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thebobsphere's review against another edition
5.0
Mircea Cărtărescu’s Solenoid came upon my radar last year when i saw a review of it on the W.A.S.T.E. Mailing List channel. Although I watched the first 30 minutes, I was intrigued. My curiosity was further piqued a month later when I read Guadalupe Nettel’s Still Born and the main characters is reading… Solenoid. I managed to buy a copy, thanks to the ever patient booksellers , Mallia and d’amato.
When reviewing an all encompassing novel such as Solenoid, it’s a little difficult to choose a starting point , probably the best route being the more traditional one and attempt to describe the plot, a loose term in itself in this context.
Solenoid, on the surface, is about an elementary school teacher who had aspirations to be a writer but all his chances were ruined due to a failed poetry reading. He has written all his thoughts and daily goings on in his notebooks, which he is sharing with us.
At this point it is better to explain what a solenoid is. In a more traditional sense it is an electrical conduit but in mathematical terms it is a surface without any boundaries, which create an indefinite loop, like a moebius strip, both play a part in the novel. There are physical Solenoids buried around the narrator’s city of Bucharest and when he is near them, he delves into a dream like state. The mathematical solenoid echoes the book’s structure: Sentences, characters and themes get brief mentions but are returned to in varying degrees – this makes the reader feel like they are in a loop.
The first noticeable thing about Solenoid is the corporeality: lice, bellybutton dirt, teeth and flesh are constantly mentioned; tuberculosis changes the narrator’s destiny. At one point he describes his body as a prison.
This element of Solenoid serves as grounding for the more astral parts. Once the novel leaves the physical world, it goes into the 4th dimension, something that is worth digressing for a tiny bit. As I am not a mathematician, I can only describe it as an extension of the 3rd dimension. As an example, take a 3D cube and insert another 3D cube and you have a 4th dimensional shape or , to be more exact, a tesseract. On a more popular level, and this is mentioned in the book, a Rubik’s Cube is also a 4th dimensional object as it contains a cluster of 3D cubes,
Solenoid dances between these two worlds; the physical: the body, anecdotes about the teaching staff and bits and pieces from the narrator’s life. The metaphysical world: the aforementioned 4th dimension, the dream sequences and the apocalyptic ending.
What actually links both worlds is Ethel Lilian Voynich’s The Gadfly. She connected to an emotional experience when the narrator cries while reading it. For the other world, Voynich was Mathematician George Boole’s daughter and had connections with Howard Hinton, the inventor of the tesseract, a pioneer in 4th dimension mathematics.
Despite the complex themes Mircea Cărtărescu manages to pull everything off because there is a lot of soul coursing through these passages. There are other discourses in Solenoid: gender , ethics. politics and some passages that show a love/hate relationship with Bucharest. It’s all done clearly without disorienting the reader.
Solenoid did change my way at looking at life. The narrator’s philosophies and observations about his existence, namely this corporeal entity we inhabit made me open my eyes a bit to how many things make sense. It also amazes me how Mircea Cărtărescu manages to stuff all these philosophical enquires into one quotable, multi layered novel and make it readable.
Early on in the book, the narrator calls himself an ‘anti-author’ and that this is an ‘anti-book’ but the irony is that Solenoid is a fully fledge piece of work which touches upon many topics. One cannot avoid superlatives but Solenoid is momentous novel that will create some sort of change within the reader.
When reviewing an all encompassing novel such as Solenoid, it’s a little difficult to choose a starting point , probably the best route being the more traditional one and attempt to describe the plot, a loose term in itself in this context.
Solenoid, on the surface, is about an elementary school teacher who had aspirations to be a writer but all his chances were ruined due to a failed poetry reading. He has written all his thoughts and daily goings on in his notebooks, which he is sharing with us.
At this point it is better to explain what a solenoid is. In a more traditional sense it is an electrical conduit but in mathematical terms it is a surface without any boundaries, which create an indefinite loop, like a moebius strip, both play a part in the novel. There are physical Solenoids buried around the narrator’s city of Bucharest and when he is near them, he delves into a dream like state. The mathematical solenoid echoes the book’s structure: Sentences, characters and themes get brief mentions but are returned to in varying degrees – this makes the reader feel like they are in a loop.
The first noticeable thing about Solenoid is the corporeality: lice, bellybutton dirt, teeth and flesh are constantly mentioned; tuberculosis changes the narrator’s destiny. At one point he describes his body as a prison.
This element of Solenoid serves as grounding for the more astral parts. Once the novel leaves the physical world, it goes into the 4th dimension, something that is worth digressing for a tiny bit. As I am not a mathematician, I can only describe it as an extension of the 3rd dimension. As an example, take a 3D cube and insert another 3D cube and you have a 4th dimensional shape or , to be more exact, a tesseract. On a more popular level, and this is mentioned in the book, a Rubik’s Cube is also a 4th dimensional object as it contains a cluster of 3D cubes,
Solenoid dances between these two worlds; the physical: the body, anecdotes about the teaching staff and bits and pieces from the narrator’s life. The metaphysical world: the aforementioned 4th dimension, the dream sequences and the apocalyptic ending.
What actually links both worlds is Ethel Lilian Voynich’s The Gadfly. She connected to an emotional experience when the narrator cries while reading it. For the other world, Voynich was Mathematician George Boole’s daughter and had connections with Howard Hinton, the inventor of the tesseract, a pioneer in 4th dimension mathematics.
Despite the complex themes Mircea Cărtărescu manages to pull everything off because there is a lot of soul coursing through these passages. There are other discourses in Solenoid: gender , ethics. politics and some passages that show a love/hate relationship with Bucharest. It’s all done clearly without disorienting the reader.
Solenoid did change my way at looking at life. The narrator’s philosophies and observations about his existence, namely this corporeal entity we inhabit made me open my eyes a bit to how many things make sense. It also amazes me how Mircea Cărtărescu manages to stuff all these philosophical enquires into one quotable, multi layered novel and make it readable.
Early on in the book, the narrator calls himself an ‘anti-author’ and that this is an ‘anti-book’ but the irony is that Solenoid is a fully fledge piece of work which touches upon many topics. One cannot avoid superlatives but Solenoid is momentous novel that will create some sort of change within the reader.
kyljk's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
mirrortower's review against another edition
4.75
just how I like it — beautifully written, gross, and surreal. Also by far the densest book I’ve ever read, it took me two months to finish
keelmcmurr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
reneoro's review against another edition
5.0
¡Abajo la muerte!, pero la muerte estaba arriba, en el cenit, brillando con toda su fuerza como un sol negro. ¡No a la locura!, pero, si quedaban aún dioses sobre la faz de la tierra, eran dioses dementes de la paranoia, de la esquizofrenia y de la depresión. ¡Detened la carnicería humana!, pero los hombres seguían matándose, era lo único que habían sabido hacer desde el principio, eso en lo que se mostraban cada vez más diestros. No morían ya de uno de uno, atravesados por el filo del acero y de las flechas, sino en masa; pueblos enteros inyectados con la sustancia del odio universal destilada en el océano del mal metafísico que nos rodea por todas partes. ¡Socorro!, gritábamos finalmente todos, nadando en las aguas negras, heladas, infinitas.
carie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
latterman's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0