Professor Cotter, please accept humble gratitude from this female Indian reader who had been mesmerised beyond words by your magnificent works 🙏🏽. I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to read Solenoid, Fem and Blinding. Thank you. 🙏🏽

@seancotter2118 - As you know at this point, to say I appreciate your work would be to commit a tremendous error! Reading great literature is such a big part of my life--and without your efforts I would be undernourished. Thanks to a subscriber, I just ordered your translation of _Rakes of the Old Court_ , and I got my mitts on your book about literary translation and thereby constructing a minor Romania. Oh, by the way, my friend Eddie said he passed you the other day around UT Dallas and ran after you--haha! All my very best to you and yours. Chris

@@LeafbyLeaf another epic video, Chris! yes what a breathless encounter... you're quite the speed-walker, @seancotter2118! thank you for all that you do 🙏

I love your translations of Cartarescu so much! I started reading Volumes 2 and 3 of Blinding in French, but would be so excited to read them rendered in your English! Thanks for all the fantastic work you've done!

I just want to say Professor Cotter that you are an angel for undertaking the tremendous task of translating this mammoth masterpiece. Though I haven’t read Solenoid yet, I immensely enjoyed your translation of Blinding and kept thinking about it for months . I can only imagine how intense and pain sticking this whole process must have been. So yes 🙌

I'm so happy to hear this!

Um. Wait. Stop everything. Cancel all my appointments. What did you just say to me?

Any word on when this is out in English?

Great to see you here, I've watched your video on solenoid and as always loved it. I'm thinking about starting The Catholic School after watching your video.

I want to thank you, Sean, for first introducing me to this masterpiece. It was such an intense, haunting read.

Thanks so much! Now that I've launched my video, I can allow myself to watch yours and Seth's (WASTE Mailing List)!

I would love to see a Sean & Chris crossover sometime.

I honestly wish I could give away these books to any and every one who wants one! (Maybe one day.) Thanks for your kindness and encouragement. All best. And-happy reading!

2-3 pages a day?!

@@chariot9285 He said in his talk in Stockholm that he writes 2-3 pages per day. Seems reasonable as that's more than 1,000 pages per year and he doesn't write drafts.

How amazing you got to meet the master himself! 🙌 I’ve heard the same thing about his work: he writes one draft, longhand, without any editing, and at the end it’s basically finished. Seems-beyond human.

@@LeafbyLeaf Definitely! He signed my copy of Melancolia and I thanked him for an amazing body of work. Never been more starstruck meeting a writer. Such an incredible mind.

I once walked right by Dave Matthews at an intersection in Washington, D. C. I mean, like, right by him. I was so starstruck that I just stared and went speechless. I literally just let him walk away as I stood there. Didn’t think starstruck was a real thing until that moment.

Oh, dear. This actually happened with me a couple years back when I reread _Infinite Jest_ . Something about it really got under my mental skin and I had to part with it for a week or so and collect myself. It just felt acutely visceral in a way I hadn't experienced before. Seriously though, do take care of yourself. It's better to put the book away for now. All my best to you. Chris

Relatable. As I read this book I could feel it unearthing pieces from my own life, from my childhood, breaking the solid ground that had been paved over it, and wreaking havoc with my mind. I couldn't read more than a few pages at a time. But what an incredible experience.

Very kind of you!

" So often, I find myself wishing the internet would just burn down": hahah--trust me--I often find myself thinking the same thing. Thanks so much for your encouragement and kindness. This channel has been a real source of joy and community. You're in the drawing!

That is extremely honoring. I feel so grateful. Grazie grazie !

The hum of the solenoid buried beneath your library drew you! Don’t be afraid.

This is so thrilling to hear! I recently read another book that I immediately reread. What a rare pleasure you and I have experienced. 🙏

You know, I'm not sure one could achieve true hyperbole with this one, as you point out! Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement!

I'm going to continue plying him onto everyone with whom I come into contact!

