Failing in Romanian - Ion Minulescu

"Failing in Romanian" is a novel that is autobiographical in many respects, warmly received by the public in 1929. The story is written with changed names, but Ion Minulescu was not concerned with authenticity; rather, he focused on how, through imagination, he captivates his readers. They are drawn into the story of Bucu, a provincial high school student who undergoes his sentimental education and thus loses his innocence, rivaling with the Romanian language teacher, who takes revenge by failing him.

From this point on, the romantic and erotic adventures, the twists of fate, and the often tragic partial conclusions flow like in a novel of manners, which, however, never parts from the playful tone of Ion Minulescu's poetry. A unique coming-of-age novel in its own right: educational and frivolous, cheerful and tragic. Always captivating.

Ion Minulescu (1881–1944), poet and prose writer, representative of the Romanian Symbolist movement. He obtained his baccalaureate in Bucharest, at a private school, just like the hero of his 1929 novel, "Failing in Romanian." He debuted with poetry, and after World War I published several volumes of poetry, prose, and theater.

Poetry: "Romances for Later" (1908), "Stanzas for Everyone" (1930). Prose: "Bronze Masks and Porcelain Lanterns" (1920), "Red, Yellow, and Blue" (1924).

"In an evident realistic structure, 'Failing in Romanian' is, through its meanings, still a Symbolist novel, like other works of Ion Minulescu's prose. This is his first aesthetic characteristic, applicable to the entire work of the writer. A second is found in the constant wave of humor, occasionally slipping into coarse, Caragiale-like satire, but more often maintaining, without inconsistencies, a good-natured, indulgent self-irony." - Mihai Gafița, Romanian writer and editor.