Herta MÃ 1\/4 ller ( born 17 August 1953 ) is a Romanian-born German novelist , poet and essayist noted for her works depicting the harsh conditions of life in Communist Romania under the repressive Nicolae CeauÅ escu regime , the history of the Germans in the Banat ( and more broadly , Transylvania ) , and the persecution of Romanian ethnic Germans by Stalinist Soviet occupying forces in Romania . Herta MÃ 1\/4 ller ( born 17 August 1953 ) is a Romanian-born German novelist , poet and essayist noted for her works depicting the effects of violence , cruelty and terror , usually in the setting of Communist Romania under the repressive Nicolae CeauÅ escu regime which she experienced herself . Many of her works are told from the viewpoint of the German minority in Romania and are also a depiction of the modern history of the Germans in the Banat , and more broadly , Transylvania .