II.1. Perspectives on Reception in International Criticism
Italy, Germany, and Spain are three of the countries in which Doina Ruști’s novels have enjoyed wide circulation and an equally strong critical reception. A prestigious journal such as Turia, published by the Instituto de Estudios Turolenses, devotes a meticulous analysis to her work in an issue that also praises another Romanian writer, Mircea Cărtărescu. The exegesis focuses exclusively on the novel Lizoanca at Eleven, translated into Spanish, and is signed by the well-known writer Ramón Acín. From the outset, he notes the novel’s literary value, which also implies the high quality of the translation, carried out by a professor of Romance studies at the University of Granada, Enrique Nogueras. As will be shown, Lizoanca at Eleven has benefited from numerous reviews in Romania as well; yet, without having read them, Ramón Acín emphasizes the prose writer’s epic force and her talent for creating artistic tension: “But Doina Ruști, through a gradual development of the story, continues that pain and horror to unsuspected limits and, above all, brings its causes into sharp relief.”[1]
The critic lingers even more on the characters, underlining their value within the writing. This is not merely a matter of construction, but of subtle characterological nuances: “equally surprising is the capacity to reflect, under the most innocuous forms, personal and social hypocrisy, or the theme of violence—shocking from the very first sentence, constantly visible throughout the novel and performing a permanent erosive function.”.”[2]
Supporting the same idea, Antonio J. Ubero writes an extensive review in a widely circulated daily such as La Opinión [3], focusing in particular on the “exceptional qualities” that make this novel a valuable creation, a narrative construction, and a work marked by a distinct stylistic imprint.
In Mexico as well, Lizoanca enjoyed an empathetic reception: “reading its pages, one can observe a unique narrative style that weaves together the past and present of the characters, inspired by the political context of her country at the end of the communist regime, to which she adds a dose of fantasy,.”[4], writes La Jornada, the leading daily newspaper in Mexico City.
The originality of her writing is also highlighted in reviews devoted to other novels. Along the same lines, Leonardo Sanhueza writes in a magazine from Santiago de Chile about the parabolic layer of the novel Zogru, pointing out particular meanings that Romanian exegeses do not emphasize: “…a work is presented [Zogru] with heroic deeds, evoking facts from the distant past, themes and folkloric motifs specific to our people, as well as a love story and a struggle for supremacy—a conflict in which patriotism plays a very important role..”[5]
In Italy, Zogru is perceived in its organic dimension and rather as an escape from myth. Marco Dotti writes in the daily Il Manifesto that Zogru “accesses that temporality of the fantastic which, in essence, is nothing other than a return to the human of a demon, of an unhappy bond with the earth,” [6], while Roberto Merlo [7] considers that the originality of the text stems from the way various aesthetic categories are combined to sustain the fantastic register without falling into the sin of repetition: “With Zogru, Doina Ruști has not only created a character, but also a complex epic universe, with shifting tones—playful or tragic depending on the eras and, above all, on their protagonists. The epic material presented conveys the author’s satisfaction—and, by extension, the reader’s—with creativity and originality, and endows the text with an appetite for adventure that involves the reader in this game of interpretation, making them perceive, through the sometimes innocent, sometimes hostile eyes of Zogru, under the guidance of a discreet narrator, scenes that unfold like the files of a hypertext. The past melts into the present; the intuition of the fabulous/sacred does not exclude the real/profane; and the rich imagination surpasses the limited boundaries of reality..”[8]
The novel has sparked numerous discussions. In Bulgaria, Bojidar Kuncev [9] compares this creation to that of Cioran, through the type of tragedy addressed in the novel—an idea that none of the Romanian critics capitalize on, but which also appears in a review in the Santiago de Chile daily Il Mercurio,[10]din Santiago de Chile. Here, Pedro Gandolfo, a demanding critic from Santiago, emphasizes in a substantial review the tragic vein of the book, identifying subtextually an existentialist parable of alienation: “what strikes one in this fantastic occurrence [Zogru] is the symbol of an acute loneliness suffered by the human soul in the absence of love.”.”[11]
