Marin Preda

August 1922 16 May 1980) was

a Romanian novelist, one of the best-known postWWII Romanian writers.

Marin Preda

Preda was born in Teleorman county, in a village

called Silitea-Gumeti, into a family of peasants.
He first studied at school in his home village, then
schools in Abrud and Cristur-Odorhei. He moved
to Bucharest in 1940 and became a proofreader
at Timpul ("Times") magazine.
His first novella was called Calul ("The Horse"). It
was written in 1943 and read in Eugen
Lovinescu's literary circle, Sburtorul ("The Flier").

It was included in his debut volume of

1948, ntlnirea din pmnturi. ("The Meeting
between the Lands"). Between 1943 and 1945 he
served in the army, which was to inspire some of
his later works.
In 1945 he was hired as a proofreader at Romnia
liber ("Free Romania") newspaper, and beginning
with 1952 served as an editor at the cultural
magazine Viaa Romneasc ("Romanian Life").
His novel Moromeii, was awarded the State
Literature Prize in 1956.
In 1965, he became vice-president of "Uniunea
Scriitorilor" (Writers' Union) and in 1970 the
director of "Cartea Romneasc" publishing house,
keeping this job until his death.[citation needed] He became
a corresponding member of the Romanian
Academy in 1974, and was promoted to titular
post-mortem member in 1990.[1]
In 1954 he married Aurora Cornu; they divorced in
1959. He was married to Eta Vexler, who defected
to France in the early 1970s. With his third wife,

Elena, a worker about 30 years his junior,[2] he had

two sons, Nicolae and Alexandru.[3] Preda's
novel Delirium (Delirul) is considered to reflect the
attempt to review Ion Antonescu's role against the
background of re-surging nationalist pride in
Communist Romania. Here, Antonescu is painted
as a tragic figure, who joined Germans, regarding
this as the only way to re-gain Bessarabia.[4] The
first edition of the novel quickly sold out.
In 1980, Marin Preda published his last novel, Cel
mai iubit dintre pmnteni ("The Most Beloved
Earthling"), regarded as a violent critique of
communism. After a few short weeks on the
market, the novel was withdrawn from all public,
university, and school libraries and all bookshops.
It was not much later, on May 16, 1980, that the
novelist died at the Writers' Mansion of Mogooaia
Palace. The autopsy, which took place 24 hours
after his death, showed that his blood alcohol
concentration was 3.5 BAC, enough to fall into a

coma.[5] The official cause of death

was asphixiation.[6]
Works[edit]

1948 - ntlnirea din pmnturi ("The Meeting

of the Lands")

1949 - Ana Rocule

1952 - Desfurarea ("The Unfolding")

1955 - Moromeii ("The Moromete Family")

1956 - Ferestre ntunecate ("Dark Windows")

1959 - ndrzneala ("The Daring")

1962 - Risipitorii ("The Prodigals")

1967 - Moromeii, second part

1968 - Intrusul ("The Intruder")

1972 - Imposibila ntoarcere ("The Impossible

Return")

1972 - Marele singuratic ("The Great Loner")

1973 - ntlnirea din pmnturi, second edition

1975 - Delirul ("The Delirium")

1977 - Viaa ca o prad ("Life as a Prey")

1980 - Cel mai iubit dintre pmnteni ("The

Most Beloved of Earthlings")