Living in misery, ill and depressed, he attempted suicide in 1921 on his way to Nice, but his life was rescued in time. Shortly before the attempt, he had written to Romain Rolland, the French writer he admired most and with whom he had long tried to get in touch. Rolland received the letter through the Police and immediately replied. In 1923 Istrati's story "Kyra Kyralina" (or "Chira Chiralina") was published with a preface by Rolland. It became the first in his "Adrien Zograffi" literary cycle. Rolland was fascinated with Istrati's adventurous life, urging him to write more and publishing parts of his work in "Clarté", the magazine that he and Henri Barbusse owned. The next major work by Istrati was the novel "Codine".