Every country we cover eventually raises the same question: has anyone actually written anything good about this place? With Moldova, the list is relatively short but pleasantly surprising.
Every country we cover at Koryo eventually forces us to ask an odd little question... has anyone actually written anything good about this place?
We mean beyond the travel guides and histories, into the realm of literature, memoir, and poetry.
With Moldova, the list is relatively short, but esoteric and intriguing.
Between the country itself and Bessarabia, its name under the Russian Empire, Moldova has quietly racked up a literary footprint far bigger than its size on the map would suggest.
Of course there is a major overlap between Moldovan and Romanian literature, with the two countries sharing a language and a lot of history.
The degree to which they are distinct entities has been manipulated as a political hot potato over the decades and is not something we will dig into here, so we will attempt to stick to uniquely and specifically Moldovan (and Transnistrian, Bessarabian) references in this short blog.
Here's a curated list - incomplete - but gives an idea of where you might find Moldova/Bessarabia on the page, if you wish to seek it out!
Heavyweight Literature
Modern Novels
The comic outlier
Heavyweight Literature
The Gypsies
Alexander Pushkin, giant of Russian literature (you will find statues of him all over the former USSR) was exiled to Kishinev, now Chișinău, from 1820 to 1823, and he didn't just sit around moping about it.
‘The Gypsies’ one of his so-called ‘Southern Poems’ is set among a Roma encampment in Bessarabia and draws directly on what he observed during those three years.
In the City of Slaughter
Hayim Nahman Bialik's ‘In the City of Slaughter’ (1904) was written in the aftermath of the 1903 Kishinev pogrom.
This Hebrew poem is considered one of the most influential works in modern Jewish letters and historians credit it with pushing a generation of young Jews toward Zionism and self defence rather than passivity.
It's heavy going, but important and influential.
Moldovian Autumn
Ion Druță was Moldova’s best known author during the time of the USSR.
An English language collection of his short stories under the title ‘Moldavian Autumn’ was published in 2001.
Something to seek out for that very Soviet vibe of cheeriness mixed with sadness and struggle.
Modern Novels
The Good Life Elsewhere
‘The Good Life Elsewhere’ (2008) by Vladimir Lorchenkov is probably the best-known Moldovan novel currently available in English, and for good reason.
A satire about a Moldovan village so fixated on emigrating to Italy that its residents attempt it by every means available, up to and including a homemade raft.
It won the Rossica Prize and has been compared to Gogol and Vonnegut, which is high praise indeed.
Siberian Education
‘Siberian Education’ (2009) by Nicolai Lilin is a memoir/novel about growing up inside a Siberian criminal community that had been deported to Bender, in what is now Transnistria.
Notable for having been turned into a movie starring John Malkovich (known in the US as Deadly Code).
Check out some more info on Siberian Education here
Kinderland
‘Kinderland’ (2013) by Liliana Corobca tackles a very real and tragic phenomenon: children left behind in villages as their parents move away to earn money.
In the case of this novel a 12-year-old is left in a village to look after her brothers after her parents head off to Italy and Russia.
The Comic Outlier
Playing the Moldovans at Tennis
No list like this is complete without ‘Playing the Moldovans at Tennis’ (2000) by British comedian Tony Hawks (not to be confused with Tony Hawk, the skateboarder), which is the book which put Moldova on the map for a great many people in the UK especially.
The premise is that Hawk (who has a history of undertaking absurd challenges and writing them up in books) bets he can beat every member of Moldova's national football team at tennis.
Read it to find out how he does.
It became successful enough to fund a real disability charity in Moldova, and was adapted into the first British feature film ever shot in the country and released in 2012.
Koryo Tours
Group Tours to Moldova & Transnistria
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Simon Cockerell
Simon has been Koryo’s General Manager since 2002. He has travelled to North Korea more than 175 times and has probably been to the country more than any other Westerner. He is a respected speaker on the country and appears regularly in international media. He is also a tour specialist in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and the Russian Far East where he has personally designed and led multiple tours over the years.