THE IMMORTALS OF THE MOUNTAIN

by C. Virgil Gheorghiu ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1969

Like this Roumanian author's The Death of Kyralessa (1968) this is an unsettling blend of earnest didacticism and gloomy folk experience setting forth archetypal peasant agonies under the heel of the oppressor. Young Judge Damian, on awakening his first day as resident judge in the remote village of Agapia, is confronted by his first murder case--the shooting of a soldier, son of the local landowners. Blamed for the crime is the convict Savonarola, whose earlier murder of the victim's father resulted from Savonarola's attempt to save his precious axe (""the peasant's life"") after a ruthless beating. The convict had escaped simply to bring his six starving children some candy before leaving them forever. As the unpleasant events unfold, the Judge learns much about the passive suffering of a religious but desperate people. Inevitably Savonarola is killed, and the real culprit, lover of the victim's mother, casually reveals himself. But it's dreary on the mountain.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Regnery

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1969

Categories: FICTION