Straniera

Poverty drives a woman from Bessarabia to leave home. The pandemic then forces her to come back. At home, she fears the virus she cannot see. Longing helps her cope. Claudia Partole’s novel looks at exile and lost roots. It also shows the search for a sense of self.

The story spans a group whose lives cross many lands. Parents give up their hopes to secure their children’s future. Yet parents and children also clash. They live with patience and silence. They share their grief in public through social media. Five chapters bear the name “Drumul Crucii”. These draw on the New Testament. They link a whole people’s pain to Christ’s path to the cross.

This is fiction about moving between countries and family ties. It also asks what home means. Partole was born in Cotova, in the Drochia district. She studied journalism at the State University, in its philology faculty. She belongs to the writers’ unions of Moldova and Romania. Her awards include those from children’s book fairs. She has won Vasile Vasilache and Otilia Cazimir awards. Writers’ unions and Moldova’s culture ministry have also given her awards. She has won the Ion Creangă award and the Eminescu Medal.