Mihail Sebastian
(1907-1945) Novelist and Playwright

In his book MODERN ROMANIAN LITERATURE (1939), Basil Munteano wrote of Sebastian:

'A young novelist, Mr. Mihail Sebastian, has undertaken the great subject of the Jewish soul and drama. The interest of his novel FOR TWO THOUSAND YEARS (1934) is much less romantic than ideologic. A host of problems - the possibility of an adaptation of Jews to their native soil, their differential psychology, their attitude towards death, nature, art - are here plainly stated and the views which follow are sometimes subtle and of real significance.'

By praising Sebastian, Munteano obviously put himself in real danger, for he had publicly not only praised a Jewish writer, but praised that writer's discussion of the Jews.

Radu Ioanid has translated the harrowing diary of Mikhail Sebastian, which is available from Amazon and booksellers as JOURNAL 1935-1944: THE FACIST YEARS.
None of Sebastian's novels has ever been translated into English, though they are highly popular in France.