For the Romanian Banat, water has no peace

Herta Müller, the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature, witnessed the repressive regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu. "The Passport", published in 1986, would refer to a village miller's attempt to emigrate to West Germany. If this was a Hollywood movie, then his story would be filled with drama and suspense. But Müller was inspired by the Brothers Grimm. Each chapter, one to three pages long, could stand on its own. Some readers would be reminded of Italo Calvino's "Marcovaldo", but Müller was rather precise. Each sentence was made up of seven to twenty words. Here's a sample:

"By the first poplar tree beyond it, where he always hits the same pot hole, he counts the days."

"For seven days the sky burned itself dry."

"The neighbor's spotted pigs are a herd in the clouds."

This was the author's description of Banat, a province in the western part of Romania. The German minority lived there, and they were shunned in their own homeland. "The Passport" was a bleak depiction of life in a small village, where superstition ruled the land. Müller's frequent mention of the owl would suggest death was keeping an eye on the inhabitants. And Wallachia brought up images of Count Dracula.

The miller's story would happen during Müller's adolescent years. It had a profound effect on her. Readers only needed to look at a photograph of the author, whose dark eyes would startle them. (It wasn't hard to guess what she went through.) Some would suggest that superstition made her tale less painful to read, but it was the opposite.

How about the stateless person?

Gregor von Rezzori once lived in Bukovina, which was divided over Romania and Ukraine. This self-proclaimed aristocrat wouldn't find a home in his own land, but there was no trace of bitterness in his works. In fact, "Memoirs of an Anti-Semite" (1979) was his attempt to probe into the origin of Antisemitism. His findings surprised readers. What would his works have to do with Müller's? Plenty.

Twentieth century was a turbulent period in Europe. Two world wars led to the dissolution of many kingdoms and the rise of new political entities, and it was more apparent in the eastern part of the continent. Background influenced the writing style of the authors (from this part of Europe). In Müller's case, a make believe was intended.

The deep water in Banat was often found to be colored, if not smelly. It would speak volumes.