Books Authored

Tolkien's World (Arad: Hartmann, 2004), 152 pp.

György GYÖRFI-DEÁK (online magazine Pro-Scris: http://proscris.web1000.com/Ps27-28/lazu.htm):

"A philosopher from Timisoara is the first Romanian author who succeeded in elaborating and publishing a critical study, entitled Tolkien's World. It was not an easy road for him to take and, at a certain moment he even had to get a more profound knowledge as far as some technical aspects were concerned, in order to be able to create a web site. This is completely dedicated to the critical reception of Tolkien and constituted a real forum for those interested, a place where to publish some works meant to explore the significance of some facts happened in the ancient times or even more recently, within some strange universe: The Middle Earth".

Radu CAPAN (Pro-Familia web site: http://www.profamilia.ro/recenzii.asp?carti=8604):

"In the chapter about 'The Religion of the Middle Earth' Lazu discusses all the various trends in the interpretation of Tolkien's work. He reminds us that Tolkien declares himself a writer above all, and by all means a Catholic writer. But Tolkien is also the one who, writing to a good friend of his, a Jesuit priest, confessed that 'The Lord of the Rings is, of course, a piece of work fundamentally religious and Catholic'. In the last part of his study, Lazu talks about the 'Tolkien's secret': 'People can't live without <true> stories, withouth myths, without sacred texts. This is, shortly, our answer to this problem'. Of course, we can't have enough with this 'shortly offeredţ answer; therefore we invite you to read the whole book, each of its almost 150 pages in order to find the entire answer of the author".

Adrian G. ROMILĂ (Luceafărul, no. 35/29, September2004, pag. 4):

"Using at the same time an argumentation theological, philosophical and also anthropological, Lazu emphasizes the round conception of Tolkien about the relation among imagination, sense and faith, as mirrored in the stories written in order to illustrate a religious message. It seems that (...) the Oxford professor had come to really visualize the scenes he was about to write, in their smallest details. Therefore the readers are offered a certain imaginary location, able to make them reflect and get moved as far as the values of The Middle Earth are concerned, like some kind of answer to those offered by the technical civilization, opaque to the morals or the chivalrous virtues. 'The reorientation of our whole life, generated by the utilization of the inner energy of man's soul with the declared purpose to meditate upon the imaginary life of some characters embodying a crucial fight between Good and Evil', Lazu concludes, 'this is the most important effect of a lecture of Tolkien's stories'. Because the only true story would be 'the one concerning the Fall and Redemption of man by a Holy Savior'. Talking about the impossibility of a motion picture capable to express the entire significance of Tolkien's fantasies (but still being valuable, I would add, as far as the panoramic image of the happenings and characters in The Lord of the Rings) and also taking into consideration the complete bibliography of the above-mentioned writer and the studies about him and his work, I dare say that Robert Lazu's essay is fully successful in telling many things within a limited space, doing a great service to the critical reception of Tolkien's work in Romania. Any student or scholar interested in these aspects of Tolkien's work will certainly have to keep in mind his subtle analyses".

Mihaela CERNĂUŢI-GORODEŢCHI (Acta Iassyensia Comparationis, no. 2/2004, pp. 297-299):

" (...)Tolkien's World id a rigorous book, well balanced and extremely concentrated; [...] Robert Lazu proposes here a difficult and daring goal (a compressed presentation of a huge fictional world and of a very special writer - one who doesn’t fit much any predetermined classification, a problem-writer, so to speak, in the serious meaning of the word) amd he fully achieves it, by all means, without any doubt. What we have here is an admirable example of concision, precision and organization - pretty rare to find in the Romanian letters. [...] One of the great credits of Robert Lazu's book is his great care (doubled by great information, too) to indicate (without any prejudice and a comforting lack of any snobbism - of any kind) the very few (and also very different - from the techniques of the discourse to the general tone some critical voices used) Romanian necessary points of departure a Tolkien fan could use in Romania: Nicolae Steinhardt, Virgil Nemoianu, Vlad Macri (the author of the foreword to romanian translation of Silmarillion); web-people like Liviu Radu, Szabo Sandor and last but not least Gyorfi-Deak Gyorgy".

Viorel PÎRLIGRAS (in Autograf MGM, no. 1/2004, p. 9):

"We witness fully enchanted the recent editorial great achievement entitled Tolkien's World. Indeed, as Robert Lazu, the author, confesses, the fictional world and personality of the writer J.R.R. Tolkien are almost unknown to the Romanian readers and, from this point of view this book should be warmly welcomed, because it suppresses this lack of our literary climate".

Hermeneutic Exercises (Cluj-Napoca: Viata crestina, 2002), 264 pp.

Daniel HOBLEA (Caiete silvane, no. 1-2/2003, p. 200):

"(...) Robert Lazu tries here and at the same time he put the idea in front of his readers <a theologically rigorous interpretation of Mircea Eliade's work>. Has he succeeded in doing so? We do believe he has, but each reader should lecture by themselves these informed and inciting Hermeneutic Exercises in order to be convinced (or not) by the righteousness of our appreciation".

The Discreet Charm of Theology (Cluj-Napoca: Dacia, 2001), 160 pp.

Dorin ŞTEFĂNESCU (Vatra, no. 4-5/2001, pp.53-55):

"Robert Lazu clearly manifests an open spirit to everything that could replenish and enrich the theological discourse for the present day human being. [...] R. Lazu's book belongs to a very fertile trend of theoretical ideas, more and more present, that tries to rethink Theology itself by the means of all the instruments offered by the philosophical concepts. I don't think his particular effort is only about replenishing the old and difficult problem that concerned the first half of the last century, meaning the possibility of creating some Christian philosophy, but also about seeing the Christian thought as a confessing phenomenology and the philosophy as a believing wisdom. Therefore we may say it is not a simple theological piece of thinking, but a clear try to make the Christian message as radical it may be as a manifestation of the real presence of Life within everything alive and present in the call of its Word".

Nicolae CORNEANU, the Orthodox Archbishop of Banat (as cited in The Revival of Banat, no. 3401/2001 and also in The West Day, no. 635/2001):

"This is a book that, I confess, fascinated me".

Books Edited

J.R.R. Tolkien: credinţă şi imaginaţie (coordinated together with Virgil Nemoianu, Arad: Hartmann, 2005), 288 pp.

György GYÖRFI-DEÁK (in Caiete silvane, no. 4, mai 2005, p. 21):

"The moment the first part from the trilogy The Lord of the Rings start broadcasting, Tolkien was an almost unknown author in Romania. Meanwhile some studies by Mrs. Mihaela Cernauti-Gorodetchi began to appear in Convorbiri literare magazine. The fans on the web also start publishing small issues and translations on the literary criticism Pro-Scris. Still, all these were not too much. Discontent with the present state of things, Robert Lazu wrote a critical study, Tolkien's World, book that appeared in 2004, at Hartmann Publishing House in Arad. Then, in order to fully complete his task, he began working to the present anthology".