The audiobook highlights the collective strength of the free peasants (răzeși) over individual heroism.

“When I first read the novel in school, I liked the story but found the language heavy,” says [Narrator Name] in a behind-the-scenes clip. “Recording it made me realize how musical and alive Sadoveanu’s sentences actually are.”

He marries Catinca in a grand ceremony. However, the happiness is short-lived. Stroe’s enemy, Vartic, though defeated politically, manages to plant seeds of doubt and discord. But the true tragedy strikes from a different angle.