Indeed, I had John of Patmos in mind many times throughout reading, which led me to think of _Solenoid_ in part as Cartarescu's Apocalypse or Book of Revelation. So glad you were able to secure a copy and savor it. Thanks, too, for the kind words and encouragement!

It's truly outstanding! Glad you found me :)

Great interpretation! I totally understand the burn-out, but I can also say that this one somehow reinvigorates the maximalist genre.

Wow! Congratulations on such a cool opportunity!

Always great to hear from you, Rick! Thanks so much for all that _you_ do for literature!

I am, of course, thrilled. A piece of the thrill is that I was able to present the book in such a way that enticed you so definitively. But the biggest part of the thrill is that I know someone else is getting to read Cartarescu. Enjoy!

Thanks! Agreed--both books are sublime (in the original Longinian sense of the word)! Perhaps if Sean Cotter eventually translates the other two parts of _Blinding_ , it could potentially pull ahead of _Solenoid_ . Either way, I'm such a grateful reader.

Happy (belated) birthday!!! 🎉🎉🎉

My pleasure! So thrilled to hear you, too, enjoyed Butler's short provocations!

I'm very grateful for your kind words and encouragement. Indeed, the book is astonishing. Happy reading!

Hey there! I believe _you_ were the one who first recommended _Blinding_ to me, right? Like I said to another commenter, if we get Cotter translations of the other two parts of _Blinding_ , I could definitely see it potentially overtaking _Solenoid_ for me. We'll see what the future holds! Again, though, I cannot thank you enough for introducing me to this author. GRAZIE!

You're most certainly welcome!

That's a great analogue, yes!

Woo-hoo! Enjoy!

WATCH OUT!

Guten tag! I hope to get some more German-language literature on the channel in the near future. Goethe and von Kleist, yes, but also Walser, Bachmann, Sebald, et al. Actually, I do have a video on Wolfgang Hilbig's _Old Rendering Plant_ , which really blew me away.

@@LeafbyLeaf yes, and the video about hilbig really made me discover a german author :) I must confess i didn't know him before. He's not very famous here, but the book was really great!

Thanks so much!

You got me! I ordered the Kristof immediately! As for the Atay, I've been watching prices for years now. Patiently waiting...

@@LeafbyLeaf Jeez, I just saw the prices while I was writing a comment! 😱Good luck! I ordered my copy from Serbia because a translation was recently published there. In this region, we all speak the same language, except Hungarians of course, and Romanians. So I somehow manage with translations. Besides, books are much cheaper in Serbia, but postage doubles the price. I hope you will like Agota Kristof's novel. Although like is probably not the best word. First part is brutal, but I realy like how it's written. The sequels are an upgrade and variation on the first part in a somewhat different writing style. The same story told from a different perspective. They can be read separately, but the trilogy as a whole makes the novel unique. It was originally written in very simple French, although Agota Kristof emigrated from Hungary. These postmodernist novels make me paranoid! I read a novel, and by chance or not, in the next novel I read, I find pieces of the puzzle that make up the previous novel. I recently re-read The Name of the Rose. I actually read The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt first, because I was preparing to read Lucretius. But I realized how much that story about searchers for lost ancient books inspired Umberto Eco, so I read The Name of the Rose again in a new light. After that I accidentally picked up Die Blendung (Auto-da-Fé) by Elias Canetti. It was so funny! Not only did I find out how the novel The Name of the Rose got its title, but also how and partly why Canetti won the Nobel Prize (of course he deserved it, but the question is whether he would have won it otherwise). I literally laughed while reading the novel. Otherwise, the novel is not very funny unless you have a sick sense of humor like me, so you find such tragi-grotesques funny. Sorry to bother you so much, I'd better get a new chatGPT, apparently they have become much more competent now. I wonder how much they know about literature.😁

Your comment had me laughing a few times! I read Greenblatt's book, too, though I don't remember the part about Eco's book's name's origins. I have not, however, read _Auto-da-Fé_ (though I have that and his autobiographical trilogy set aside for hopefully-near-future reading). I, too, sometimes marvel at the crossed-currents of postmodernist novels, but then I remember that a lot of their authors read the same books and thought deeply about the same things. For e.g.: Norbert Wiener's Cybernetics has been a touchstone of almost every American pomo author.

