The Land Of Green Plums
By (Author) Herta Mller
Translated by Michael Hofmann
Granta Books
Granta Books
1st November 1999
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Fiction in translation
833.914
Winner of International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 1998
Paperback
256
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 14mm
175g
Winner of the 1998 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
Set in Romania at the height of Ceausescu's reign of terror, The Land of Green Plums tells the story of a group of young students, each of whom has left the impoverished provinces in search of better prospects in the city. It is a profound illustration of a totalitarian state which comes to inhabit every aspect of life; to the extent that everyone, even the strongest, must either bend to the oppressors, or resist them and perish.
'A powerful autobiographical account, The Land of Green Plums . . . will linger on in the mind and Michael Hofmann's translation is a marvel.' - Guardian
'This is a genuinely moving book. The style . . . develops an almost hypnotic power over the reader.' - Sunday Telegraph
Herta Muller was born in Romania in 1953. After refusing to cooperate with Ceausescu's Securitate, she lost her job as a teacher and suffered repeated threats before she was able to emigrate in 1987. She now lives in Berlin. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009.