clarkissimo 's review for:

Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu

5.0

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Truly a marvel of surrealist fiction. I once heard that the poet Charles Simic told his students that in order to be surreal, first it must be real. The Bucharest of Solenoid is one of the realest places in all of my reading experiences. I left the book feeling like I had experienced the city in a tactile way. And the city’s realness allows a space for everything else in this wild, weird, remarkable book. I’m not going to tell you anything about it except to say that I’m certain I will never forget many moments from this book. It’s strange and dense, but also very personable and accessible. It doesn’t have difficult or experimental prose, but a straightforward first person narrator. I recommend not reading anything beyond the blurb on the book (if that). Don’t try to find out what it’s about. Just open the cover and join the narrator and let the book unfold.