Iris Wolff and György Dragomán were both born in Transylvania. Both authors are inspired by their childhood in now distant Romania. Each of their books deals with events that occurred in the 20th century in this multicultural country. Their literary work explores the lasting legacy of an individual’s life. They both write about freedom and adaptation, about personal decisions as well as the decisions controlled by others.

Iris Wolff’s novel, So tun, als ob es regnet (“Pretend It’s Raining”), spans four generations during the 20th century and traverses four national borders. She recounts how historic events shape the course of the individual characters’ lives. She describes how things influence our sensitivities that intimately belong to us, although we don’t realize where they come from.

In György Dragomán’s book of short stories, Löwenchor, the main theme is also the intensity of memories. The leitmotif in his novellas is music. And he deals as much with repression as the attempt to contrast repressive reality with something personal and intense. His narratives revolve around stories of intimacy and distance. Moreover, one question always wins through: how would life have turned out differently, if ...?

Ultimately, does the stuff of dreams even amount to the ‘good life’, insofar as it makes us observant onlookers?

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