Under the same heading of originality, one must also mention the construction of the denouement, with the “unexpected ending” often noted, as in a review of The Little Red Man published in StatoQuotidiano: “with a touch of mystery that, right up to the end, perfectly fulfills its purpose of leaving the reader delighted.”[12]
Another aspect of Doina Ruști’s work, likewise unanimously remarked upon, is the visual-expressive capacity of her writing. “A pictorial story (through the perfect use of comparison: ‘a crumpled face like dirty underwear,’ ‘hands like carpet beaters,’ ‘beautiful like a sleeping cat,’ ‘a round, fleshy mouth like a peony just opening,’ ‘a summer like a jar of fruit jelly,’ etc.) and a cinematic one,”[13], says Ramón Acín about Lizoanca; La Stampa reinforces this idea by speaking of the expressive plasticity in The Little Red Man: “Striking are the figures of speech associated with the image of fire used in this work, which leave a powerful impression.”[14] In the same vein, Pedro Gandolfo compares Zogru to the paintings of Chagall, considering them well defined and endowed with a valuable visual metaphorism [15]: “A comic character, a mixture of seriousness and the hilarious, like a painting by Chagall, the character is the prototype of the human being suffering from the absence of love.”[16]
The Little Red Man is also a representative novel for the magical dimension of Bucharest, as Giuseppe Ortolano writes in an extensive review in Il Venerdì di Repubblica“An ironic and seductive story, set in a contradictory magical city.” The cinematic unfolding of the action creates the impression of an unquestionable reality in Doina Ruști’s novels.
From another perspective, the literary criticism that has engaged with Doina Ruști’s translated novels often dwells on their solid message and clear social engagement. Markus Bauer, in the Zürcher Zeitung, commenting on the novel The Ghost in the Mill, sees in this work a kind of artistic synthesis of communist experiences: “Doina Ruști’s book offers an approach to Romania’s twentieth-century biography that challenges many literary practices.”[17]
Yet the social reverberations in Lizoanca are most frequently invoked. Ramón Acín states: “When she writes the story, Doina Ruști manages to capture, develop, and communicate that dark and even invisible side (despite being so striking) of our society, calling into question several of its essential elements,”[18], while Gianluca Veneziani draws an interesting comparison between Camus’s The Plague and Lizoanca in the daily Il Libero”[19]: “Doina Ruști is a well-known Romanian writer who wrote the novel Lizoanca, depicting the life of an eleven-year-old girl who infects an entire village with syphilis, causing many victims, only to show that she is an imaginary creature who has come from another world. The book also draws its substance from canonical novels that deal with illness, such as Camus’s The Plague, in which criminality takes root more easily within a context favorable to its spread. These are, undoubtedly, the models.”
Perhaps more unusual are the references to the type of fantastic cultivated in some of her works—critical perspectives that Romanian criticism does not identify. The Little Red Man, in its Italian version, is seen as a dystopia and compared to works of this genre: “On the unclear boundary between health and illness, between the real and the fantastic, between mysticism and everyday life, this book explores, through a vigorous style, a possible dystopian scenario reminiscent of recent readings such as The Circle by Dave Eggers, Panorama by Tommaso Pincio, and Super Sad True Love Story by Shteyngart,” writes Noemi Cuffia.[20]
The placement of The Ghost in the Mill within a neo-Gothic style is likewise embraced as an element of novelty in the novel’s critical reception. Included in The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters[21], edited by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, Doina Ruști’s novel appears in a new light, presupposing a different type of reception.
Synthesizing these perspectives of analysis—by no means few—we find that, in the view of international criticism, Doina Ruști’s writings are characterized by evident originality, by a specific type of verisimilitude, often supported by striking and unusual expressiveness and by lexical inventiveness.
Doina Ruști’s novels that address social issues, with an emphasis on tension and suspense, feature unexpected endings and have been appreciated by literary criticism for the following unanimously recognized qualities: originality, literary value, and a powerful message firmly anchored in contemporary reality.
