My Father’s Orchards

My Father’s Orchards tells a previously untold story of a Romanian family caught in the crossfire between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia during World War II, further subjected to the post-war Communist dictatorships. This historical novel and family saga intertwines the shimmering reality of otherworldly beings and events, creating a unique and unforgettable narrative.

The story is framed by a daughter’s return to her father’s family home and resplendent orchards in the Romanian province of Moldavia. The historical tapestry of the novel is relentlessly torn by otherworldly characters who blend seamlessly with realistic figures, directing the plot in unpredictable ways.

Orchestrated as a Bildungsroman, the novel traces the complex destiny of the Angelescu family and the tragic fates of twin sisters Zoe and Carolina, who found refuge from the Nazis in their father’s house. It is also an immigrant story told in two voices: that of the father, Florin, and his daughter, Corina, who returns to her father’s native town after decades of living in the United States to reconstruct the puzzle of her family’s life journey.

The novel’s exploration of political oppression, violence, and displacement is profoundly relevant to our present times, marked by turbulent immigrant realities and the ominous threats of totalitarianism and genocidal wars. Yet, amidst the violent realities depicted in the story, there remains a luminous thread of hope, fierce love, and belief in the power of remembrance that connects the characters and ultimately brings them solace and closure.

Domnica Radulescu is a Romanian American award-winning novelist, playwright, and scholar who arrived in the United States in 1983 as a political refugee, having escaped the Communist dictatorship of her native Romania. She holds a PhD in French and Italian Literatures from the University of Chicago and is the author of three critically acclaimed novels: Train to Trieste (Knops 2009 & 2010), Black Sea Twilight (Transworld 2010 & 2011), and Country of Red Azaleas (Grand Central Hachette 2016).

Train to Trieste was published in thirteen languages and won the 2009 Best Fiction Award from the Library of Virginia. Both Train to Trieste and Black Sea Twilight became bestsellers in the UK in 2009 and 2011, respectively. Radulescu has also authored three books of original plays and more than a dozen books and edited collections of literary criticism on topics ranging from representations of the feminine in modern French literature to the tragic heroine across cultures, women theater makers and comedy, and the theater of war and exile.

She is the 2011 recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, a two-time Fulbright scholar, and a distinguished service professor of French and Comparative Literature at Washington and Lee University.