The Grand Prize and Other Stories

Daniela Crasnaru is one of the most prominent poets and writers in her native Romania. Once a vocal foe of the Ceaucescu regime, Crasnaru was influenced by the repression of the communist period, but her stories depart from those of many Eastern European writers who use literature purely as a form of self-expression. Crasnaru focuses on the human foibles of ordinary people whose lives are limited by feelings of helplessness and failure, people with drab lives who use fantasy to endure, and people who believe themselves happy and must suddenly confront grim reality.