This fall begins with excellent news for Romanian authors published by Trei Publishing House: Camelia Cavadia’s novel, Masks of Fear, appears in Spanish at Omen Publishing House, translated by Alina Popescu.
The volume enjoys a special recommendation from the journalist Rebeca Yanke of the prestigious publication El Mundo, who declared that Las máscaras del miedo is “a novel as intense as it is overwhelming, that overwhelms you because we all have had moments in which I lived in darkness.”
“It’s very difficult for me to put into words everything I feel now, although it is precisely them, the words, that have brought me to this moment in my life. They and the people. I am very grateful for everything that is happening and I thank with all my being those who have been by my side from the very beginning on this road, but also those who have joined me along the way. For me this translation is a huge thing and I hope that The Masks of Fear (Las máscaras del miedo) will enjoy the attention of Spanish readers, as it happened in Romania. This book quickly became a favorite and I am very happy that even nine years after its publication, it continues to gather new and new readers. This time, he embarks on an adventure whose borders are limitless, and I am excited like a mother whose child is going to conquer the world,” stated Camelia Cavadia.
“It is the first book in Romanian literature that the Spanish publisher chooses to publish: “I don’t know if I discovered the Masks of Fear or if the book discovered me. I couldn’t even say that Omen Ediciones chose it as the first title to publish, because without this book maybe the publishing house wouldn’t have existed. This story, which remains so deeply imprinted in the soul, was the one that gave impetus to a much-dreamed-of, but long-stalled project. Thanks to Camelia Cavadia and this wonderful book, we were able to take off our masks and get wings. Thank you!“, said in her turn Oana Moșniagu, the founder of Omen Publishing House.
Masks of Fear is a novel that reminds us in a special way about how important our childhood is and the role models we have during that time. How big is the imprint left on a child’s future by an authoritarian, violent and incapable parent? A history of the metamorphosis of a personality abused by violence and fear, a moving look at motherhood stifled by stereotypes and a love that could have been perfect if its protagonists had lived in the present.
A unique reading experience also for Alina Popescu, the translator of the novel into Spanish: “This moving story, which I read and translated with my heart in my mouth, is an extraordinary example of social prose, a testimony of a reality that many of us can relate to. I hope with all my heart that Las máscaras del miedo will have a good journey in Spain as well, a country where there is still an unexpected percentage of children mistreated by their parents. I am firmly convinced that the mastery with which Camelia captures the consequences of a traumatic childhood will not leave the readers here indifferent.”
The novel Măștile fricii, published for the first time in 2016, has so far sold more than 20,000 copies. The book is also available in ebook and audiobook format in the author’s reading.