Translator Christopher Moncrieff Publication date 1989 Pages 476 ISBN 9789732100196 Published in english 12 April 2016 | Country Romania Published in English 12 April 2016 Originally published 1989 Page count 476 Publisher Editura Minerva | |
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Original title Romanul adolescentului miop Similar Mircea Eliade books, Romanian language books | ||
Diary of a Short-Sighted Adolescent (Romanian: Romanul adolescentului miop) is a novel by the Romanian writer Mircea Eliade. It is based on Eliade's time in high-school and tells the story of a precocious teenager with literary ambitions. The book was written in the 1920s when Eliade was still a teenager. It was discovered after the author's death and published in 1989.
Contents
It was followed by Gaudeamus, written in 1928, which is based on Eliade's university time.
Composition
Eliade began to write the novel in 1921 under the title Jurnalul unui om sucit. In 1923 it had taken the name Romanul unui om sucit, until the final version was written in 1925 as Romanul adolescentului miop. While he wrote the book, Eliade thought it was the first time a novel about adolescence was written by an actual adolescent.
Publication
The book was discovered after Eliade's death and was published in 1989. An English translation by Christopher Moncrieff was published in 2016.
Reception
Nicholas Lezard of The Guardian wrote in 2016: "Eliade may be describing the life of a student in a Romanian lycée of almost a century ago, but anyone who has ever been at school, full of ideals but also too shy to speak to the opposite sex, or incapable of revising for an exam until the very last minute, will relate to this. As will anyone who has ever committed their private thoughts to paper, as the true record of their soul and a rebuke to posterity."