SOLENOID by Mircea Cărtărescu - Translated by Sean Cotter

[@seancotter2118]

I appreciate your tremendous work, Chris! It's a rare pleasure to be read so intensely and understood so well.

[@Paromita_M]

Professor Cotter, please accept humble gratitude from this female Indian reader who had been mesmerised beyond words by your magnificent works 🙏🏽. I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to read Solenoid, Fem and Blinding. Thank you. 🙏🏽

[@LeafbyLeaf]

@seancotter2118 - As you know at this point, to say I appreciate your work would be to commit a tremendous error! Reading great literature is such a big part of my life--and without your efforts I would be undernourished. Thanks to a subscriber, I just ordered your translation of _Rakes of the Old Court_ , and I got my mitts on your book about literary translation and thereby constructing a minor Romania. Oh, by the way, my friend Eddie said he passed you the other day around UT Dallas and ran after you--haha! All my very best to you and yours. Chris

[@PaperBird]

@@LeafbyLeaf another epic video, Chris! yes what a breathless encounter... you're quite the speed-walker, @seancotter2118! thank you for all that you do 🙏

[@akeeperofsheep]

I love your translations of Cartarescu so much! I started reading Volumes 2 and 3 of Blinding in French, but would be so excited to read them rendered in your English! Thanks for all the fantastic work you've done!

[@rishabhaniket1952]

I just want to say Professor Cotter that you are an angel for undertaking the tremendous task of translating this mammoth masterpiece. Though I haven’t read Solenoid yet, I immensely enjoyed your translation of Blinding and kept thinking about it for months . I can only imagine how intense and pain sticking this whole process must have been. So yes 🙌

[@odemi7278]

Solenoid has won the Dublin Literary Award today! Author and translator share this amazing prize. It was thrilling to see them in this city of literature ! Thank you for this review.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I'm so happy to hear this!

[@George15732]

Crazy as it may sound, I’m hearing Cartarescu’s newest book, “Theodoros”, might be even better. I haven’t read it yet, but in the next month or so I’m going to.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Um. Wait. Stop everything. Cancel all my appointments. What did you just say to me?

[@JD-td8kl]

Any word on when this is out in English?

[@travelthroughstories]

Yes! I've been looking forward to this review - as you say, Solenoid is undoubtedly one of the best novels of the century so far. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.

[@kumarujjawal5357]

Great to see you here, I've watched your video on solenoid and as always loved it. I'm thinking about starting The Catholic School after watching your video.

[@Elizabeth-Reads]

I want to thank you, Sean, for first introducing me to this masterpiece. It was such an intense, haunting read.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! Now that I've launched my video, I can allow myself to watch yours and Seth's (WASTE Mailing List)!

[@frankiegumdrops8532]

I would love to see a Sean & Chris crossover sometime.

[@berthirsch6379]

your passion for books is a perfect reflection of Cartarescu's. Your reviews are contagious and budget breaking. I cannot imagine passing on one of your recommendations. Thanks again.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I honestly wish I could give away these books to any and every one who wants one! (Maybe one day.) Thanks for your kindness and encouragement. All best. And-happy reading!

[@Khepera666]

I was fortunate to meet Mircea Cărtărescu in Stockholm about a month ago, and hear him speak on his latest novel Melancolia. He's one of my favorite writers alive today, and Solenoid alongside Orbitór are among the best novels I've ever read. A truly remarkable body of work for a man who writes 2-3 pages per day, from the top of his head, without drafts or any real editing afterwards.

[@chariot9285]

2-3 pages a day?!

[@Khepera666]

@@chariot9285 He said in his talk in Stockholm that he writes 2-3 pages per day. Seems reasonable as that's more than 1,000 pages per year and he doesn't write drafts.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

How amazing you got to meet the master himself! 🙌 I’ve heard the same thing about his work: he writes one draft, longhand, without any editing, and at the end it’s basically finished. Seems-beyond human.

[@Khepera666]

@@LeafbyLeaf Definitely! He signed my copy of Melancolia and I thanked him for an amazing body of work. Never been more starstruck meeting a writer. Such an incredible mind.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I once walked right by Dave Matthews at an intersection in Washington, D. C. I mean, like, right by him. I was so starstruck that I just stared and went speechless. I literally just let him walk away as I stood there. Didn’t think starstruck was a real thing until that moment.

[@mammocas]

I stumbled into Solenoid in my local public library and something about it caught my eye, I thought "this looks interesting". I had never heard of M. Cartarescu. As soon as I read the first few lines I knew I found something special. Two months later I finally finished the book. And my mind is blown. I am now convinced that this cannot have been a random event, but instead has some cosmic significance.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

The hum of the solenoid buried beneath your library drew you! Don’t be afraid.

[@DarkRuins]

currently reading solenoid, and on page 300ish. i can say with stubborn angst that the descriptions and haunting thoughts provoked by this work has caused me to have a mental breakdown, where i cried and did nothing for about 5 days. thats how deep it got in my head. but I CONTINUE PLOWING THROUGH.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Oh, dear. This actually happened with me a couple years back when I reread _Infinite Jest_ . Something about it really got under my mental skin and I had to part with it for a week or so and collect myself. It just felt acutely visceral in a way I hadn't experienced before. Seriously though, do take care of yourself. It's better to put the book away for now. All my best to you. Chris

[@mammocas]

Relatable. As I read this book I could feel it unearthing pieces from my own life, from my childhood, breaking the solid ground that had been paved over it, and wreaking havoc with my mind. I couldn't read more than a few pages at a time. But what an incredible experience.

