Diary of 66 - by Alexandra Furnea (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Diary of 66 is one woman's triumph over tragedy, and also a warning about the often-deadly consequences of corruption, in all of its shapes and forms. A young Romanian rock music journalist leaves home on the night of October 30, 2015, to go to a Goodbye to Gravity concert. She wants to write a review about the gig, to help promote the band, which is considered Romania's rising star on the local metal scene. Rock music has a troubling history of repression in the ex-communist country, and she wants to bring her contribution to dismantling the prejudice that surrounds it. She never gets to write the piece and the band doesn't finish the show either. A violent fire erupts in the Colectiv Club during the concert, trapping the audience inside. Over 180 people are severely injured and, in the days and months following the fire, 65 people lose their lives. Alexandra could have been number 66, but she survives against all odds. Diary of 66 is her memoir about the night of the fire and everything that came after it: her fight against death in the catastrophically ill-equipped hospitals in Romania, that lied about their incompetence and about the presence of dangerous multidrug resistant germs to protect the corrupted Government, her struggle to get appropriate care after she's discharged with open wounds and abandoned by the medical system, her journey towards recovery, and her life as a survivor of a national tragedy that made international headlines.

Review Quotes

Diary of 66 is a powerful memoir about a catastrophic fire that connects the personal suffering of the victims and their families to political malfeasance. --Michele Sharpe "Foreword Reviews" (9/1/2024 12:00:00 AM)

A real life 'tales from the Crypt' written from the sinister 'hospital of the neverhealing', with Chuck Palahniuk's pen, dipped in Edgar Allan Poe's ink.--Marius Chivu "Dilema Veche Magazine (Romania)"

Diary of 66 is an incredible memoir and Alexandra Furnea describes everything she experienced in clear, horrifying detail. What makes this book so beautiful, even in light of all that had happened, is that Furnea demonstrates empathy and compassion toward herself and others who have suffered similar fates. In her writing, she uses metaphors that show a deep understanding of pain and trauma with lines like, "The stories their intricate designs tell are no longer only of pain and destruction, but also of redemption, and the latter have multiplied, with every surgery that succeeded and every kindhearted human being who healed instead of harming." Stories like Furnea's are the ones that need to be told so that what happened is amplified to the point that it never, ever happens again. Very highly recommended.--Jamie Michele "Readers' Favorite" (4/8/2024 12:00:00 AM)

I've never encountered a more convincing description of physical and moral Hell in any of the literature I've read so far. This is not just a book. It's a necessary historical document for every Romanian, and a piece of writing that can easily hold its own among names like Evghenia Ghinzburg or Primo Levi.--Doru Castaian, professior, translator, editor

This memoir will hit you like a ton of bricks. It's painful, graphic, and so real. The abuse, the filth, and the lies seen through Alexandra's eyes brought back that deep feeling of hatred for the corrupt political administration, and for those who choose a profession not out of empathy but out of the pursuit of money and social status.--Diana Livesay, investigative journalist

Whenever a writer succeeds in bringing the right words together, they perform a corrective endeavor upon the world, they right the world's ugliness. This is what Diary of 66 manages to do.--Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian author

About the Author

Alexandra Furnea is a Romanian journalist, social activist and writer. She has worked for over ten years as a music journalist, promoting the local and international rock scene. While attending a concert she was supposed to write a review for on October 30th 2015, she was severely injured in what came to be known as the "Colectiv Club fire". She survived and wrote her memoir, "Jurnalul lui 66", which became a bestseller in Romania. It unmasked the corruption that was to blame for her ordeal and the death of 65 young and promising Romanians.