"With my thoughts going to the war or any other absurdity of the times - since everything seemed possible and impossible at the same time - I felt the need to know life on each of its numerous levels. I wanted to take, with thirst and fury, as soon as possible, everything I was sure that, sooner or later, could be useful to me, as if I was able to assemble some reserves of love, beauty and peace.” (Augustin Buzura - Report on the State of Loneliness) 

“Cu gândul la război sau la orice altă absurditate a vremurilor, căci totul părea posibil și imposibil în același timp, simțeam nevoia să cunosc viața pe fiecare din numeroasele ei paliere, să iau cu sete și furie, cât mai repede, tot ce aveam certitudinea că, mai devreme sau mai târziu, mi-ar putea folosi, de parcă mi-aș fi putut face niște rezerve de dragoste, frumusețe și liniște.“ (Augustin Buzura – Raport asupra singurătății)

"Report on the State of Loneliness" is a concluding moment in Augustin Buzura’s great series of novels. The author enters the tenebrous and mysterious labyrinth of life in the most natural manner possible: slamming the secret door open to the wall.  

Translated from the Romanian by Ramona Mitrica, Mike Phillips and Mihai Risnoveanu
Available from Profusion Books, on Kindle and in paperback.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Report-State-Loneliness-Profusion-Gold-ebook/dp/B01LW32Q9T/ 
 

Book cover: Laura Lazăr and Mihai Risnoveanu
Photo: Laura Lazăr

He explores, without reserve, over more than 70 years, its clashes of nationalisms, its cruelty and militaristic savagery, its loves and romantic fantasies, its peasant transformations, its desperate longing for European significance, and much, much more. All this is seen through the eyes of individuals, naïve and sophisticated, ignorant and learned, spiritually pure and downright evil. (Mike Phillips - Introduction)

ISBN-13: 978-0956867643

Available in paperback, as well as Kindle e-book.

Now on the shelf at Owl Bookshop, 207-209 Kentish Town Rd, London NW5 2JU
"Report on the State of Loneliness" by Augustin Buzura

Profusion Books launched the first translation in English of Augustin Buzura’s “Report on the State of Loneliness”, on 18 April 2016 in London, at Level39, Canary Wharf, with the kind support of Sir George Iacobescu.

Augustin Buzura is one of the best-loved and respected Romanian authors, with a career as a journalist, novelist, and cultural manager spanning more than fifty years, and “Report on the State of Loneliness” is his first novel published in the United Kingdom.

The book was introduced by Dr Mike Phillips OBE, Profusion director, accompanied by his fellow director, Ramona Mitrica, who told the audience about the days when, as a young graduate, she worked as Buzura’s assistant. Due to health issues, the author himself was unable to travel to London, but his daughter Ada Buzura, who came in his place, spoke affectingly, about his reputation, his work and about growing up in a ‘house of whispers’.

Distinguished London based Romanian actors, Annamaria Marinca (Meg Mathias in the Welsh TV drama Hinterland), and Gabriel Constantin (Monsieur Philippe in the forthcoming TV series Victoria), then read extracts from the book. Among the guests were Sir George Iacobescu CBE, CEO of Canary Wharf, architect Serban Cantacuzino CBE and poet Alan Brownjohn FRSL.

* * * *
“Report on the State of Loneliness”
Paperback, 520 pages
Profusion (London, April 2016)
ISBN-13: 978-0956867643; ISBN-10: 0956867642
Translated from the Romanian by Ramona Mitrica, Mike Phillips and Mihai Risnoveanu

The book is on sale from Profusion http://bit.ly/1XOvvti or Amazon http://amzn.to/1SqqKlZ

Buzura is the pre-eminent novelist of contemporary Romanian writing, publishing several novels, editing magazines and engaging in literary tours and partnerships during a period from 1963 to the present day. Throughout those years he was engaged in a number of dangerous and difficult confrontations with the authorities, and after 1989, his confrontations with official opinion continued, morphing into passionate satires on the state of his region throughout its history. The novel “Report on the State of Loneliness” (Raport asupra singurătății) is a series of interlocking stories about the last hundred years of Transylvanian history, interspersed with the author’s reflections on identity and the approach of death. In part a lively political satire, in part a meditation on his own life, in part a passionate exploration of Balkan history, Report is a fascinating and illuminating read.

For information, send an e-mail to mail@profusion.org.uk 
www.profusion.org.uk

Dear Friends,

We’re writing to inform you about our growing list of English translations at Profusion publishing house.

When we started publishing under the name Profusion, in 2011, our aim was to bring aspects of East European literary culture, hitherto unknown in Britain, to the attention of the reading public. This was because most publications from the region were, more or less, “highbrow”, while popular stories and genres such as crime fiction tended to go unnoticed. Our list of books and authors is therefore a factor in increasing knowledge throughout Europe about the life and prospects of ordinary men and women in the region.