(chapter from Pompilia Chifu – Doina Ruști, a Character in Her Own Book. Thematic Particularities, Textual Construction, and Identity Profile in Doina Ruști’s Prose, Casa Cărții de Știință Publishing House, Cluj, 2025; p. 40 ff.)
#_ftnref11.Pero Doina Ruști, con un pausado desarrollo de la historia, prolonga ese
dolor y ese horror hasta límites insospechados y, sobre todo, pone rostro a
las causas del mismo.” (traducerea noastr#), în „Turia. Revista Cultural”,
nr. 115/2015, p. 234.
[2] Ibidem, p.236. [la Doina Ruști] „También sorprende la capacidad a la hora
de reflotar, bajo una pátina amable, la hipocresía per-sonal y social o el tema
de la violencia, impactante esta desde la primera frase, siempre visible en la
novela y en permanente función erosiva.” (traducerea noastr#).
[3] Antonio J. Ubero, Las fàbricas del odio, „La Opinion”, 3.01.2015, p. 5.
[4] Dulce Carpio, Travesias entretenimiento por una niña con sifilis, „La Jornada”,
Mexico City; 5 aprilie, 2018, p. 6: „Al leer sus paginas se percibira su singular
estilo de narracion, que detalla el presente y el pasado de sus personajes,
inspirada tambien en el contexto de su pais tras el final del regimen
comunista que se confluye con una dosis de fantasia.” (traducerea noastr#).
Disponibil !i la adresa: https://issuu.com/letra-s/docs/letras_261 (accesat în
data de 24.07.2020).
[5] Leonardo Sanhueza, Las Últimas Noticias, „Santiago de Chile”, nr. 2, din
7 mai, 2018: „se trata de un singular libro de aventuras, que a le vez es una
revision de la historia romana desde un imaginario que se entronca con
leydendas populares, como también una fábula acerca del amor y los
sentimentos contemporáneos puestos al trasluz contra un entramado de
muerte y pungas de poder, en las que el sentido de partenencia a un territorio
cobra un valor principal” (traducerea noastr#), reg#sit !i la adresa
https://doinarusti.ro/stire/2018/zogru/ (accesat în data de 11.09.2022).
[6] Marco Dotti, I demoni dela Romania, „Il Manifesto”, nr. din 15 mai, 2011 –
„Accede a quella temporalità altra del fantastico che, in fondo, non è se non
un riportare all’umano il demone di un legame […] altrimenti infausto con
la terra.” (traducerea noastr#).
[7] Roberto Merlo, Zogru, „Quaderni di studi…”, nr. 5, 2010, Edizion Dell'orso,
Torino, p. 134.
[8] Ibidem, „Con Zogru Doina Ru!ti non ha creato solo un personaggio ma
anche un intero universo epico complesso, dai toni cangianti, ludico o tragico
a seconda delle epoche e soprattutto dei loro protagonisti. Esso esprime tutta
la gioia autoriale – e «lettoriale» – dell'invenzione pura e del gusto per
l'avventura e coinvolge il lettore invitandolo ad affacciarsi, attraverso lo
sguardo ora candido e ora malizioso di Zogru e con il discreto
accompagnamento della voce autoriale, su scenari e psicologie che si
schiudono davanti al lettore come finestre di un ipertesto. Il passato viene
assimilato senza rifiutare il presente, il fantastico/sacro intuito senza
respingere il reale/profano, e la fantasia debordante spezza gli argini ristretti
del verosimile.”
[9] Bojidar Kuncev, Ecouri/Despre soartă în Zogru, „Ziarul financiar”, 19.08.2009,
p. 42, reg#sit la adresa: https://www.zf.ro/ziarul-de-duminica/ecouri-despre-
soarta-in-romanul-zogru-4780330 (accesat în data de 20.03.2020). Traducerea
articolului, publicat ini&ial în Literaturni Balkani, Sofia, 1/2009, îi apar&ine lui
Vasilka Aleksova.
[10] Pedro Gandolfo, Zogru, „Il Mercurio”,19 august, 2018.