[@thomaswelsh3255]

Your Easter egg presents the viewer with a delinearization of time, no arrows but circularity, and when the cycle completes we find ourselves in a place familiar, very familiar, but just slightly different. As if in a dream perhaps? Hinting to the true nature of time and the way it progresses, not forward or backward, but time’s tenses enmeshed. I love your work Chris. thank you so very much for illuminatingso much brilliant literature, and creating a community for those of us that share this obsession, as it is rare to meet others that align in this way. So often, I find myself wishing the internet would just burn down, but your channel provides evidence to its potential and beauty. Endlessly grateful. You make me giddy about books!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

" So often, I find myself wishing the internet would just burn down": hahah--trust me--I often find myself thinking the same thing. Thanks so much for your encouragement and kindness. This channel has been a real source of joy and community. You're in the drawing!

[@kumarujjawal5357]

It was a wise choice to include the information about the book being un-spoilable, sometimes I hold on to your videos before reading the book, but this one I'm gonna watch all the way. Thank you for the Friday night gift.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Very kind of you!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Congratulations to Joseph Benincase--winner of the _Solenoid_ giveaway!

[@neilanderson7669]

Thanks to this video, I just finished Solenoid yesterday. For the first time ever, I am going to read it again immediately. Thank you for making this video and exposing me to something I likely would have not known about. I feel it deeply when you expressed gratitude for being able to read this kind of literature-I had that thought and feeling over and over throughout.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

This is so thrilling to hear! I recently read another book that I immediately reread. What a rare pleasure you and I have experienced. 🙏

[@marinellamaccagni6951]

During your sabbatical summer 2023, I am watching all your amazing videos that I have missed. You are one of the best books' reviewer on youtube hands down. Congrats for your original draft that you read in honor of DFW.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

That is extremely honoring. I feel so grateful. Grazie grazie !

[@brianclary8205]

I saw the review in the Times months ago, put my name on the waitlist for it at the library and have been blessed to have it for two months. It’s due in two days and I just finished it this morning. Your analysis was most welcome. So many scenes will remain with me especially the section that culminates with several pages of “Help!” At times It reminded me of Gass’ The Tunnel or Middle C with a bit of Bolano’s 2666 John of Patmos who is credited with Revelation would be proud. Well done!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Indeed, I had John of Patmos in mind many times throughout reading, which led me to think of _Solenoid_ in part as Cartarescu's Apocalypse or Book of Revelation. So glad you were able to secure a copy and savor it. Thanks, too, for the kind words and encouragement!

[@To9R]

Looking forward to the review! I read both of Travesti and Nostalgia, and they are both fantastic, ground-breaking novels. I wish more people knew and talked about Cartarescu, so glad you're doing it.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I'm going to continue plying him onto everyone with whom I come into contact!

[@meerachawla8618]

Just finished listening to Solenoid, now ordered the print version, have to read his amazing writing. Solenoid is a marvel! Thank you for your fabulous review, found you on Goodreads.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

It's truly outstanding! Glad you found me :)

[@Sepazuzu]

I have been waiting so long for this thank you so much leaf by leaf

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You're most certainly welcome!

[@johngoodwin2319]

I was so happy to open KZbin and to see this review of solenoid. I read blinding after seeing your review. Two of the greatest novels I’ve ever read. I can’t say which is better, they were different, although I’m more likely to recommend others to read solenoid (seems more accessible), the last 50 pages or so and certain passages of blinding (spiderwoman and badislav clan defending the church in particular) are unparalleled ecstatic reading experiences.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! Agreed--both books are sublime (in the original Longinian sense of the word)! Perhaps if Sean Cotter eventually translates the other two parts of _Blinding_ , it could potentially pull ahead of _Solenoid_ . Either way, I'm such a grateful reader.

[@JohnPatt]

No better capstone to end the week. What a treat. I’m just over 100 pages into this, and I can already say that it has completely reconfigured not only my understanding of my own interiority, but my understanding of interiority itself. I’m a slow reader as is, but I suspect these relentless confrontations of understanding will grind me down to a snail’s pace-and I’m okay with that! I can already tell I’ll be echoing your hyperbolic praise (is it really hyperbole, though?). You continue to inspire life-altering readings, Chris!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You know, I'm not sure one could achieve true hyperbole with this one, as you point out! Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement!

[@atefless]

This video was released on my birthday. Thank you for this great gift!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Happy (belated) birthday!!! 🎉🎉🎉

[@gtsinias]

So excited for this book. My physical copy is in transit as I watch this. I started on the digital copy Deep Vellum kindly gave me when purchasing the book and it's as good as all the reviews state.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Woo-hoo! Enjoy!

