About this ebook
At the heart of Ana Popescu's existence is the love for her son. He is the only thing that makes life in Ceausescu's Romania tolerable. In their mean little flat they have created a private world in which no harm can come to them. But Ana is haunted by a mystery in her own past, and by her awareness under a totalitarian regime the soul can gradually be corrupted. At last as incident at Ion's school convinces her she must send him away.
When she seizes the chance to give Ion freedom, Ana unwittingly propels him beyond bureaucracy into an underworld of refugees and migrants. Attempting to follow, she is caught and thrown into prison. Then the collapse of communism and the overthrow of Ceausescu rekindle her hope for a future, as she leaves her country for the first time and embarks on a quest to reclaim her lost child.
The achievement of Bel Mooney's powerful and ambitious new novel, as it moves across the changing face of contemporary Europe, is that it takes us inside the lives of people caught up in the flood tide of political events. A story of sacrifice, loss and love, it is a moving and triumphant celebration of the power and immutability of the bonds of motherhood and is also about one of the most pressing humanitarian issues of our age.
When she seizes the chance to give Ion freedom, Ana unwittingly propels him beyond bureaucracy into an underworld of refugees and migrants. Attempting to follow, she is caught and thrown into prison. Then the collapse of communism and the overthrow of Ceausescu rekindle her hope for a future, as she leaves her country for the first time and embarks on a quest to reclaim her lost child.
The achievement of Bel Mooney's powerful and ambitious new novel, as it moves across the changing face of contemporary Europe, is that it takes us inside the lives of people caught up in the flood tide of political events. A story of sacrifice, loss and love, it is a moving and triumphant celebration of the power and immutability of the bonds of motherhood and is also about one of the most pressing humanitarian issues of our age.
About the author
Bel Mooney (born 1946) is an English journalist and broadcaster born in Liverpool, and spent her earliest years in Liverpool on a council estate.
Mooney became a journalist in 1969 then went on to write for the New Statesman, the Daily Telegraph Magazine, Cosmopolitan and many others. She was a columnist on the Daily Mirror, The Times and The Sunday Times.
She has honorary degrees from the University of Bath and Liverpool John Moores University, and is a Fellow of University College London. 'Devout Sceptics' (BBC Radio 4) won a Sandford St Martin Trust award for religious broadcasting, and the children's novel The Voices of Silence won a New York Public Library citation and was shortlisted for a Gold Medal in the State of California. She has won special awards for journalism from charities including CRUSE. Mooney is also Patron of Teenage Cancer Trust (South West) and National Family Mediation.
Having made her name as a journalist, columnist, and broadcaster, she turned her hand to writing fiction for adults and children. In all, she published 26 books for children and young people. Her fiction (adults and children) has been translated into eleven languages. Mooney has reviewed fiction and non-fiction for many newspapers including the Spectator, the Observer, The Times and the Times Literary Supplement. She has been a judge for the Whitbread (now Costa) Book of the Year and The Orange Prize.
Mooney became a journalist in 1969 then went on to write for the New Statesman, the Daily Telegraph Magazine, Cosmopolitan and many others. She was a columnist on the Daily Mirror, The Times and The Sunday Times.
She has honorary degrees from the University of Bath and Liverpool John Moores University, and is a Fellow of University College London. 'Devout Sceptics' (BBC Radio 4) won a Sandford St Martin Trust award for religious broadcasting, and the children's novel The Voices of Silence won a New York Public Library citation and was shortlisted for a Gold Medal in the State of California. She has won special awards for journalism from charities including CRUSE. Mooney is also Patron of Teenage Cancer Trust (South West) and National Family Mediation.
Having made her name as a journalist, columnist, and broadcaster, she turned her hand to writing fiction for adults and children. In all, she published 26 books for children and young people. Her fiction (adults and children) has been translated into eleven languages. Mooney has reviewed fiction and non-fiction for many newspapers including the Spectator, the Observer, The Times and the Times Literary Supplement. She has been a judge for the Whitbread (now Costa) Book of the Year and The Orange Prize.
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