I discovered Stela Brinzeanu’s ‘Set in Stone‘ through Marina Sofia from ‘Finding Time to Write’ . The story looked beautiful and so I was excited to read it.
It is the medieval ages. We are in Moldova. Elina is a young noblewoman. She lives with her father. Her mother has passed. One day she crosses paths with Mira. Mira is the potter’s daughter who is hoping to become a potter herself one day. Magic happens. But this is the medieval ages. A woman falling in love with another woman and they both getting together is impossible. Also, their social divide is impossible to bridge. What happens to them forms the rest of the story.
At its core, ‘Set in Stone’ is a beautiful love story. But it is also much more than that. It depicts the lives of women in the middle ages and how everything was hard for them, how women who were healers were branded as witches, how people lived together as a community and helped each other out, the battle between different religions, the old and the new, how freedom was elusive whether one was poor or rich and how no one was truly free. At one point Elina asks her father, “What’s the use of all this if I can’t be free?” To which her father replies, “No one is really free, my dear. I’m at the behest of the voivode and he is a vassal of the Ottoman sultan, and so it goes. Real freedom doesn’t exist, and if it did, I’m not even sure we’d want it.“
I loved most of the characters in the book (except the bad ones). Most of the women characters were fascinating and inspiring because they defied the restrictions imposed on them and tried to break free and express themselves and live beautiful lives. Stela Brinzeanu’s prose is soft and beautiful and brings that period alive. The conversations between Elina and Mira were cool and stylish and were such a pleasure to read.
I loved ‘Set in Stone’. This is the first ever book that I’ve read where the story is set in Moldova. Yay! I’m so happy about that! Stela Brinzeanu has written another book set in Moldova during contemporary times. I can’t wait to read that!
I’ll leave you with some of my favourite passages from the book.
“‘At the heart of any storm, whether it’s around or inside you, there’s a place of quiet like no other. When you find that place, you gain such strength that nobody could ever take that away from you.”
“She watches the snowflakes swarming outside, as if they are choosing where to settle. Who is she fooling? Of course it isn’t up to them where they end up. It’s the invisible wind that’s tossing them about, teasing them with the promise of free will.”
“Elina thinks how much easier it is to communicate with animals. They perceive the world in silence, and they’re never wrong. Words are useless tools if you’re digging for truth, she thinks. They lie, deceive and distort. Only in the absence of words can there be truth. That’s why people talk, because they have something to hide.”
“Home isn’t really someone’s hut or manor, she thinks, but the place where your loved one is waiting for you.”
Have you read ‘Set in Stone’? What do you think about it?
Vishy's Blog 
Another title I haven’t heard of before, but it piques my interest because I am often called “Mira” for short. Haha Thank you for yet another peek into a region from which I should read more, Vishy. 🙂
So nice to know that, Mira 😊 I discovered this book totally by accident and I’m glad I read it. It is always nice to discover a new country through literature. I hope you like this book if you decide to read it. It is beautiful and brings that period alive.
This was interesting because I knew next to nothing about Moldavia, apart from a vague idea of its geographical position in Europe. From what I’ve read about it at Britannica, (britannica.com/place/Moldova/People) it sounds as if it has a lot of challenges to overcome. So I’ll be interested to hear about this author’s other novel set in contemporary times…
Thanks for sharing, Lisa. I first read about Moldova in a book called ‘The Geography of Bliss’ which was a kind of travelogue. This is the first time I’m reading a novel set there and I’m glad I read it. The author’s other novel set in Moldova during contemporary times looks very fascinating. I hope to read it soon. Hope you like it, if you decide to read it.
Delighted you took a gamble on it and enjoyed it! This is set in medieval Moldova, which was a country encompassing both the current Republic of Moldova and the province of Moldova which is now part of Romania. It was constantly under siege from the Ottoman Empire, and the feudal lords were often appointed by the Ottomans or at the very least paying tribute to them. Hence the emphasis on male inheritance, and the obsession with building churches (usually as a sign of thanks after successfully fending off an attack from the Ottomans).
Thanks so much for telling me about this book, Marina! I wouldn’t have discovered it otherwise. I enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing more about medieval Moldovan and Romanian history and about the Ballad of Master Craftsman Manole. I learnt a lot from reading your comment and review and from reading about the ballad.