[11] ibidem – „lo que prevalece en este maravilloso relato es la figura de la terrible
soledad en que yace el espíritu humano carente de amor.”
[12] „Un romanzo consistente, con un pizzico di mistero che fino alla fine
ottiene alla perfezione l’obiettivo di lasciare basito il lettore”. (t.n) Roberta
Paraggio, în „Stato Quotidiano” 3-5 iulie, 2012. Articolul poate fi consultat !i
la adresa: https://www.statoquotidiano.it/29/09/2012/macondo-la-citta-dei-
libri-89/101608/ (accesat la data de 14.09.2020
[13] Ramón Acín, „Turia”, Eliza a los once anos. Doina Ruști, nr.115, Instituto
de Estudio Turolenses, 2015, p. 323, „Una historia dada a lo pictórico (el
perfecto uso de la comparación: «cara arrugada como unas bragas sucias»,
«manos como paletas para sacudir alfombras», «hermoso como un gato
recién salido del sueño», «boca redonda y carnosa como una flor recién
abierta», «verano fresco como una jalea real», etc.) y a lo cinematográfico”
(traducerea noastr#).
[14] Stupefacente è il fuocco di fila di trovate di espressioni pungenti e fulminanti.”
(traducerea noastr#), Alessandra Iadicicco, „La Stampa”, nr. 1815, 12 mai, 2012.
[15] Pedro Gandolfo, Zogru, „Il Mercurio”,19 august, 2018
[16] „Hilarante por momentos, en otros trágica y feroz, a ratos
fantástica y luminosa como una pintura de Chagal, lo que prevalece en este
maravilloso relato es la figura de la terrible soledad en que yace el espíritu
humano carente de amor.”; traducerea noastră în ro.
[17] Markus Bauer, „Neue Zürcher Zeitung”, Zürch, 4.01.2018, „Doina Rustis
Buch bietet einen gegen viele literarischen Usancen widerständigen Zugang
zur Biografie Rumäniens im 20.” (traducerea noastr#), articol reg#sit !i la
adresa https://doinarusti.ro/stire/2018/neue-zurcher/ (accesat în data de
11.09.2022).
[18] Ramón Acín, „Turia”, Eliza a los once anos. Doina Ruști, nr.115, Instituto
de Estudio Turolenses, 2015, p. 323, „Doina Ru!ti al escribir la historia ha
sabido atrapar, desarrollar y comunicar ese lado oscuro e, incluso, in-visible
(a pesar de estar tan presente) de nuestra sociedad, poniendo en tela de juicio
varios de sus elementos.” (traducerea noastr#)
[19] Gianluca Veneziani, Il libero, Torino, nr. 115, 18.05.2013, p. 29: „Fa il verso
ai noir fantastici la brava scrittrice rumena Doina Ru%ti, che ha dato alle stampe Lisoanca (Rediviva edizione), storia di un’undicenne che contagia
con la sua sifilide un intero villaggio, mietendo vittime anche tra le coetanee,
salvo poi rivelarsi una creatura immaginaria venuta da un altro mondo.
Il libro si ispira anche ai grandi romanzi «sanitari», come La peste di Camus,
dove il crimi-ne attecchisce più facilmente in un contesto di malattia diffusa.
questi sono certamente i modelli.” (traducerea noastr#), articol reg#sit la
adresa https://doinarusti.ro/en/carti.html (accesat în data de 11.09.2022).
[20] Noemi Cuffia, Tazzina di caffè, mai, 2016: „Sul confine labile tra salute e malattia,
reale e fantastico, misticismo e quotidianità, questo libro esplora, attraverso uno
stile fresco, una possibilità distopica che mi ha ricordato letture recenti come
Il Cerchio di Dave Eggers, Panorama di Tommaso Pincio o il più lontano nel tempo
Storia d'amore vera e supertriste di Shteyngart”. (traducerea noastr#).
[21] Jeffry Andrew Weinstock, The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary Cinematic
Monsters, Routledge, New York, 2016, p. 550.
