George Arion

George Arion (born April 5, 1946 in Tecuci) is a Romanian crime writer. He is also a poet, essayist, librettist and journalist. He is the Chairman of the Flacăra Publications, Chairman of the "Flacăra Prizes" foundation and Chairman of the Romanian Crime Writers’ Club.^[1][2]

His literary debut came in 1966 with the publishing of a collection of poems. But it is in 1983 that his novel-writing carrier really starts, with the publishing of Attack in the Library. Thanks to his first novel, George Arion quickly became known as the initiator of a renewal of the Romanian crime novel. He effectively gave a new impulse to the genre by having a refreshing foundation. He raised the literary standards and moved them away from their mostly propagandist use at the time.

George Arion stands out through an alert rhythm, short phrases, the use of colored language by his characters, a good dose of humour and an extraordinary irony, which are still his trademark. One can recognise the influences of Raymond Chandler, Boileau-Narcejac, San Antonio.

Critical reviews

• "Thanks to George Arion we finally have a true and native crime novel." - Ov. S. Crohmălniceanu, Literary Romania (România Literară), 1984.
• "I don’t think there is another character in our contemporary literature capable of competing with Andrei Mladin in popularity. Built seemingly just for fun, this tall and suave man has succeeded… in conquering the hearts of the most varied groups of readers (and, especially, female readers), amounting to actual fights between children and parents, brother and sister, husband and wife, lover and sweetheart on the subject of who has the right to read the book first." Tudorel Urian, Student Life (Viața Studențească), 28 January 1987.
• "Arion’s crime novels stand out through an alert style, through humour and through the picturesque language of his characters." Mircea Zagi, Marian Papahagi, Aurel Sasu, The Dictionary of Romanian Writers (Dicționarul Scriitorilor Români), 1995.
• "George Arion is a virtuoso of crime writing." Dumitru Micu, The History of Romanian Literature from Folklore to Post-Modernism (Istoria literaturii române de la creația populară la post-modernism), 2000.

Mystery & Thriller novels

• Attack in the Library (Atac în bibliotecă), 1983.
• The Professional. Moving Target (Profesionistul. Țintă în mișcare), 1985.
• Stunt (Trucaj), 1986.
• Choosing sides (Pe ce picior dansați?), 1990.
• Barintown Murders (Crimele din Barintown), 1995.
• Endless Yesterday (Nesfârșita zi de ieri), reedited as The King in Check (Șah la rege) in 2008, and translated in 2014 in French with the title Cible royale (Genèse Edition).
• The Chameleon (novel)|The Chameleon (Cameleonul), 2001.
• The Investigations of a Lone Detective (Anchetele unui detectiv singur), 2003.
• Spies in the Heat (Spioni în arșiță), 2003.
• The Demon of Colga (Necuratul din Colga), 2004.
• Sophisticated Murders (Crime sofisticate), 2009.
• The Castle of the Lunatics (Fortăreața nebunilor), 2011.
• Suffocation (Sufocare), 2012.
• In 1996, the complete Andrei Mladin collection was published with the title The Reluctant Detective (Detectiv fără voie), reedited in 2008 by Crime Scene Publishing.
• In 2011, Attack in the Library was published in English by Profusion Crime in London.

Poetry

• The Children Left Alone (Copiii lăsați singuri), 1979.
• Memories from the Abandoned Citadel (Amintiri din cetatea nimănui), 1980.
• The Crossing (Traversarea), 1997.
• Look who isn’t talking (Uite cine nu vorbește), poetry for children, 1997.

Literary criticism

• Alexandru Philippide or the Drama of Uniqueness (Alexandru Philippide sau drama unicității), 1981.
• Starting from 2006, George Arion is also responsible for a section entirely devoted to crime novels in the Sunday edition of Jurnalul Național.

Journalistic works

• Interviews (Interviuri), 1979.
• Interviews 2 (Interviuri II), 1982.
• The Dialogue Goes On (Dialogul continuă), 1988.
• Life Under the President of a Kingdom (Viața sub un președinte de regat), 1997.
• A History of the Contemporary Romanian Society in Interviews (1975-1999) (O istorie a societății românești contemporane în interviuri (1975-1999)), 1999.
• Silence! The Corrupt are Working for Us (Liniște! Corupții lucrează pentru noi), 2003.
• The Most Beautiful 100 Interviews (Cele mai frumoase 100 de interviuri), 2011.

Scripts

• Enigmas are Explained at Dawn (Enigmele se explică în zori), 1989.
• Attack in the Library (Atac în bibliotecă), 1992.
• The Reluctant Detective (Detectiv fără voie), television series, 2001.

Theatre and Opera

• Autograph (Autograf): dramatic monologue, 150 performances at the Bucharest National Theatre.
• Crime scene (Scena crimei): crime tragicomedy, broadcast on a Romanian public radio station (Radio România Actualități) in 2008. On stage premiere at the „Tudor Vianu” theatre in Giurgiu.
• In the Labyrinth (În labirint): opera, writing of the libretto – music by Liana Alexandra. On stage at the Timișoara Opera House in 1987.
• Memories from the Apple-tree garden (Amintiri din livada cu meri) – crime tragicomedy, broadcast on a Romanian public radio station (Radio România Actualități) in 2011.
• The Mystery of a Blizzard Night (Misterul unei nopți cu viscol) – Familia magazine, n° 11-12, 2012.

Lyrics

George Arion has written the lyrics for Eugen Cristea’s album called The Soldier Fallen for Love (Soldat căzut din iubire) in 2009.

Prizes

The Romanian Writers’ Union prize three times: 1985, 1995, 1999.

References

1. Anton Cosma Romanul românesc contemporan: Metarealismul - 1988 p207 "George Arion (n.1946) - Publicist şi reporter cu nerv şi cu acută priză la actualitate, autor al unor interviuri inteligente si incitante, George Arion se anunţă ca un prozator interesant în genul policierului, pe care-l abordează într-o manieră stilistică personală."
2. NE europa 1998 "GEORGE ARION, écrivain et journaliste, est né en 1946 en"