One of the reading challenges I set for myself this year is to read one book a month set in a country other than Canada, the United States, or England, and each selection must be from my own collection (i.e no new purchases or library books). So far this year I’ve read books set in New Zealand, Ireland, Nigeria, India, Germany, and now, Romania.

Set in the 1970s and 80s, Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn is story of Alina, a teacher who lives with her husband, Liviu in communist Romania, navigating a sea of informants, secret police, and a manipulative mother. The style is told in what I’ve come to see described as “flash fiction” — snippets and snapshots of a moment. Sometimes, this increased the horror of what I was reading, as there was so much unsaid. Late in the novel, a significant aspect of magical realism comes into play, and while I’m sure for many this was appealing, for me it took away from the reality of what Alina faces, and I would have preferred a more mundane resolution to her plight.

All in all, this was a story that isn’t often shared in fiction, and the paranoia, anxiety and terror are all palpable. It’s a quick read, but one that doesn’t refrain from the dark aspects of a dictatorial regime.