Long Shadows Of War

About the Book

This work of fiction, inspired by the effects of WWII and its aftermath on the people of Romania, develops as two stories in alternate chapters, which – as the plots evolve – gradually fuse.

In one of the stories, George – a lieutenant in the Romanian Army fighting on the eastern front in 1942 – is trapped behind enemy lines; out of necessity he joins a Ukrainian Nationalist partisan group, and together they match wits with the ruthless NKVD. Returning home in 1945, George joins the Romanian resistance movement against the Soviet occupation and the emerging Communist Dictatorship imposed by the occupiers. Relentlessly pursued by the State Security agents, he is forced to flee his country. In the U.S.A, he continues his struggle against Communism and his old archenemy, Col. Vlasov – now a high-ranking KGB agent.

The protagonist of the second story is Dan – George’s unsuspecting son – a young Romanian physician compelled by circumstances to defect to the West. The complex drama of defection is brought to the fore. Along the way he encounters challenges and dangers, love and tragedy.

As the two stories converge, the father and son are gradually brought closer together in the U.S.A., on the background of the intensified Cold War. In a heart-breaking, dramatic finale, the unfulfilled reunion of the two protagonists is mitigated by wisdom and acceptance, and by the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

About the Author

Eugene Grecu is a physician born and educated in Romania, who - in an open act of protest against the Communist Dictatorship suffocating his country - defected to the West in 1973. A year later he began practicing his profession in the U.S.A.

This novel is based on a large body of information and personal experiences accumulated during his formative years in Romania and, later on - after his defection - abroad.

He now lives with his wife and their Golden Retriever on the Southern Oregon Coast.