Abstract
Max Blecher, a paradigmatic case of marginality, has been the subject of recent critical reevaluations that established his canonic status in modern Romanian literature. His novel Occurrence in the Immediate Unreality (1936) bears not only the mark of Blecher’s affinity with the Avant-garde, but of his intense and original perception of issues pertaining to identity and the construction of the self. His status as a Jewish writer struggling for authenticity and recognition in the complex historical context preceding World War II and the instauration of Communism adds depth and detail to a dramatic biography lying in the background of his fiction. Peripheral spaces, childhood and immaturity, the revelation of sexuality and death become decisive elements in a metaphysical adventure that is simultaneously an initiation and a metamorphosis. A narrative that validates the author’s Surrealist lineage, Occurrence in the Immediate Unreality favors a comparative perspective that equally connects Max Blecher to a Central and Eastern-European framework.
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