Open Access

Iulia Elena Zup

• The four novels of Cătălin Dorian Florescu (Wunderzeit, Der kurze Weg nach Hause, Der blinde Masseur, Zaira) analysed here are interpreted in relation to the chronotope, a term developed by Michail Bachtin meaning the connectedness of time and space in narrative. Space knows two opposite dimensions in Florescu’s works: the West (Switzerland, USA) and the East (Romania). The Romanian space is represented by three different images corresponding to three different periods: Romania between the two world wars, during the communist period and after 1989. The main characters are Romanians who leave their country of origin during the communist period, hoping that they will find a better life in the West. After the revolt in 1989, the characters return to the space of their childhood, where they could find themselves and happiness once again. There are analyzed different aspects of the aesthetic space Romania: exotic space, space of discovery of oneself, spiritual space of traditions, but also space of disappointment and of perils. Space is in close connection with movement, the movement of the protagonists from one dimension to another, which is also the basis of the plot.