Pretending to Sleep

Read this story. It’s not long. I read it in a sitting last night. And frankly, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

There is no slap-bang action in this book.  No chase scenes.  No daring rescues.  No climactic battles.  It is no spy or resistance thriller.  It’s simply the baldly told tale of a girl, Renata, at the mercy of forces far beyond any control of hers, and her treatment for the “crime” of simply having the wrong relatives. Her helplessness in the face of those forces paints, in a few broad strokes, the grim nature of life in Communist Romania.

The book’s very understatement provides much of its power and provides a perennially topical warning about the danger of too-pervasive government, where every aspect of ones life is mandated by the State.

The author, Monalisa Foster, is a friend of mine.  She’s also a survivor of communist Romania under the tyrant Nicolae Ceaușescu.  Her own personal experiences provide a backdrop for the events in the book and provides a reminder of how important it is to retain our American freedoms.

Buy.  This.  Book.