​@@LeafbyLeaf I was hoping you wouldn't read this rambling butchery of the English language. 😁If you like The Name of The Rose, definitely read Auto-da-Fé! The novel itself is genius, and it also served as inspiration for Eco for The Name of the Rose. I don't think it was about intentional referentiality. He probably read that book as well as hundreds of other books and drew inspiration from them for his novel. In Auto-da-Fé you have a library, a smaller private one, but the series of rooms in a row somewhat resemble a large monastery library. Then of course the fire at the end of the novel. The character of the hunchback is also present in both novels. There is a scene in Auto-da-Fé in a church where a bouquet of roses is present and roses are said to be friends of books. But best of all, there is a blind man character, I think the name Georges or similar is mentioned, I'm sorry I don't have the novel with me to check the details, so I'm writing from memory. And then the character says something like: If you were blind, you wouldn't laugh. And then you understand! Blind man - Borges - Georges - Jorge! The basic concept for the novel is here! Then in Auto-da-Fé there is a mention of eating books. There is a sentence somewhere in the novel where it is said that someone deserved the Nobel Prize but that it is still too early to receive it, or something similar. And then you figure it out; The Name of the Rose was published in 1980, and Canetti received the Nobel Prize in 1981. What a coincidence! The members of the Nobel Prize committee really have a sense of humor. And they proved that they are well read.😄 Greenblatt's book has nothing to do with the title of the novel The Name of the Rose, but when I read it, it reminded me of Eco's novel. Visiting ancient monasteries, sucking up to suspicious librarians, searching for old manuscripts, passion for the knowledge hidden in those manuscripts. All this was known to Eco and served as inspiration for the story. Of course not from Greenblatt's book which was written later. Also, there is a cute little novel to read after Auto-da-Fé. The Elegance of the Hedgehog (L'Élégance du hérisson) by Muriel Barbery. I have nothing against referentiality, on the contrary I love it. But I shudder when I think of one occasion. I was reading Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, and two other novels at the same time. The other two were: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick and The Earl-King by Michel Tournier. I mean what are the odds that those three novels are connected and I happen to be reading them at the same time! Are you planning to read Peter Nádas ? I started reading A Book of Memories but gave up after about a hundred pages. Not because the book is bad, quite the opposite. But I realized that I can't read that novel simultaneously with other books, so I left it for later. The plot and characters are so vague. It's like reading five novels at once. I haven't been this confused by a novel since I first read Ulysses.

To be completely honest: your English is great! And I'm really enjoying everything you have to say. You're making me want to take the rest of the week off of work and just read all day everyday! I actually love Barbery's little book! I have foisted it on many friends and family! _Une gourmandise_ was a little underwhelming, but, again, I really find _Hérisson_ a charming and unassumingly profound book. You're right, though--that triad of books is quite unlikely. :) No, I haven't managed to read Nadas yet, though I have _Parallel Stories_ , _A Book of Memories_ , and _Fire & Knowledge_ waiting on me.

:):):):):)

Thanks! I have not read that one, but I also don't think I've ever rushed to secure a copy of a book so quickly. Thank you!

Thanks so much! I've entered you into the drawing! FYI -- it's back in print!

Hear! Hear!

After reading Solenoid I accidentally picked up and re-read White Noise by Don DeLillo (OK I'm joking it wasn't by accident😄). Read that novel, the last third of the novel is full of references to Solenoid!

Thanks! Hang in there!

You are one lucky person!

I haven't read any Ballard...yet.

Haha! Not to worry--in this video I was only speaking as the bookworm. :)

Outstanding news!

