Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu | Book Discussion

Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu is sprawling, phantasmagoric novel exploring the depths of existential dread, questioning the nature of reality, and seeking out the answer to it all. The plot is imbricated in a multitude of ways that blend historical figures, mathematical theorems, and kafkaesque fictional scenes into a riveting narration.
After editing, I will note that it seems I forgot to describe the plot in a more general sense - although I imagine other reviews may suffice. Without spending too much time on the general, I wanted to pour out my thoughts and indulge on the abstruse concepts and key moments.
If you've read it or hope to read it soon, let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Get the book: amzn.to/4byouZL
My Written Review: brockcovington.substack.com/p...
Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro
0:56 - Hype Around The Book
1:53 - Plot Complexities
4:35 - About Mircea Cartarescu
5:49 - Translation
7:27 - Eternal Damnation / Escaping Death
11:57 - The Fourth Dimension
14:12 - Expressing The Inexpressible
16:30 - Finding The Exit Door
18:00 - Rebelling Against Death (Picketists)
22:37 - Absurdism & Kafkaesque
30:21 - “The Fall” Poem & His “Twin”
34:01 - The Solenoids
35:48 - Mr. Palamar & Mites
40:08 - Last Judgement
44:59 - Final Thoughts
50:05 - Outro
My Instagram: / brockwrites
My Goodreads: / brock-c
My Substack: brockcovington.substack.com
#bookreview #bookrecommendations

[@TheActiveMind1]

Correction: I got the Boole family mixed up. Mary Everest married George Boole, Mary Ellen married Charles Hinton, and Ethel Lillian wrote The Gadfly and married a man involved with the Voynich manuscript

[@HannahsBooks]

I’ve heard so many people say wonderful things about this book. It sounds absolutely fascinating! Thank you for the slight warning about the portrayal of women.

[@TheActiveMind1]

It’s definitely a male-heavy narrative but I don’t believe that limits the enjoyment or its ability to resonate universally. I’d love to hear your thoughts if/when you give it a read!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

What a fantastic, comprehensive and enthusiastic discussion of such a brilliant novel! I appreciate all the images you insert as well. There’s so much to say about this book and you cover it so intelligently. I loved your insights into the mites and the connections made throughout the book. Thank you!

[@TheActiveMind1]

Thank you Eric! After editing my review, I spotted yours and was glad to see you thoroughly enjoyed it as well

[@EricKarlAnderson]

@@TheActiveMind1 Ah, great! And I was so happy to see it win the Dublin Literary Award this past week.

[@cosminvoicu8846]

Hi! Romanian here. Cartarescu is an institution back here. And although his writings aren't my thing (way to weird to say the least) , he's one of Europe's greatest. Glad it passed the old continent and reached North America. He truly deserves the recognition and the hype.

[@TheActiveMind1]

Haha weird sounds very accurate. Any other Romanian authors or works you’d recommend?

[@cosminvoicu8846]

@@TheActiveMind1 i'd suggest to check Ana Blandiana out (again an instutition here, and one of the few women in charge when the Revolution happend in '89). Plus she just received the second most prestigious European award for literature (after the Nobel one, Princess of Asturias Awards is called)

[@TheActiveMind1]

@@cosminvoicu8846 It seems she has a poem collection translated into english titled 'Five Books'. Would you recommend that?

[@cosminvoicu8846]

@@TheActiveMind1 Five books is one of her recent works. If you like Poe, Cortázar or Kafka... you would enjoy her poems for sure.

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

Such surrealist storytelling is a vessel for ideas, and you so vividly latch onto each one in this discussion. Phenomenal job not merely being tethered to plot. This is the review to finally spur me to read the book. Thank you for that (your enthusiasm generally keeps getting me to move books upward in my backlog; for a new-ish reader, you have a strong sense of literary direction).

[@TheActiveMind1]

I’d recommend having it skip the queue! There’s a multitude of directions one can go with this book but hopefully my review wasn’t too scattered. Grateful for the support!

[@hatethenewyou]

You definitely have me wanting to pick this up soon, and when I do I will refer back to this. Extremely well spoken and insightful as always man.

[@sharpasaknife6456]

Hello from Germany! What I like about your channel is, that you also seem to focus on European literature. (Saw 2 of your videos up to now, subcribed and am curious to see more). "Solenoid" (German edition) is waiting on my shelf, your video motivates me, to read it as one of my next ones.

[@TheActiveMind1]

So happy to hear that! I’m sure the German translation will convey the same atmospheric experience!

[@jackwalter5970]

It is one of the most incredible novels I've read in a long time. Also, the translator did a magnificent job.

[@personmcpersonperson2893]

I'm so glad I did not miss out on that one, truly an unforgettable reading experience

[@寿司食べたいな]

What camera do you use? I can almost see the ciliary zone of your irises.

[@TheActiveMind1]

Sony A7IV

[@JohnVKaravitis]

$2,500!!!!!

[@emanueladadarlat3159]

It's kinda funny, I'm Romanian and I haven't read Cartarescu. I think I did one of his famous books back in the day ("De ce iubim femeile"), but as I didn't remember it, tried to (re)read it now.....I just couldn't. Maybe I will try a different one, and you, a foreigner, will be my nudge into it.

[@DarkRuins]

that book spooks me, i went into a depression for 5 days while reading it. its fantastic, unique, original, haunting, thought provoking and deserving of every award it gets. but damn, its not a light read and could drive someone soft into madness

[@TheActiveMind1]

I can understand that! Much of the book is quite dark, emotionally heavy and somewhat nihilistic

[@benja6902]

Great review. All this talk of deep mathematics brings to mind books by author Neal Stephenson.

[@darksydeeee]

It'll cost me about 60$ so i clicked on the video to see if it's worth it