Chatting about Ionescu”: fingering for a masterpiece
The current study focuses on the second volume in prose by George Bălăiţă, a volume that prepares the transition of the author to writing novels. Here the stories capture the author’s inclination towards the experimental and the ludic genres, even though sometimes these take him to paths well-trodden by authors such as I. L. Caragiale or Eugen Ionescu, along the lines of the absurd. There is less of a didactic approach here than in the first volume, there is more innovation, and the themes of death, war and the revelation of daily life are highlighted and shown in depth. The modern techniques of relativisation and narrative behaviourism contribute to the modernisation of Bălăiţă’s new short prose. From these elements of renewal and continuity of the style and observation there is only one step towards the spectacular novel The World in Two Days.
Keywords: George Bălăiţă, the ’60 generation, short stories, war, modernism
