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
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 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)
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.
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!
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!
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).
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!
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.
Regarding the demonic figures that he „sees” when waking up from a dream: this is a frequent consequence of sleep paralysis. Cărtărescu has talked about this condition he suffers from in other works as well, he understands its not something magical, but a hypnagogic hallucination. I had this happen to me as well, so I can testify first hand that these presences feel totally real and totally terrifying. I don't actually see these beings, like he Cărtărescu seems to do, but their `aura` is so strong that I can describe each of these `visitors` in minute details.
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.
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
