TheObsessive decade (Romanian:obsedantul deceniu) was a term originally coined by writerMarin Preda to refer to disdain shown by literary critics following thede-Stalinization of the 1960s towards thesocialist realistRomanian literary works of the 1950s era. It has since become a common reference to the latter or to the Romanian experience of the 1950s as a whole, as criticism of the period was encouraged byNicolae Ceaușescu's "national communism" and afterwards officially endorsed following thefall of the regime in 1989.
Principele ("The Prince", 1969) byEugen Barbu is an allegory referring to theGheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej regime. The novel is set in thePhanariote era, describing a prince trying to build a canal (referring to theDanube–Black Sea Canal) without any consideration for his subjects, many of whom die during its construction.[1]
F (1969) byDumitru Radu Popescu tried to divide the guilt for the abuses of the Stalinist era; the book is focused on a judicial enquiry on thecollectivization of peasant holdings, trying to equate the reluctance to talk about the crimes with complicity.[1]
Two novels,Paul Goma'sOstinato (1971) andAlexandru Ivasiuc'sPăsările ("The Birds", 1973) discussed theBucharest student movement of 1956, during which both authors were arrested. While Ivasiuc made some concessions to meet thecensors' approval, Goma lost patience and published it inWest Germany.[2]