Țara de dincolo de negură. Hanu Ancuței

by Mihail Sadoveanu

Hanu Ancutei, capodopera a marelui scriitor,cunoscuta chiar si de catre cei care n-au citit-o si folosita, ca un brand gata facut,in industria hoteliera, este o megapovestire despre arta povestirii.Intr-un han cu ziduri ca de cetate si cu o hangita, Ancuta, plina de „vino-ncoa“,intr-un timp pierdut in negura timpurilor si totusi nu prea indepartat, se desfasoara in fiecare seara un ceremonial al istorisirii unor intamplari iesite din comun. Spectatorii sunt si actorii acestuishow patriarhal care mizeaza mult pe vinul adus in carafe pantecoase, ca acelea care ii placeau lui Eminescu(cand mergea la „Bolta rece“ cu Ion Creanga), si pe... lentoare. Nimeni nu se grabeste, nimeni nu recurge la excentricitati pentru a-si mari audienta,desi o anumita preocupare pentru rating exista; nu intamplator, unele istorisiri sunt precedate de o promovare insistenta si, in plus, in cazul uneia dintre ele, se practica amanarile repetate, pentru a crea o asteptare in randurile ascultatorilor.Alex Stefanescu

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Mihail Sadoveanu was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting head of state for the communist republic (1947–1948 and 1958). He is the most prolific novelist in Romanian literature and one of the most accomplished. All his major work, however, was written before the political changes in Romania following World War II. Although Sadoveanu remained a productive author after the war, like many other writers in communist countries, he had to adjust his aesthetic to meet the demands of the communist regime, and he wrote little of artistic value between 1945 and his death in 1961.

Sadoveanu was born on 5 November 1880 in Pascani, a small town in Moldavia, to Alexandru and Profira (Ursachi) Sadoveanu.

In Anii de Ucenicie (Years of Apprenticeship, 1944) Sadoveanu recalled his special affection for his mother, who was a gifted storyteller. Her death in 1895, when she was only thirty-four, deeply disturbed Sadoveanu. In 1900, after graduating from high school, he decided to study law in Bucharest, but he soon lost enthusiasm and started missing classes. Instead, he spent most of his time writing novels and plays.

In 1901 Sadoveanu went to live in Falticeni and married Ecaterina Bâlu. Eventually the father of eleven children (including writers Profira Sadoveanu and Paul-Mihu Sadoveanu), Sadoveanu enjoyed a stable and quiet family life that was no doubt a positive influence on his writing.