties with the Familia Grande and later, after a family tragedy, holding herself as a prisoner in her grief. The author’s real father, instead of loving his children was more concerned with his new family. Thus, all it was left of Camille was her stepfather's love.

However, throughout the book, the author realises how much damage being silent has done to her and how much being abused had affected her brother and even ruined their relationship for a while. As she grows older, she pressurises her brother to speak out, as she also speaks out too.

This book is a lot to take in, as it deals with so much, including dysfunctional family, death, sexual assaults, family relationships, and incest, to name a few. It is also one of those books that are so hard to review.

Overall:  All I can say is that it is a very well-written memoir. I am glad I read it, although, I don’t think I would ever re-read it, as there were quite a few triggers. I really liked that very informal style, as it reads like a diary, which makes the story very authentic and real. The author poured her feelings and soul into this book and that’s why together with the topics explored it was hard to read at times. I highly recommend people read this book as it is a very personal and moving memoir, exploring the very personal lives of top-tier French elites in the 1980s and 1990s. Especially recommended if you are interested in French culture, politics and the elite, as this book did start a movement and a law change in France after being published. So definitely a very important book for educational purposes too. 

About the Author: 

Camille Kouchner was born in 1975 in Paris. She is the daughter of the late French writer and political scientist Évelyne Pisier and Bernard Kouchner, a co-founder of Doctors Without Borders. She is a lawyer and senior lecturer at the University of Paris with a specialization in labour, contract, and health law. The Familia Grande is her English debut.

https://www.hachette.co.uk/contributor/camille-kouchner/