[@milfredcummings717]

Hi Chris! Thank you for your incredible enthusiasm! I immediately checked whether the book was translated and rushed to the library. While I was reading the Solenoid, I came across a description of Agota Kristof's book - The Notebook, The Proof, The Third Lie: Three Novels. The book is a story about twin brothers. So I rushed to the library again. You have to read that book if you haven't already. It is absolutely necessary! 😃Not only because of Solenoid, it's one of those books that you never forget and that haunts you long after you've finished reading it. But I warn you, this book hits hard, especially the first part. I just acquired another Pynchonian novel from these parts of the world. I read about a hundred pages and so far it reminds me more of Nabokov (Pale Fire). Some compare it to Gravity's Rainbow, but The Disconnected was published in 1972, so of course there is no direct influence. But definitely both novels are a bloody mess. Oğuz Atay is considered the best Turkish writer, but I like Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar the most, but who knows, maybe I'll change my mind.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You got me! I ordered the Kristof immediately! As for the Atay, I've been watching prices for years now. Patiently waiting...

[@milfredcummings717]

@@LeafbyLeaf Jeez, I just saw the prices while I was writing a comment! 😱Good luck! I ordered my copy from Serbia because a translation was recently published there. In this region, we all speak the same language, except Hungarians of course, and Romanians. So I somehow manage with translations. Besides, books are much cheaper in Serbia, but postage doubles the price. I hope you will like Agota Kristof's novel. Although like is probably not the best word. First part is brutal, but I realy like how it's written. The sequels are an upgrade and variation on the first part in a somewhat different writing style. The same story told from a different perspective. They can be read separately, but the trilogy as a whole makes the novel unique. It was originally written in very simple French, although Agota Kristof emigrated from Hungary. These postmodernist novels make me paranoid! I read a novel, and by chance or not, in the next novel I read, I find pieces of the puzzle that make up the previous novel. I recently re-read The Name of the Rose. I actually read The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt first, because I was preparing to read Lucretius. But I realized how much that story about searchers for lost ancient books inspired Umberto Eco, so I read The Name of the Rose again in a new light. After that I accidentally picked up Die Blendung (Auto-da-Fé) by Elias Canetti. It was so funny! Not only did I find out how the novel The Name of the Rose got its title, but also how and partly why Canetti won the Nobel Prize (of course he deserved it, but the question is whether he would have won it otherwise). I literally laughed while reading the novel. Otherwise, the novel is not very funny unless you have a sick sense of humor like me, so you find such tragi-grotesques funny. Sorry to bother you so much, I'd better get a new chatGPT, apparently they have become much more competent now. I wonder how much they know about literature.😁

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Your comment had me laughing a few times! I read Greenblatt's book, too, though I don't remember the part about Eco's book's name's origins. I have not, however, read _Auto-da-Fé_ (though I have that and his autobiographical trilogy set aside for hopefully-near-future reading). I, too, sometimes marvel at the crossed-currents of postmodernist novels, but then I remember that a lot of their authors read the same books and thought deeply about the same things. For e.g.: Norbert Wiener's Cybernetics has been a touchstone of almost every American pomo author.

[@milfredcummings717]

​@@LeafbyLeaf I was hoping you wouldn't read this rambling butchery of the English language. 😁If you like The Name of The Rose, definitely read Auto-da-Fé! The novel itself is genius, and it also served as inspiration for Eco for The Name of the Rose. I don't think it was about intentional referentiality. He probably read that book as well as hundreds of other books and drew inspiration from them for his novel. In Auto-da-Fé you have a library, a smaller private one, but the series of rooms in a row somewhat resemble a large monastery library. Then of course the fire at the end of the novel. The character of the hunchback is also present in both novels. There is a scene in Auto-da-Fé in a church where a bouquet of roses is present and roses are said to be friends of books. But best of all, there is a blind man character, I think the name Georges or similar is mentioned, I'm sorry I don't have the novel with me to check the details, so I'm writing from memory. And then the character says something like: If you were blind, you wouldn't laugh. And then you understand! Blind man - Borges - Georges - Jorge! The basic concept for the novel is here! Then in Auto-da-Fé there is a mention of eating books. There is a sentence somewhere in the novel where it is said that someone deserved the Nobel Prize but that it is still too early to receive it, or something similar. And then you figure it out; The Name of the Rose was published in 1980, and Canetti received the Nobel Prize in 1981. What a coincidence! The members of the Nobel Prize committee really have a sense of humor. And they proved that they are well read.😄 Greenblatt's book has nothing to do with the title of the novel The Name of the Rose, but when I read it, it reminded me of Eco's novel. Visiting ancient monasteries, sucking up to suspicious librarians, searching for old manuscripts, passion for the knowledge hidden in those manuscripts. All this was known to Eco and served as inspiration for the story. Of course not from Greenblatt's book which was written later. Also, there is a cute little novel to read after Auto-da-Fé. The Elegance of the Hedgehog (L'Élégance du hérisson) by Muriel Barbery. I have nothing against referentiality, on the contrary I love it. But I shudder when I think of one occasion. I was reading Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, and two other novels at the same time. The other two were: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick and The Earl-King by Michel Tournier. I mean what are the odds that those three novels are connected and I happen to be reading them at the same time! Are you planning to read Peter Nádas ? I started reading A Book of Memories but gave up after about a hundred pages. Not because the book is bad, quite the opposite. But I realized that I can't read that novel simultaneously with other books, so I left it for later. The plot and characters are so vague. It's like reading five novels at once. I haven't been this confused by a novel since I first read Ulysses.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

To be completely honest: your English is great! And I'm really enjoying everything you have to say. You're making me want to take the rest of the week off of work and just read all day everyday! I actually love Barbery's little book! I have foisted it on many friends and family! _Une gourmandise_ was a little underwhelming, but, again, I really find _Hérisson_ a charming and unassumingly profound book. You're right, though--that triad of books is quite unlikely. :) No, I haven't managed to read Nadas yet, though I have _Parallel Stories_ , _A Book of Memories_ , and _Fire & Knowledge_ waiting on me.

