Quill & Quire
"Henighan’s analysis and personal portraits shine needed light into the dark corners of post-Soviet Eastern Europe."
Book Description
Stephen Henighan, a Romanian grammar book and hours of language tapes under his belt, billets with a family as an English teacher in Moldova, a country born from the dismantling of Romania during World War II. As a Westerner in this "lost province" and former Soviet republic, Henighan feels he’s an unnerving disappointment for many Moldovans, especially to the MTV-addicted, twenty-year-old Andrei. The author doesn’t own his own home, is unable to use his English to communicate with singer Michael Jackson, and has inadequate knowledge of the prices of the latest North American gadgets. As a Canadian, Henighan feels at home in this nation adrift. Fifty years of Soviet propaganda have dictated that the Moldovan language is a "degenerate local patois, only distantly related to Romanian." The innocent observation by the author that Moldovan and Romanian are the same language is revolutionary in the tense climate of post-Soviet Moldova, and suddenly Henighan is embroiled in the fierce language-law debates that have thrown the entire country into upheaval.
About the Author
Stephen Henighan is the Governor General’s Award-nominated author of When Words Deny the World: The Reshaping of Canadian Writing. His other books include the novel The Places Where Names Vanish and the short-story collection North of Tourism. Henighan teaches Spanish-American literature and culture at the University of Guelph in Ontario.
Lost Province: Adventures in a Moldovan Family FROM THE PUBLISHER
Stephen Henighan, a Romanian grammar book and hours of language tapes under his belt, billets with a family as an English teacher in Moldova, a country born from the dismantling of Romania during World War II. As a Westerner in this "lost province" and former Soviet republic, Henighan feels he's an unnerving disappointment for many Moldovans, especially to MTV-addicted, twenty-year-old Andrei. The author doesn't own his own home, is unable to use his English to communicate with singer Michael Jackson, and has inadequate knowledge of the prices of the latest North American gadgets. As a Canadian, Henighan feels at home in this nation adrift. Fifty years of Soviet propaganda have dictated that the Moldovan language is a "degenerate local patois, only distantly related to Romanian." The innocent observation by the author that Moldovan and Romanian are the same language is revolutionary in the tense climate of post-Soviet Moldova, and suddenly Henighan is embroiled in the fierce language-law debates that have thrown the entire country into upheaval.
Art & Photography
Book Info
