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Solenoid

By Mircea Cartarescu
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Brief Description
Based on Cărtărescu's own experience as a teacher, Solenoid submerges us in the mundane details of a diarist's life and spirals into an existential account of history, philosophy, and mathematics. Grounded in the reality of communist Romania, it grapples with frightening health care, the absurdities of... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Based on Cărtărescu's own experience as a teacher, Solenoid submerges us in the mundane details of a diarist's life and spirals into an existential account of history, philosophy, and mathematics. Grounded in the reality of communist Romania, it grapples with frightening health care, the absurdities of the education system, and the struggles of family life while investigating other universes and forking paths.

In a surreal journey like no other, we visit a tuberculosis preventorium, an anti-death protest movement, a society of dream investigators, and a minuscule world of dust mites living on a microscope slide. Combining fiction with autobiography and history, Solenoid searches for escape routes through the alternate dimensions of life and art, as various monstrous realities erupt within the present.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781805333197

Publisher: Pushkin Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 June 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Pushkin Press

Contributors:

  • Translated by Sean Cotter
  • Translated by Sean Cotter

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 640

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Mircea Cartarescu

About the Author

Mircea Cărtărescu is a writer, professor, and journalist who has published more than twenty-five books. His work has received the Formentor Prize (2018), the Thomas Mann Prize (2018), the Austrian State Prize for Literature (2015), and the Vilenica Prize (2011), among many others. His work has been translated in twenty-three languages. His novel Blinding was published by Archipelago in Sean Cotter's English translation.

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