You've been added to the giveaway! :)

I’ll keep that in mind. 😁

I echo precisely this sentiment in my ultra-brief closing thoughts. :)

Then you will definitely want to enter my giveaway of the book! 😁 kzfaq.infoqhWe3xzs-No?feature=share

Wow. Stunning analysis here! Bravo!

Glad to know I've got company here. This dimension is pretty large, don't you think? Maybe we'll run into each other at some point...

@@LeafbyLeaf yes it’s an ultra reality state, out of scale, out of time it’s like a new state of matter, in between the solid and the liquid, in between gas and plasma, it’s like looking the life through the amniotic fluid of the perceptions, before the humans. before the concept of time was invented. before the before. now I’m reading orbitor vol.1…here in Italy we have the translation of all the 3 books..

I like you meticulousness in finding the Easter Egg! You'd make a great detective. It's the bit with the tesseract on the screen in the Plot Summary section. And, for the record, there is no correct interpretation. :) You've been entered into the drawing!

@@LeafbyLeaf Tricky! 😄 Thank you!

Brothers K and anything from LK would be enough of a meal to need some time to digest. I was in a similar situation after _War and Pace_ late last year!

@Leaf by Leaf My problem is more the eating than the digesting! I have always enjoyed Russian/Eastern European writing, I enjoyed War and Peace but felt the epilogue was unnecessary, like the last 30 mins on a film that should have been cut, I was happy at the end and didn't need the what came next section, personal preference I suppose but what an experience. I would recommend A hero of our time - Lermontov if you haven't had a look already

Thanks! You've been entered into the drawing!

Thank you! :)

Bravo! You've been entered into the drawing!

Indeed, I was LOL--what an entertaining comment! You've been added to the giveaway! :)

@@LeafbyLeaf Thanks Chris!

Enjoy!

Thanks so much! It's a question that stays on my mind, constantly cautioning me not to get too disconnected from reality. :)

Hard agree!

I'm rather inclined to agree with you! :)

Love this! You're in!

* SIGH * Yet another book I have been wanting to get round to. So many books...

Don't tempt me! (Or, rather, do temp me, please, when it comes to Cartarescu.)

Then you will definitely want to enter my giveaway of the book! 😁 kzfaq.infoqhWe3xzs-No?feature=share

​@@LeafbyLeaf Seeing you raving about this book and calling it the best book you've read, makes me realise how deeply this book has touched you. I think it made you lose a sense of time and have a spiritual experience as you interpreted it with your sense of perception. Maybe you wish to convey to your audience that reading Solenoid is a truly personal experience open to interpretation in accordance with philosophical maturity. This is what I think about your insertion of the EasterEgg as a hypercube.

Very perceptive interpretation!

:)

Hmmmmm, I can't say it conclusively springs to mind, but you've got my wheels turning. The last time I read _GR_ a tesseract structure did not come to my mind. Of course, that doesn't at all mean it's not there. Now, though, thinking about the notorious rocket and its anachronistic presence across time, my wheels are seriously turning.

Outstanding!

You've been entered into the book giveaway! :)

@@LeafbyLeaf Thanks a lot Chris!

I am on the very cusp of entering Murnane's world and I've only read Fosse's _Trillogy_ so I can't confidently corroborate this. But I'm sure there are others who could.

@@LeafbyLeaf Everything I have read about Solenoid makes it seem similar to Murnane's Inland (his best work; begin here please). Murnane is the most eccentrically gifted living writer I have come across, besides McCarthy, and I have damn near sampled all the cult ones.

I can’t wait!

Making a video specifically dedicated to notetaking is on my TODO list, but, in the meantime, you can checkout this video to get a little insight: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p7V1f86gmarZnYk.html

:):):)

Yes. Exactly.

Thanks for pointing this out! Certainly, _everything_ in this book is worth mentioning. Really, the only way to have properly reviewed it would have been to read the book aloud from cover to cover. :) For me, I've encountered this multi-page one-word device so many times that it didn't really strike me that much. Still, as an effect, it definitely intensified the yearning for the imperative in question. But I haven't spent any time noodling over it beyond that. I'll leave space here for others to expand, too. Thanks again for bringing out this facet of the book!

