History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness

A rather brilliant book for how short it is. Boia shows his ability to analyse historians and the various themes that arise while also writing in an engaging (and often humorous way!). What I came for was a debunking of nationalist myths and left with an immense contextualisation on why my nation would act in such a way. It is rather infuriating to live with nationalists and be shown that others have the same gripes: Boia and the Junimea group. It is particularly coincidental that he wrote this book during the 1996 elections and I'm reading it during the 2024 elections. Yet despite two decades apart the issues remain constant; Romania wants an authoritarian saviour which panders to an autochthonous glorious past that never existed. Is there hope for Romania? Perhaps in the slow work of serious historians who do not acknowledge the role of contemporary politics as necessary in their work.