[@rickharsch8797]

Returning after some weeks to find myself a dimension behind. This presentation can be enthused about as you, mister Via, enthuse about this novel. Truly remarkable.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Always great to hear from you, Rick! Thanks so much for all that _you_ do for literature!

[@semiote]

I paused your video after the first third, and just started reading the book. This has happened a few times before with your videos: paradoxically, it's the ones that I stop partway through that are your biggest successes with me, because that means I've decided to read the book immediately, and then leave the rest of your video for after I'm done!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I am, of course, thrilled. A piece of the thrill is that I was able to present the book in such a way that enticed you so definitively. But the biggest part of the thrill is that I know someone else is getting to read Cartarescu. Enjoy!

[@pynchones]

Stumbled upon your channel by chance recently and decided to look up your review of Solenoid as I just finished it last week. It was an experience beyond belief and it immediately became one of my all-time favorites. And I must say, your analysis was a pleasure to listen to. I'm currently reading Nostalgia and then hopefully, Blinding (after which I will watch your review of it). Cheers.

[@blankleitmotiv]

I just heared the intro and I have to comment now, this sounds like a Dark Night of The Soul, I'm excited.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

That's a great analogue, yes!

[@lucaseravalli4924]

So happy to see your enthusiasm for this unique masterpiece! And I plaud your recommendation to everybody to read it. I waited two years to have the Italian translation last year and it was so worthy! But, speaking as someone who was able to read all 3 volumes of Orbitor (Blinding), I still am not sure which one of these two monuments is the best one! Really, an english translation of the other two volumes (the body, the rigth wing) of Blinding by Prof. Cotter would be the most precious gift to all english-speaking readers. And now, we wait for the translation of Theodoros. It is true, a new big novel of 600 pages by Mircea, published in Romania just a few months ago. There is some information in an interview to Cartarescu in The Untranslated blog.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Hey there! I believe _you_ were the one who first recommended _Blinding_ to me, right? Like I said to another commenter, if we get Cotter translations of the other two parts of _Blinding_ , I could definitely see it potentially overtaking _Solenoid_ for me. We'll see what the future holds! Again, though, I cannot thank you enough for introducing me to this author. GRAZIE!

[@samueltadams]

Agreed, best book of the 21st century... Thank you for this holiday of an episode!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

:):):):):)

[@bookmark_kl]

A fitting review for an astonishing book i am about to finish. this is definietly one of the best booktube videos out there, fantastic job!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I'm very grateful for your kind words and encouragement. Indeed, the book is astonishing. Happy reading!

[@michaelrhodes4712]

"I've stood upon my mountaintop And shouted at the sky Walked above the pavement with my senses amplified I get this feeling All my nerves are naked wires tender to the touch Sometimes super-sensitive But who can care too much? I get this feeling Each emotional injury Leaves behind its mark Sometimes they come tumbling out Like shadows in the dark I get this feeling When I think about all I have seen And all I'll never see When I think about the people Who have opened up to me I get this feeling Snow falls deep around my house And holds the winter light I've heard the lions hunting In the Serengeti night I get this feeling Forests turned to factories And river, sea, and sky Hungry child in the desert And the flies that cloud her eyes I get this feeling Pleasure leaves a fingerprint as surely as mortal pain In memories they resonate and echo back again Scars of pleasure Scars of pain Atmospheric changes Make them sensitive again" -Neil Peart

[@tylerrush7032]

The easter egg is a tesseract. Time also clearly reverses itself when the image is presented, with the video following suit, possibly also sped up. If I had to offer an interpretation, I would say that it is about the novel’s relationship with memory and time. For all its surreality, Solenoid is a novel about these two topics, with Mircea Cărtărescu warping and twisting his own memories for the story, similar to a man manipulating a ray of light by shining it through and off a number of prisms and mirrors. Just as a tesseract, an object in 4D space, can be unfolded into a number of cubes in a 3D space, so also does Mircea Cărtărescu’s memory. It ebbs and flows with time and imagination, unfolding and spiraling forever into forms increasingly unrecognizable, limited only to his and the reader’s willingness to continue. While I have found myself burnt out of these kinds of books, you’ve thoroughly sold me on Mircea Cărtărescu’s work. Thank you for your dedication on bringing us great books!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Great interpretation! I totally understand the burn-out, but I can also say that this one somehow reinvigorates the maximalist genre.

[@augustmcwake]

I finished Solenoid last night and remain in a sort of shock. What a fucking juggernaut. This review is a towering achievement in its own right! Thank you, as always.

[@solenoide3154]

Such a great novel. Every and each line is breathtaking.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Hear! Hear!

[@herrdetlef7370]

Hi, thanks to your video about the blindings i was reading solenoid last year. And i can confirm all what you said. I've read the german translation and it also was brilliant. Videos like yours keep my motivation up to read those works of literature. Thank you for that. It's only a pitty, that for many books youspeak about on your channel there is no german translation i could read. Otherwise it would be even more pleasure following your channel.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Guten tag! I hope to get some more German-language literature on the channel in the near future. Goethe and von Kleist, yes, but also Walser, Bachmann, Sebald, et al. Actually, I do have a video on Wolfgang Hilbig's _Old Rendering Plant_ , which really blew me away.

