"It's 1977 in Zimnicea, Romania.
An earthquake has reduced the home of ten-year-old Alex to rubble, taking with it his father and his best friend. With their world in ruins and Ceaușescu tightening his grip on a fearful nation, Alex's mother, Eva, must find the strength to protect her son and fight for a future beyond the confines of Communist Romania."
Inspired by real events, this story captures the heartbreak of loss, the value of tradition, and the enduring hope of a migrant mother and son determined to build a better life from the ashes.
A dream of Alex and Eva
Les Dues Donnes
Latina camp
Mihaela Balan Larsen
Like her protagonists, Mihaela was born in Romania during Ceaușescu's dictatorship. At twenty-one years old, she left the country and has since moved to several different places, including Barcelona and is now living in France. Through her own memories, family stories and of others that lived during those times, this novel tells a story that is both personal and universal, with characters inspired by people that marked her life.
Everything Worth Counting is the author's first novel marking her debut in published fiction.
Illustration Credits
Dream Illustration:
Yvonne Olsen - "A dream of Alex and Eva"