Women

I love Sebastian's courage, his lightness, and his wit

I love Sebastian's courage, his lightness, and his wit

Sebastian belongs in the pantheon of classic authors

A compelling portrait of desire

Nothing I have read is more affecting than Mihail Sebastian's magnificent, haunting 1934 novel, For Two Thousand Years.

His prose is like something Chekhov might have written - the same modesty, candour, and subtleness of observation

Sebastian's observations of the complex physical and emotional details of romantic intrigue are perceptive and affectionate....these concise stories...showcase Sebastian's brilliant eye for emotional detail

If there is any justice [Sebastian's] posthumous profile will increase

Sebastian died a victim of an automobile accident in 1946, having survived the Second World War and the Holocaust. That fatal moment robbed the literary world of a unique voice

A minor masterpiece of voice, mood and emotion

Mihail Sebastian (Author)
Mihail Sebastian was born in Romania in 1907 as Iosef Hecter. He worked as a lawyer and writer until anti-Semitic legislation forced him to abandon his public career. Having survived the war and the Holocaust, he was killed in a road accident early in 1945 as he was crossing the street to teach his first class. His long-lost diary, Journal 1935-1944: The Fascist Years , was published to great acclaim in the late 1990s.

John Banville (Introducer)
John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. He is the author of fourteen previous novels including The Sea , which won the 2005 Man Booker Prize. He was recently awarded the Franz Kafka Prize. He lives in Dublin.