[@herrdetlef7370]

@@LeafbyLeaf yes, and the video about hilbig really made me discover a german author :) I must confess i didn't know him before. He's not very famous here, but the book was really great!

[@mmclaug907]

Excellent recommendation - enjoyed it so much I picked up 'Nostalgia'. What a far-out piece of literature; it's incredible how often his work 'escapes' the pages to achieve what he describes so often in the novel. There's also an intertextuality, I'm 1/3 of the way through Nostalgia and the speaker (which may not be the author but is 'different' than the one from Solenoid) talks about being dressed up as a girl and Proust's madeleine. The line between what's real and unreal are so blurry in his writing I'm unsure what conclusions to make from his writing. What can we do but take the authors he takes inspiration from than use them as recommendations for our own further understandings of his work.

[@milfredcummings717]

After reading Solenoid I accidentally picked up and re-read White Noise by Don DeLillo (OK I'm joking it wasn't by accident😄). Read that novel, the last third of the novel is full of references to Solenoid!

[@Echoesoflostlibraries]

Great stuff Chris, you've really been taking it to the next level lately. Have you read Rakes of the Old Court by Mateiu Caragiale? Another masterpiece by Cotter. The book is fantastic, but Cotter's introduction is worth the price of admission.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! I have not read that one, but I also don't think I've ever rushed to secure a copy of a book so quickly. Thank you!

[@delgadojeremy]

"i hurtled through at thousands of miles per second" ... I think that that is what I heard you read from the book. Immediately reminded me of my reading of The Collected Stories of J.G. Ballard where his short story, I cannot remember which, has the main character going through all levels of deep time... But the point here is that every which note and comment you had reminded me of the best books I have read... So, yeah this said your review of solenoid has me eager to read it. For the competition I did not catch the Easter egg and so have no interpretation of it to enter the competition to win the copy bud damned if not by enthusiasm alone for the book based on your own enthusiasm for it do i want to be among those in the running to possibly win it.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I haven't read any Ballard...yet.

[@ann-marieodonnell6102]

Wow, what a wonderful review. So many amazing passages in this book. His writing is beautiful. Your reading makes me want to go back and read it all again. Thank you for sharing. p.s - I finished Bloodchild and Other Stories. Loved them. 😊

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure! So thrilled to hear you, too, enjoyed Butler's short provocations!

[@mmclaug907]

Ordered this based off your reaction on Goodreads and it just shipped the other day. Look forward to checking it out.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Outstanding news!

[@kendroslav8296]

just ordered this...going to take three unbearably long weeks to get here. Beautiful review!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! Hang in there!

[@avolynfisher]

"I'm gonna get crazy today, Leaf by Leaf is gonna be crazy today"

[@LeafbyLeaf]

WATCH OUT!

[@AndyChananLevin]

It is so great listening to these. Really wonderful.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much!

[@dante.nathanael]

For a chance to enter the giveaway. Spoilers ahead... Maybe? Having read Moore's Jerusalem and Pynchon's Against the Day, and coming from Don Untranslated claim of, with Solenoid and El Troiacord (Palol) being the greatest 4 fourth-dimension XXI century novels, I cannot fathom time as being the 4th dimension anymore. Rather, time could be the way we understand, or perceive the movement of the third dimension in the fourth, or even higher dimensions, "containing" it. Somehow, the fact that the split between the Fallen Cărtărescu of Solenoid and the Risen Cărtărescu of "our world" happened at the public birth of his amazing poem, Cadere, and the explained rise and fall from heaven to earth, the intention to obsolesce the Universe through poetry (which brings Jose Lezama Lima to mind), is something important that I hadn't noticed till well at the end. Which brings me to my point: even though we know it's fiction, exploring the possible unseen movements in the 4th dimension, which only our mind can seem to access, I'd like to say that, like in the tesseract easter egg of your video, only by going back in the contemplation of our apparently horizontal and one directional passage of time, we can see how all this time, these possibilities were also within us, they are also part of our "destiny", invisible but written in every possible surface of our skin. And in this scripture, which dreams are made of and point to, lies our key to uncovering these secrets lives and form the door, the internal door made by the strata of our organic and emotional history, which we can escape our apparent exterior three dimensional bodily jail... Imagine that we are numbers, but we are not numbers. Imagine that we are three dimensional beings, but we are not three dimensional beings. We are. We decay, we are born and we die. We are trapped in a cycle of pain and injustice, but we are not. When the Goddess leaves the world, taking the city with Her, Cărtărescu really has been chosen to be like every human, but not be live every human. And we are being pointed towards saving the child above everything, to save ourselves.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Wow. Stunning analysis here! Bravo!

[@iamwhatiam6281]

this book literally brought me in another dimension.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Glad to know I've got company here. This dimension is pretty large, don't you think? Maybe we'll run into each other at some point...

[@iamwhatiam6281]

@@LeafbyLeaf yes it’s an ultra reality state, out of scale, out of time it’s like a new state of matter, in between the solid and the liquid, in between gas and plasma, it’s like looking the life through the amniotic fluid of the perceptions, before the humans. before the concept of time was invented. before the before. now I’m reading orbitor vol.1…here in Italy we have the translation of all the 3 books..

