Summary of Solenoid
“Solenoid” is a surreal novel about a Romanian school teacher who aspires to become an author but instead finds himself grappling with a lice epidemic among his students. As he discovers various solenoids (electromagnets) scattered throughout Bucharest, he reflects on mathematics, the nature of reality, and the mysteries of life.
Reasons to read Solenoid
“Solenoid” is an experimental, dreamlike, and deeply philosophical novel, set in Communist Romania around 1980. It is a compelling but challenging read. Mircea Cărtărescu is a renowned contemporary Romanian author, known also for his novels “Nostalgia” and the “Blinding” trilogy (“Orbitor”). “Solenoid” received the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction in 2022. The “Blinding” trilogy was voted Novel of the Decade by Romanian literary critics in 2010. Mircea Cărtărescu received many literary awards, including the FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages in 2022, the Thomas Mann Prize in 2018, the Premio Gregor von Rezzori in 2016, and the Austrian State Prize for European Literature in 2015.
Setting: Bucharest (Romania)
Original title: Solenoid
Year of publication: 2015
Nr of pages: 640
