Cristina Trutia

One Night: a Novel Cristina Trutia

One Night explores the events surrounding the violent fall of the communist regime in Romania in December of 1989 as seen through the wide eyes of its young lead character. Smart, bright eyed, later hurt and damaged Andrea Tudor is a fluid mirror of the events she witnesses. An old Romanian popular ballad - the Legend of Master Manole - is the philosophical foundation for the events: Manole is the symbol of letting go of one's love for a bigger cause. Andrea comes of age trying to understand the deeper meaning of this mysterious ballad as her own fate seems connected to it. The characters are therefore deeply embossed in the country's immediate and even remote history. To some extent a sense of cultural hopelessness restricts their perceived possibilities. In exploring how people do not follow their hearts and are frequently afraid to trust one another, the book talks about real love and loss. And yet in the very surprising end, it comes together as full of hope as well. Seen through the eyes of brain injured Andrea, the plot is divided between reality and fantasy. The past is to her just as alive as the present.