[@ericgeneric135]

I'm going to be starting this novel today. Can't wait!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You are one lucky person!

[@chuffmusker]

I feel I am receiving this superb review through the Interstellar bookshelf tesseract that you sit in front/behind from a place and point undefined...temporarily collapsing with the weight of adoration.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You've been added to the giveaway! :)

[@rishabhaniket1952]

Okay Chris! You have got me excited and giddy like a 12 year old entering a lucky draw or waiting for a gift hamper, talk about déjà vu (sic). I have only seen the first two segments ‘cause I have to leave my house to catch a flight so this could be way off the mark, but I promise to complete it once I reach the airport. Here goes nothing. I suspect it is the tesseract you have planted between 10:39 and 11:30. It somehow encapsulates space, time and memory relative to the experience of reading this book. A time warp cycle that somehow conveys the experience of reality as you read the book which is not dependent on the space which you are 3 dimensionally occupying, whether it be your study or the woods. There are hints of playing with memory/ nostalgia and the experience along with the backwards audio making sense or sounding vaguely familiar. It sounds like a language that you can’t understand but still can sense of, an experience that we all have had but can’t point a finger to or properly articulate. I don’t know, I am pretty sure I am talking gibberish and you are laughing out loud or maybe this isn’t even the Easter egg😂. Anyway, love your videos as always.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Indeed, I was LOL--what an entertaining comment! You've been added to the giveaway! :)

[@rishabhaniket1952]

@@LeafbyLeaf Thanks Chris!

[@iwinyoulose9427]

I follow you on Goodreads, I think I first reached your channel when you did the review of Outer Dark. I saw that you had said that this was the “best 21st century novel you have ever read” and now I clearly have to read it. P.s: the Easter egg was awesome and you have transcended art into the visual form now which is a great development to see in your videos, which are already artistic in the audio form. Anyway, I hope I win a copy of the book because it’s impossible to get 😂

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! I've entered you into the drawing! FYI -- it's back in print!

[@allrightthen7227]

Awesome review. One side note, if you make another audio book of Solenoid (or pretty much any other books), I will totally buy it.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’ll keep that in mind. 😁

[@Booksandchess]

Really appreciate your comment about whether it can be a bad thing to read too much. Great quote and follow up comment. Around 1 hr 5 min.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! It's a question that stays on my mind, constantly cautioning me not to get too disconnected from reality. :)

[@Steve-lt1op]

I might very well give this a go, im in somewhat of a reading slump for the first time in over ten years having started and just not got into the brothers karamazov, the melancholy of resistance and now tropic of Cancer!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Brothers K and anything from LK would be enough of a meal to need some time to digest. I was in a similar situation after _War and Pace_ late last year!

[@Steve-lt1op]

@Leaf by Leaf My problem is more the eating than the digesting! I have always enjoyed Russian/Eastern European writing, I enjoyed War and Peace but felt the epilogue was unnecessary, like the last 30 mins on a film that should have been cut, I was happy at the end and didn't need the what came next section, personal preference I suppose but what an experience. I would recommend A hero of our time - Lermontov if you haven't had a look already

[@MarcNash]

Wow, just wow! Can you believe it's currently unavailable in the UK after it only came out last december? Going to do my damnedest to pick up a copy

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Then you will definitely want to enter my giveaway of the book! 😁 kzbin.infoqhWe3xzs-No?feature=share

[@squishyam]

Saw this video in my sub box the other day, then saw this book on the New Fiction shelf at my library. Currently on page 41. Will watch the rest of the video and update this comment when I'm finished with the book.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Enjoy!

[@the_exiled_soul]

What a wonderful video ❤

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thank you! :)

[@aparnahoshing6685]

I am so eager to read it if only I can lay my hands on a copy, unavailable in India. This review only makes me more impatient. Superb review!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Then you will definitely want to enter my giveaway of the book! 😁 kzbin.infoqhWe3xzs-No?feature=share

[@aparnahoshing6685]

​@@LeafbyLeaf Seeing you raving about this book and calling it the best book you've read, makes me realise how deeply this book has touched you. I think it made you lose a sense of time and have a spiritual experience as you interpreted it with your sense of perception. Maybe you wish to convey to your audience that reading Solenoid is a truly personal experience open to interpretation in accordance with philosophical maturity. This is what I think about your insertion of the EasterEgg as a hypercube.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Very perceptive interpretation!

[@ctynan888]

On my way today to see him accept his award at the Dublin lit. Festival. Safe to say I am ecstatic

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Wow! Congratulations on such a cool opportunity!

[@Paromita_M]

A masterful discussion of a beautiful book.Thank you 🙏🏽. P.S. After completing Solenoid, I watched your review of Blinding and read it shortly after. Is it petty and self-centred of me to want the other two volumes translated by Sean Cotter as soon as possible? Why yes it is. But after reading Solenoid and Blinding, can I really be blamed? 😄

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I echo precisely this sentiment in my ultra-brief closing thoughts. :)

[@frankiegumdrops8532]

Is this at all like ‘When We Cease to Understand the World’? It sounds a little reminiscent of that brilliant novel, though also completely different.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

* SIGH * Yet another book I have been wanting to get round to. So many books...

[@mammocas]

This was my first Cartarescu book, and now I want more... Do you think reading Blinding after Solenoid makes sense, or would it feel too similar?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I don’t think there’s any harm in going straight to Blinding, or even Nostalgia. If it were me, I’d space them out-but I also practice delayed gratification.

