Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu

WHAT WE'RE READING: Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu

WHAT IT IS ABOUT: "Based on Cartarescu's own role as a high school teacher, Solenoid begins with the mundane details of a diarist's life and quickly spirals into a philosophical account of life, history, philosophy, and mathematics. One character asks another: when you rush into the burning building, will you save the newborn or the artwork? On a broad scale, the novel's investigations of other universes, dimensions, and timelines reconcile the realms of life and art.

The novel is grounded in the reality of late 1970s/early 1980s Communist Romania, including long lines for groceries, the absurdities of the education system, and the misery of family life. The text includes sequences in a tuberculosis sanatorium, an encounter with an anti-death protest movement, a society of dream investigators, and an extended visit to the miniscule world of dust mites living on a microscope slide.

Combining fiction with autobiography and history, Solenoid ruminates on the exchanges possible between the alternate dimensions of life and art, as various, monstrous dimensions erupt within the Communist present."

WHERE WE'RE MEETING: 4100 Bar in Silver Lake

A NOTE ON PARKING: Street parking should be more readily accessible on Sunset Blvd to the west of the meet-up location.

A NOTE ON THE MEET-UP SEATING LOCATION: Meet-ups are generally held on the bar terrace, if sufficient seating is available. Please dress warmly in the event of cool evening weather!

A NOTE ON RSVPING: If your name is on the attendee list for a scheduled meet-up and you no longer plan on attending the event, please remove your name from the attendee list at least a week before the scheduled event to allow individuals on the waitlist sufficient time to read the book beforehand (no worries if a cancellation has to be last-minute, though!).

Happy reading!

Colin