Manea's "The Trenchcoat"

Norman Manea's "The Trenchcoat" was a very interesting read. I did feel a bit lost while reading it, until I realized it was not about the details of the story that mattered. Once I adjusted the way I was reading it, the story became much more enjoyable. It felt very distant and impersonal for quite a bit of the text. It focused quite a bit on interpersonal relationships, with the use of symbolism to describe life at that time in Communist Romania. A lot of the story involves reading between the lines of the text to be able to understand the underlying messages. 

While not explicitly mentioned within the book, the novel describes life under Communist Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu. Ceaușescu was famously executed along with his wife on Christmas Day, ending communism in Romania. Manea is able to paint the scenes of the story through symbolism. Much of what he writes throughout the story has double meanings and plays into a larger picture. He was unable to explicitly mention specific people or parties to ensure his safety and that of his family. I did not realize that so much of the story would depend on understanding some of Romania's history. Luckily, going into the novel I had the past knowledge necessary to understand the timing of the story. 

I think that a lot of the importance of this story is how it can impact people. Sadly, there are many countries with improper rulers and unfair laws. There is a universality to the text that can still be utilized and compared to the world today. Bad governance has been prevalent all throughout history and modern times. 

Throughout the dinner party, I kept asking myself: what am I missing? It felt very mundane and uncomfortable and I was unable to see the significance of it. I am open to hearing anyone's interpretations of that scene as I would like to know how other people understood it. 

I really enjoyed Manea's writing style. I've began wondering if his other novels are similar to this one. Do they all convey political undertones? How have they impacted the lives of those who have read it? Furthermore, how does it represent Romanian beliefs and social circumstances during that time? 

My question to the class is: What do you think the purpose of the dinner was? Were there secret messages or was it to set the scene of the mysterious trench coat?



Comments

  1. Michael Liudeng16 March 2022 at 19:49

    Hi Madi! I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on The Trenchcoat. Your question was pretty interesting; I didn't think a lot about the purpose of the dinner at all; it just felt like a small disturbance in a monotonous life that was worth highlighting. In a sense, it did set the scene for the trenchcoat, but only because it almost felt like there didn't need to be some ulterior motive for me, and it just seemed to blend in with the stagnation of the guests' life until the trenchcoat appeared.

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  2. Aquila17 March 2022 at 00:06

    hey Madi! It was great to read your thoughts on the story. I think your question and thoughts on the dinner party were interesting because they were the opposite of how I felt. Well, it was very mundane and boring which can't be contested, but I found it a very integral part of the story (though maybe this was just me). I felt as if the dinner party kind of laid the scene fot the rest of the story. The uneasiness and mundanity you mentioned really emphasised the regime in Romania at the time, and how everyone was forced to live the same and weren't allowed to argue but of course there were still things going on that no one could safely talk about. The way that everyone acted how they were "supposed" to act during the dinner party, but not how they actually felt, showed that there is a lot more below the surface in the rest of the text; and by extension in Romania during a time of drastic change.

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  3. Unknown17 March 2022 at 01:33

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
    In my opinion, I think the awkwardness and mundaneness of the dinner party kind of sets a tone for the novel as well as setting up the appearance of the trenchcoat. It was full of unspoken tension and discomfort, which is what I assumed living in communist Romania could have felt like.

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  4. Unknown17 March 2022 at 07:49

    Hi Madi,

    Thank you for sharing your insights. I feel like the party was a way for readers to have a brief characterization of the characters and to set the tone/setting for the rest of the book. You mentioned the mundaneness of it. Doesn't it sound fun to go to a party where the most exciting thing to come out of it is that someone forgot their jacket?

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