[@mammocas]

@@LeafbyLeaf Thanks! I'll definitely space them out, my brain needs a rest after Solenoid. On another note, I'm a new viewer of your channel and just want to say that I love what you are doing, and the way you're keeping a dialogue with your viewers in the comments is extraordinary. This is what KZbin was made for!

[@Elizabeth-Reads]

I read Solenoid a couple of months ago, but it was on Hoopla which isn't the best reading experience. This is making me realize I need to go back to it, annotate and save quotes. Is it the 411 circled on your notes? No idea what that could mean, aside from a page number, but after watching your video twice (mostly to enjoy those quotes again), it was all I could come up with. 😆 Unless it's just the concept that while reading you were almost transported into the 4th dimension, represented by the tesseract. Thank you for this fantastic review, Chris! It was great to see all your notes...So much to absorb in this one.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I like you meticulousness in finding the Easter Egg! You'd make a great detective. It's the bit with the tesseract on the screen in the Plot Summary section. And, for the record, there is no correct interpretation. :) You've been entered into the drawing!

[@Elizabeth-Reads]

@@LeafbyLeaf Tricky! 😄 Thank you!

[@MaximTendu]

What to say? If I were your wife I would be jealous of both Cărtărescu and Cotter. Now I must get myself a copy of Solenoid, for this eighty-minute blurb has left me glow with anticipation. Mulțumesc, Chris.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Haha! Not to worry--in this video I was only speaking as the bookworm. :)

[@RedzaMusic]

Would love to be entered into the book giveaway so here’s my interpretation of the easter egg. As someone who has just started their literature journey recently, I am unable to bring up many references to literature itself. Fortunately, I am ravenous for literary criticism, especially in video form, so I am familiar with the work of PaperBird. I’d like to think that your tesseract video editing was a nod to his surrealist editing style, which uses the medium of video to convey the feeling of the work in addition to the script itself.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You're in! I could only hope to be able to edit anywhere near PaperBird's level one day. Glad you've discovered his videos. By chance, have you seen our collaboration? It's from April Fools Day of last year and it's on _The Very Hungry Caterpillar_ .

[@JulioVirrueta]

Definitely going to read it as soon as I can get my hands on a copy (I saw the book some time ago in City Lights and, to my regret now, I did not buy it). Also, was that a sort of tesseract using time? I have always loved the way time can be manipulated in fiction, so I have to wonder if that bit was a reference to the novel. Thank you for one more great review.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! You've been entered into the drawing!

[@Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh17]

When’s the Nostalgia review coming? I’m planning on rereading it soon.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Don't tempt me! (Or, rather, do temp me, please, when it comes to Cartarescu.)

[@lachenmann]

The greatest novel ever written. It opens a new genre, like Cervantes did with Don Quixote 400 years ago. Only time will tell if I'm wrong, but I sincerely believe this.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I'm rather inclined to agree with you! :)

[@alphonseelric5722]

I haven't tried Mircea yet. But your description of the book makes it sound similar to Gerald Murnane and Jon Fosse's work.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I am on the very cusp of entering Murnane's world and I've only read Fosse's _Trillogy_ so I can't confidently corroborate this. But I'm sure there are others who could.

[@alphonseelric5722]

@@LeafbyLeaf Everything I have read about Solenoid makes it seem similar to Murnane's Inland (his best work; begin here please). Murnane is the most eccentrically gifted living writer I have come across, besides McCarthy, and I have damn near sampled all the cult ones.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I can’t wait!

[@BuckyHuxley]

You've sold me. I'll read it. Do you see any parallels between this teseract and the one reputed to structure Gravity's Rainbow?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Hmmmmm, I can't say it conclusively springs to mind, but you've got my wheels turning. The last time I read _GR_ a tesseract structure did not come to my mind. Of course, that doesn't at all mean it's not there. Now, though, thinking about the notorious rocket and its anachronistic presence across time, my wheels are seriously turning.

[@pinkzeppelintheater]

I'll take a stab at the easter egg, I had to double check using Logic, but you've reversed and slightly more than doubled the audio/video from the start of the plot summary section. So your plot summary section has a smaller version of itself within itself, mirroring the tesseract you've superimposed onto the screen. Not sure if that's what was intended, but there's my take! Amazing commentary and thoughtful analysis as always, good sir, loved this whole thing.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Bravo! You've been entered into the drawing!

[@kumarujjawal5357]

You used Tesseract in your video with time going backwards, was it to symbolize relationship between 4th dimension and time. Cărtărescu calls Tesseract as Mandala, in Hinduism the similar is called 'yantra', which is a geometrical diagram, whose literal meaning is an instrument for restraining or fastening, a prop, it is used to worship to deities, the yantra is inscribed with Sanskrit Mantra (incantation) on them.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You've been entered into the book giveaway! :)

[@kumarujjawal5357]

@@LeafbyLeaf Thanks a lot Chris!

[@bokramubokramu8834]

Can you make a video on how you/to take notes?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Making a video specifically dedicated to notetaking is on my TODO list, but, in the meantime, you can checkout this video to get a little insight: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4CofZ6laamoo7c

[@jackwalter5970]

FYI, I was able to pre-order a paperback copy from The Book Depository for under $18.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Outstanding!