I don’t think there’s any harm in going straight to Blinding, or even Nostalgia. If it were me, I’d space them out-but I also practice delayed gratification.

@@LeafbyLeaf Thanks! I'll definitely space them out, my brain needs a rest after Solenoid. On another note, I'm a new viewer of your channel and just want to say that I love what you are doing, and the way you're keeping a dialogue with your viewers in the comments is extraordinary. This is what KZfaq was made for!

You're in! I could only hope to be able to edit anywhere near PaperBird's level one day. Glad you've discovered his videos. By chance, have you seen our collaboration? It's from April Fools Day of last year and it's on _The Very Hungry Caterpillar_ .

In short, this could be seen as a fourth wave of Modernism, where: - Wave 1: Joyce, Proust, Woolf - Wave 2: Gass, Barth, Gaddis - Wave 3: David Foster Wallace, Adam Levin, Vanessa Place - Wave 4: _Solenoid_

You've been entered into the book giveaway! :)

Congratulations! You've been selected as the winner of the giveaway! Please get in touch with me via email.

@@LeafbyLeaf will do, many thanks.

You know, I was poised to just into apologetics mode on Cartarescu's/Cotter's behalf, but, that just isn't my style. It would be wonderful if you'd give him another try. But, in the end, no one book/author is gonna be for everyone. And there's nothing wrong with that. Happy reading!

Then you will definitely want to enter my giveaway of the book! 😁 kzfaq.infoqhWe3xzs-No?feature=share

Okay Chris! You have got me excited and giddy like a 12 year old entering a lucky draw or waiting for a gift hamper, talk about déjà vu (sic). I have only seen the first two segments ‘cause I have to leave my house to catch a flight so this could be way off the mark, but I promise to complete it once I reach the airport. Here goes nothing. I suspect it is the tesseract you have planted between 10:39 and 11:30. It somehow encapsulates space, time and memory relative to the experience of reading this book. A time warp cycle that somehow conveys the experience of reality as you read the book which is not dependent on the space which you are 3 dimensionally occupying, whether it be your study or the woods. There are hints of playing with memory/ nostalgia and the experience along with the backwards audio making sense or sounding vaguely familiar. It sounds like a language that you can’t understand but still can sense of, an experience that we all have had but can’t point a finger to or properly articulate. I don’t know, I am pretty sure I am talking gibberish and you are laughing out loud or maybe this isn’t even the Easter egg😂. Anyway, love your videos as always.

Yep, you found the Easter egg! Great analysis here, too. Thanks so much!

@@LeafbyLeaf Thanks Chris! I just tried to find words for what I felt when I saw the video. After watching the full video I am blown away by your analysis and breakdown. I really feel your long videos are important historical documents for the future and an important learning tool for any literature enthusiast. I would personally recommend it to anyone as a must have companion piece while reading those books, especially your GR, W and P and Solenoid videos. P.S: I almost forgot, you review for Mason and Dixon with the Venn diagram breakdown of its structure was my tipping point to plough through long and challenging books.

Thanks so much, again, my friend! You’ve made me want to return to Mason & Dixon-what a book!

You've been entered into the book giveaway! :)

Hahaha! You're in!

You've been added to the giveaway! :)

@@LeafbyLeaf I already have a copy! But loved the video and your description of your journey with it. I sent a poem on Instagram that you inspired in me today from reflection.

To have inspired creativity is a very high honor.

I first read your comment as "when Chris descends into Hell" O_O :-P

@@LeafbyLeaf LMFAO!!!

Such a reliable visitor!

Ah, thanks so much!

@@LeafbyLeaf Wait sorry I just realized the spelling is cartarescu and not cartacescu. I have a romanian friend with surname motocescu and he keeps reminding me it is chesk at the end and not seskoo. Here it is carta-resk I suppose. Best to ask a Romanian!

🙌🙌🙌