the trenchcoat

I didn’t connect with this book as much as others in the past just because of its writing style. Since the start, I was very confused and felt like I did not understand something, so it took more time for me to get hooked and stay engaged. As I read about the Romanian cold war and the government they had, I was able to put a lot more context and perhaps analyze behind the text with that in mind. I really enjoyed the beginning where conversations in the car opened the text, I’d say it really let us into their dynamics and the environment they were in “A deep-sea dive, one might think, with colonies of organisms bursting into view for a brief instant, sinister monstrosities outlined against an unpredictable fluid vastness” (pg. 194).

The way the text expands the war through language “I mean, that deadly monotony and the multilateral boredom of language, of submission, conventions, don’t forget those murderous conventions, incurable, real killers, unless we can find something else, a new experiment, an explosion, an ex, yes…”(225), characters “They, meaning them, meaning Him, the audience knows it” (pg. 196) and especially the “trenchcoat” is really interesting. I believe for it to be a symbolism for the way life was during the last years of Ceaucescu’s rule. For me, the trenchcoat was really a symbolism of the totalitarian regime/system they were under, the ignorance of some, the skepticism of others, and the question of what it really was to be a significant factor. It is there, and some question it whilst others don’t see a reason to ask any questions.

After watching the conversation video with Norman Manea himself so many of my questions were answered. At first learning about his role as the author of this book, being born in Bukovina, seems even more relevant given its divisive location. Secondly, learning directly from him what he was referring to by the trenchcoat as the shadow of the society from the security office “an emblem for the securitat” and was manipulating everything. Moreover, at first I perceived the trenchcoat as a more abstract/symbol from the securitat but it truly was a uniform they used to distinguish themselves from the rest of the people “one in four people was an informant” said Norman. As I heard Norman speak about the reality and environment at that time, driven by manipulation and manifested into uncertainty, it truly is something that becomes portrayed in the text of the book “what is true, what is not true” something I kept asking myself as I read the book. Everyone was suspicious. I’d say although a book about war times, definitely brings a lot of philosophy and lessons about life. It puts the reader in a puzzled position where they must reflect.

My question to you is: did you immediately understand the significance of the trenchcoat? If yes, how? and if no, what were your initial thoughts and how did you realize its true meaning?