[@willwilder622]

Perhaps the most “literally me” book I’ve read.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yes. Exactly.

[@GreyEyedAthena]

Wow that’s what I’ve been reading ?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

:)

[@thedialectic6346]

"The supple-boned skeleton of the text..." - What? I now want to devour the book, but it would probably devour me.

[@JBB31787]

Tesseract! Unsettling.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You've been entered into the book giveaway! :)

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Congratulations! You've been selected as the winner of the giveaway! Please get in touch with me via email.

[@JBB31787]

@@LeafbyLeaf will do, many thanks.

[@whatchachattin]

I like Bruno Schulz, one of Cartarescu's major influences, but samples of Cartarescu have always seemed too 'forced' in their style, too self-indulgent... maybe I'll give him another go though.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You know, I was poised to just into apologetics mode on Cartarescu's/Cotter's behalf, but, that just isn't my style. It would be wonderful if you'd give him another try. But, in the end, no one book/author is gonna be for everyone. And there's nothing wrong with that. Happy reading!

[@rishabhaniket1952]

Sadly it’s out of stock in my region at the moment, heard so much about it.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Then you will definitely want to enter my giveaway of the book! 😁 kzbin.infoqhWe3xzs-No?feature=share

[@rishabhaniket1952]

Okay Chris! You have got me excited and giddy like a 12 year old entering a lucky draw or waiting for a gift hamper, talk about déjà vu (sic). I have only seen the first two segments ‘cause I have to leave my house to catch a flight so this could be way off the mark, but I promise to complete it once I reach the airport. Here goes nothing. I suspect it is the tesseract you have planted between 10:39 and 11:30. It somehow encapsulates space, time and memory relative to the experience of reading this book. A time warp cycle that somehow conveys the experience of reality as you read the book which is not dependent on the space which you are 3 dimensionally occupying, whether it be your study or the woods. There are hints of playing with memory/ nostalgia and the experience along with the backwards audio making sense or sounding vaguely familiar. It sounds like a language that you can’t understand but still can sense of, an experience that we all have had but can’t point a finger to or properly articulate. I don’t know, I am pretty sure I am talking gibberish and you are laughing out loud or maybe this isn’t even the Easter egg😂. Anyway, love your videos as always.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yep, you found the Easter egg! Great analysis here, too. Thanks so much!

[@rishabhaniket1952]

@@LeafbyLeaf Thanks Chris! I just tried to find words for what I felt when I saw the video. After watching the full video I am blown away by your analysis and breakdown. I really feel your long videos are important historical documents for the future and an important learning tool for any literature enthusiast. I would personally recommend it to anyone as a must have companion piece while reading those books, especially your GR, W and P and Solenoid videos. P.S: I almost forgot, you review for Mason and Dixon with the Venn diagram breakdown of its structure was my tipping point to plough through long and challenging books.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much, again, my friend! You’ve made me want to return to Mason & Dixon-what a book!

[@Booksandchess]

How does this stack amongst the great tomes of the 20th century?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

In short, this could be seen as a fourth wave of Modernism, where: - Wave 1: Joyce, Proust, Woolf - Wave 2: Gass, Barth, Gaddis - Wave 3: David Foster Wallace, Adam Levin, Vanessa Place - Wave 4: _Solenoid_

[@150385hs]

Why isn't anyone mentioning the 10 pages filled with the word Help? I haven't read something like this anywhere else. I think it's worth mentioning.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks for pointing this out! Certainly, _everything_ in this book is worth mentioning. Really, the only way to have properly reviewed it would have been to read the book aloud from cover to cover. :) For me, I've encountered this multi-page one-word device so many times that it didn't really strike me that much. Still, as an effect, it definitely intensified the yearning for the imperative in question. But I haven't spent any time noodling over it beyond that. I'll leave space here for others to expand, too. Thanks again for bringing out this facet of the book!

[@150385hs]

❤❤❤

[@LeafbyLeaf]

:):):)

[@joseramirez-hh2sw]

Perception... Tesseract... Colors unlike any seen on earth.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You've been entered into the book giveaway! :)

[@timkjazz]

46:12 - The Great Harrowing - when Christ descends into Hell.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I first read your comment as "when Chris descends into Hell" O_O :-P

[@timkjazz]

@@LeafbyLeaf LMFAO!!!

[@novelsandcrumbs3558]

Nightmarish beauty left tamed by the dreamer.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You've been added to the giveaway! :)

[@novelsandcrumbs3558]

@@LeafbyLeaf I already have a copy! But loved the video and your description of your journey with it. I sent a poem on Instagram that you inspired in me today from reflection.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

To have inspired creativity is a very high honor.

[@GypsyRoSesx]

I got it: The book has a character named Tessa Rackt? Am I right? I know, but enter me anyway… 😂

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Hahaha! You're in!

[@swapnambajpai2727]

The name is pronounced as Mir-che-ya Car-te-chesk

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Ah, thanks so much!

[@swapnambajpai2727]

@@LeafbyLeaf Wait sorry I just realized the spelling is cartarescu and not cartacescu. I have a romanian friend with surname motocescu and he keeps reminding me it is chesk at the end and not seskoo. Here it is carta-resk I suppose. Best to ask a Romanian!

[@somadood]

gm sir

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Such a reliable visitor!

[@MrBINGEBOY]

🎉. Egg

[@LeafbyLeaf]

🙌🙌🙌