Marin Preda (; 5 August 1922, Siliștea Gumești, Teleorman County, Kingdom of Romania – 16 May 1980, Mogoșoaia, Ilfov County, Socialist Republic of Romania) was a Romanian novelist, post-war writer and director of Cartea Românească publishing house. He is considered by some to be the most important novelist in post-World War II Romanian literature. However, he has also garnered an ambivalent perception in post-socialist Romania: Preda's final novel, Cel mai iubit dintre pământeni ("The Most Beloved of Earthlings"), published just a couple of months before his death, is considered a daring critique of the beginnings of communism in Romania; in contrast, Preda was well-regarded by party leaders and received high distinctions in socialist Romania, and did not position himself as an open opponent of the regime. At the time of his death, Marin Preda was a member of the Great National Assembly. Biography Childhood Preda was born in Teleorman County in a village called Siliștea Gumești, the son of Tudor Călărașu, a ploughman, and Joița Preda. He legally bore his mother's name, as his parents were not legally married due to the fact that Joița was a war widow, and a second marriage would annul her pension. Joița had two daughters from her first marriage: Măria (nicknamed Alboaica) and Mița (Tita). Tudor Călărașu was also a widower, and had three sons from his first marriage: Ilie (Paraschiv), Gheorghe (Achim) and Ion (Nilă). In the family of the two spouses were also born: Ilinca, Marin and Alexandru (Sae). Marin Preda spent his childhood in this large and rural family which — despite owning two plots of land — did not have financial security. Education In September 1929, the teacher Ionel Teodorescu enrolled Marin Preda in the first grade, but Preda's father did not let him attend, as he usually enrolled his children only at the age of 8. The following year, Preda was re-enrolled in the first grade in his native village. Due to the family's rural lifestyle, Preda participated in agricultural work at home, which meant that he was often absent from school. Gradually, however, he proved to be among the best students in his grade, and was awarded for his academic success (this childhood scene was later evoked in his novel Moromeții). The year 1933–1934 (4th grade) was one of the hardest in the student's life: his father could no longer buy textbooks and came down with malaria. Due