The Story That Cannot Be Told

Gr 3-7–This gripping story describes the impact of the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania on the lives of one family and draws on multiple sources of information—folklore and fairy tales, stories told to the author by Romanian friends, and the author’s research into history and literature—to yield a powerful mix of fact and fiction. The writing draws heavily from the language of storytelling: “Once upon a time, something happened. If it had not happened, it would not be told.” The book centers on Ileana, a young girl whose world is shaken as the Ceausescu regime erodes individual freedoms and sows fear and resentment. Secret police intrude into people’s lives. One day, despite her parents’ warnings, Ileana lets in an “electrician,” who proceeds to install bugs throughout the family’s apartment. Ileana, a talented storyteller and writer, is a threat to everyone’s safety, especially her own, so her parents send her to the countryside to stay with her grandparents. Life gets more and more constrained, and the secret police eventually endeavor to destroy the village where Ileana is staying, find her uncle, and punish him for writing a political manifesto. The novel’s structure draws readers in. Threaded throughout are retellings of Romanian fairy tales about “Cunning Ileana,” a smart princess who outsmarts her enemies. These tales encircle the main narrative in fascinating ways that invite speculation and interpretation. It would be hard to end this story and not feel connected to it and curious to know more about what happened in Romania in the 1980s.