Published in The New Literary Society, by Julia Kalman, on January 30, 2024.
Foreword: Stepping into the World of ‘Born on the Dark Side’ by Nan Constantin Ilie
Born on the Dark Side by Nan Constantin Ilie is a novel of temptations, an adventure in space and time, in the creative imagination, together with seemingly familiar characters, who make their mark on us, in unsuspected ways.
The book brings together valuable information even for historians of recent times.
Details about the Romanian Revolution, insight into the tragic destiny of the Romanian nobility, and fragments from recorded documents intend to restore and recover as much as possible from that difficult period.
This work of fiction is valuable because of its historical character and structure and construction of the characters
Nan Constantin Ilie turns the realities into fiction and recomposes history with narrative verve.
He invites us to take part in events that go back in time, starting from Brâncoveanu’s reign, century winding, until communism in the eighties, then, to the Revolution of 1989 and the post-revolutionary period.
The writer presents exotic aspects of that time, often forgotten, but of great interest to the reader.
We face cannons, insidious, ghostly enemies, those terrorists of the Revolution, we close our eyes, take a deep breath — which I recommend, and we see with our minds the sacrifices made — the wounds of the heroes of the Revolution, even the smell and taste of their blood.
From the first literary meeting with Nan Constantin Ilie, I noticed his technique.
On the panoply of characters he sketches first, the historical figures, His Majesty King Michael I of Romania, Ion Rațiu, Ion Iliescu, Petre Roman, Mircea Dinescu, Ion Caramitru, adds the main characters, and in the background, his favorite characters — the orphans, the little pickpockets, the thieves, the nurses, that Comrade Godmother who returns obsessively.
I was saying that Born on the Dark Side by Nan Constantin Ilie would be a novel of temptations.
Well, yes.
And of all, most perverse are the temptations of abandoned children, being taught to commit crimes in the very institution that should have taken care of their social integration.
Especially moving is the moment when one of the characters, who has reached maturity, around the age of twenty, has the revelation of evil and decides to change his life.
The writing follows the evolution of the characters, we are talking about a bildungsroman, a novel that presents the psychological and moral growth of its main characters — Christian and Angelina Livia.
Nan Constantin Ilie — a seductive author, a tamer of emotion, an author of terror, and an author of love.
I can’t help but notice the way he plays with the reader’s emotions.
He incites, baffles, and attracts with enviable ease, both through art and through his presence.
The book launch sparked a stir, and one of his admirers proposed to him, as he told me.
It seems that Born on the Dark Side by Nan Constantin Ilie has come to light and proves to be an interesting book, maybe even his author’s masterpiece.
Julia Kalman
”Traveling the world of absolutely captivating characters, looking for the right path, I succumbed to feelings, continuing to write “hungry” about their adventures.
Day or night, without sleep, joy, or other desires and regardless of where and in what country I was, I have been always, always, anxiously writing that I would not be able to get to the end, so I calm the hot blood, my heart, and soul, to be able to finally find the peace, balance, and satisfaction of a job well done “. [Nan Constantin Ilie]
Reach out to Nan Constantin Ilie, author of Don’t Shed No Tears, Brother, Born on the Dark Side, and the Vietnam War-inspired romance-drama, An American Story of Love, War, and Revenge. https://www.facebook.com/nan.iulian.79 https://www.facebook.com/iulian.nan.338
Julia Kalman 
You must be logged in to post a comment.