Arta refugii

Arta refugii follows a child whose family must flee home. It asks how leaving one’s birthplace shapes who one is. The child lacks the safety of an ideal childhood.

Paul Goma draws on his own life in this novel. The child recalls a lost home and asks, “Who am I?” Unlike Din Calidor, this book shows childhood through the need to flee. It forms part of the Cartier Popular series.

Goma also fought against communist rule in Romania. The system denied him civil rights. It also denied him the freedom to defend himself.