The founders and directors of Profusion areMike Phillips and Ramona Mitrica. Ramona is a former Romanian diplomat, now a British citizen and based in London. Mike is an English novelist and screenwriter, whose publications include “Windrush: the irresistible rise of multi-racial Britain”(HarperCollins), the BBC TV series “Blood Rights”, adapted from his novel of the same name, and, more recently, the true crime story, “Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest”.

If interested, please find the Profusion list below. You can order our books through Amazon, Gardners, Bertrams, or through the Profusion web site directly: www.profusion.org.uk For any further details, please write to us on mail@profusion.org.uk
All our books are available in paperback, as well as Kindle e-books. Books are available in Romania as well, from “Anthony Frost English Bookshop” in Bucharest (www.anthonyfrost.ro).

Enjoy the read! Many thanks,
Ramona Mitrica and Mike Phillips,
Profusion Directors  

- - - - -

Profusion list:

Profusion Crime Series – Fiction, Non-Fiction, 2011-2012:
“Attack in the Library” by George Arion
“Kill the General” by Bogdan Hrib
“Anatomical Clues” by Oana Stoica-Mujea
“Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest” by Mike Phillips and Stejarel Olaru

Profusion Gold Series – Fiction, 2014-2015:
“The Innocent and Collateral Victims of a Bloody War with Russia” by Liviu Antonesei
“Greuceanu – Novel with a Policeman” by Stelian Turlea
“Report on the State of Loneliness” by Augustin Buzura (coming soon)

“Attack in the Library” by George Arion, one of the classic narratives of Romanian crime fiction, was written during the dictatorship of the 1980s in the finest Noir tradition. “I loved this book. Dry, snappy, absurdist wit... the colossal, surreal stupidity of totalitarianism.” (Patrick McGuinness - author, The Last Hundred Days - Man Booker Prize Longlist)
ISBN-13: 978-0956867612

“Kill the General” by Bogdan Hrib, an exciting and suspenseful thriller, takes you on a rollercoaster ride through the last decades in Romanian history. “...a good read offering an insight into a country that remains mysterious to many of us.” (Julian Cole - The Press, York)
ISBN-13: 978-0956867605

“Anatomical Clues” by Oana Stoica-Mujea features Iolanda, a crime-fighting heroine unique in the landscape of Romanian literature: mad, bad and dangerous to know. “...a gripping tale, which, like Iolanda, will creep into your head and stay there.” (Mike Phillips - author, CWA Silver Dagger winner)
ISBN-13: 978-0956867629

“Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest” by Mike Phillips and Stejarel Olaru is a social review of Romania in the ‘70s, with a serial killer’s story as a central focus. “... a fascinating read that frames a factual account of the crimes within their social environment, while examining their impact on the culture, and their lingering legacy in the present day.” (George Nott - Enfield INDEPENDENT)
ISBN-13: 978-0956867636

“Greuceanu – Novel with a Policeman” by Stelian Turlea
With the unerring instinct of a popular children’s author, Turlea locates, in GREUCEANU, one of the major Pan-European issues in contemporary times, the problem of organised crime. Turlea’s villains are not moustachioed banditos. Instead they are the brothers and sisters of gangsters in every European city centre, and playing as he does with the characters of the town, he explores a number of insights into the role of organised crime in post-Accession civic life. Greuceanu is a young policeman, at the bottom of the ladder. By chance, he gets rid of one of the feared gangsters, whose brothers and their wives come after him.
ISBN-13: 978-0956867667

“The Innocent and Collateral Victims of a Bloody War with Russia” by Liviu Antonesei
“The Innocent and Collateral Victims of a Bloody War with Russia” is Liviu Antonesei's latest collection of short stories, which track the experiences of a Romanian intellectual in the years since the political upheavals in his country and the surrounding region. They make for an exciting, insightful and provocative read about the events happening right now in Eastern Europe... These seductive short stories are an ingenious merger of simple life, essay, diary and reportage.
ISBN-13: 978-0956867650

“Report on the State of Loneliness” by Augustin Buzura
A deeply reflexive meditation on the history of Doctor Cassian, from the Second World War to contemporary times in Romania, told through the experiences of a panoply of characters and events. In counterpoint, the novel details the reflections of a young woman, Mara, and her relationship with the doctor.
The book explores, in depth, the Romanian landscape over more than 70 years, subtly locating the history of a myriad of individuals and events within their broader European context, as well as describing the conflicts and opportunities of the post-Accession generation. It is an important contribution to broadening European understanding of a little known history and culture.
ISBN-13: 978-0956867643