Nostalgia (novel)
Encyclopedia
Nostalgia is a novel by the Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu
. The narrative consists of five distinct parts which assiduously link together to produce a narrative that is on the one hand disjointed and on the other produces, as a whole, a kind of hidden centre while negotiation the Romanian relationship to time and place, state and nationalism, communism and community, the rural and the capital with a neurotic, hallucinatory fervor that itself seems an exhalation of all of these anxieties.
First appearing in Romania under the name Visul ("The Dream") in 1989 with Cartea Româneasca Publishing House, having been mangled by censors, it appeared in its full form as Nostalgia in 1993 under Humanitas
. It was thereafter translated into French, German, Hungarian, Spanish and other languages, and was nominated for literary prizes across Europe. In 2005, the novel was translated to English by Julian Semilian and published by New Directions. While sharply distinct from the realist narrative mode typifying North American literature, it was received with rave reviews by critics across the United States.
, as narrated by an aging, potentially dying, author while focusing on the improbable and explicitly impossible story of a homeless young man who serves as the stubborn center of progressively more absurd games of Russian Roulette
which become progressively more peopled by the wealthy upper-crust of the capital.
The second section brings alive a universe of children through a magical realist writing style that focuses upon a prepubescent messiah who has begun to lose his magical powers while working wonders for his young followers. Which has a famous scene that makes the reader feel voyeur into the world of Proust when the main character falls into "unbearable nostalgia" by virtue of a bright pink lighter.
The third section is a bizarre exploration of gender boundaries and youthful angst narrated by a crestfallen young man who cross-dresses and goes down the road of suicide at the same time while overwhelmed by the memories of a highschool girlfriend.
The final part of the main portion of this book is centered around Nana, a middle aged woman engaged in an affair with a college student, as well as her memories of being 12 years old, when she was visited by a mother and son pair of gigantic skeletons.
The last portion of this novel focuses on a man who becomes obsessed with his car horn, the repercussions of which spiral far beyond his control.
The last part of the central portion of the book
, writer, critic, and National Public Radio host, described the English translation as an introduction to "a writer who has always had a place reserved for him in a constellation that includes the Brothers Grimm, E.T.A. Hoffman, Franz Kafka
. Jorge Luis Borges
, Bruno Schultz, Julio Cortázar
, Gabriel García Márquez
, Milan Kundera
, and Milorad Pavić
, to mention just a few."
Laura Savu wrote about Cărtărescu in World Literature in Review: "His intellectual fervor, dazzling linguistic play, and visceral prose...often touch a cultural nerve."
Mircea Cartarescu
Mircea Cărtărescu is a Romanian poet, novelist and essayist.Born in Bucharest, he graduated from the University of Bucharest's Faculty of Letters, Department of Romanian Language And Literature, in 1980. Between 1980 and 1989 he worked as a Romanian language teacher, then he worked at the Writers'...
. The narrative consists of five distinct parts which assiduously link together to produce a narrative that is on the one hand disjointed and on the other produces, as a whole, a kind of hidden centre while negotiation the Romanian relationship to time and place, state and nationalism, communism and community, the rural and the capital with a neurotic, hallucinatory fervor that itself seems an exhalation of all of these anxieties.
First appearing in Romania under the name Visul ("The Dream") in 1989 with Cartea Româneasca Publishing House, having been mangled by censors, it appeared in its full form as Nostalgia in 1993 under Humanitas
Humanitas publishing house
Humanitas is an independent Romanian publishing house, founded on February 1, 1990 in Bucharest by the philosopher Gabriel Liiceanu...
. It was thereafter translated into French, German, Hungarian, Spanish and other languages, and was nominated for literary prizes across Europe. In 2005, the novel was translated to English by Julian Semilian and published by New Directions. While sharply distinct from the realist narrative mode typifying North American literature, it was received with rave reviews by critics across the United States.
Plot
The first section, which is itself the prologue describes the world of a pre-war BucharestBucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, as narrated by an aging, potentially dying, author while focusing on the improbable and explicitly impossible story of a homeless young man who serves as the stubborn center of progressively more absurd games of Russian Roulette
Russian roulette
Russian roulette is a potentially lethal game of chance in which participants place a single round in a revolver, spin the cylinder, place the muzzle against their head and pull the trigger...
which become progressively more peopled by the wealthy upper-crust of the capital.
The second section brings alive a universe of children through a magical realist writing style that focuses upon a prepubescent messiah who has begun to lose his magical powers while working wonders for his young followers. Which has a famous scene that makes the reader feel voyeur into the world of Proust when the main character falls into "unbearable nostalgia" by virtue of a bright pink lighter.
The third section is a bizarre exploration of gender boundaries and youthful angst narrated by a crestfallen young man who cross-dresses and goes down the road of suicide at the same time while overwhelmed by the memories of a highschool girlfriend.
The final part of the main portion of this book is centered around Nana, a middle aged woman engaged in an affair with a college student, as well as her memories of being 12 years old, when she was visited by a mother and son pair of gigantic skeletons.
The last portion of this novel focuses on a man who becomes obsessed with his car horn, the repercussions of which spiral far beyond his control.
The last part of the central portion of the book
Reception
In the introduction, Andrei CodrescuAndrei Codrescu
Andrei Codrescu is a Romanian-born American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and commentator for National Public Radio. He was Mac Curdy Distinguished Professor of English at Louisiana State University from 1984 until his retirement in 2009....
, writer, critic, and National Public Radio host, described the English translation as an introduction to "a writer who has always had a place reserved for him in a constellation that includes the Brothers Grimm, E.T.A. Hoffman, Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
. Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
, Bruno Schultz, Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar, born Jules Florencio Cortázar, was an Argentine writer. Cortázar, known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, influenced an entire generation of Spanish speaking readers and writers in the Americas and Europe.-Early life:Cortázar's parents, Julio José Cortázar and...
, Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
, Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera , born 1 April 1929, is a writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He is best known as the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Joke. Kundera has written in...
, and Milorad Pavić
Milorad Pavic (writer)
Milorad Pavić was a Serbian poet, prose writer, translator, and literary historian. He was also a candidate for Nobel Prize in Literature....
, to mention just a few."
Laura Savu wrote about Cărtărescu in World Literature in Review: "His intellectual fervor, dazzling linguistic play, and visceral prose...often touch a cultural nerve."