Never Mind the Balkans, Here's Romania

'Never Mind the Balkans, Here's Romania' is often described as one of the best books about life in modern Romania. If you want to discover this fascinating country with someone who knows it well, Mike Ormsby's travel writing is for you. Whilst the average Romania travel guide suggests places to visit, Ormsby gets up close and personal with his unique blend of journalistic objectivity and dry wit, crafting true-life stories about the people who live in Romania: from friendly hikers and shepherds in Transylvania, to exasperated taxi drivers and bossy bureaucrats in Bucharest. His bittersweet short stories are a quick and easy read yet offer fascinating glimpses of an enthralling land that Vlad 'The Impaler' Tepes - real life inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula - once ruled with an iron fist. Published in 2008, 'Never Mind the Balkans...' was well received by Romania's literary critics, several of whom dubbed Ormsby 'The British Caragiale', in deference to their beloved fin-de-siècle satirist and playwright. Ion Luca Caragiale shone a humorous and affectionate light on Romania in his era, and Mike Ormsby does the same in ours.